Steelers Free Agency Primer, Big Board

The first day of the NFL free agency contact period is upon us, with things getting started at noon on Monday. What does that mean and what will it mean for the Pittsburgh Steelers? Let’s dive in.

The Steelers have until noon on Monday to be the only team that can bargain with their 18 remaining unrestricted free agents. If the Steelers don’t work out a deal with those players before noon, that means they can begin to contact other teams. That doesn’t mean they definitely won’t end up back in Pittsburgh, but the Steelers will no longer have any leg up in the process.

Among those 18 players are four starters on defense: safety Terrell Edmunds, cornerback Cam Sutton, defensive tackle Larry Ogunjobi and inside linebackers Devin Bush and Rob Spillane.

Teams and player agents can speak and discuss terms on a new contract during this contact period, which runs from noon on Monday to 4 p.m. on Wednesday. That means that there will be no official announcements from the teams about any signings, though many will be agreed upon and reported upon.

While the other teams are getting their first crack at signing the Steelers free agents, the Steelers and Omar Khan are getting the same opportunity with the free agents from the rest of the league. With so many needs, expect the Steelers to act quickly. Last year, the Steelers agreed to sign Mitch Trubisky just minutes into the process, but had to wait days to make the announcement official. Those unofficial agreements have been changed before coming official in years past, though that is rare.

We also don’t know exactly how, if at all, the Steelers will do business differently under Omar Khan. This is his first free agency period as Steelers general manager after taking over last May for Kevin Colbert.

So who is out there for Khan and company? Here’s a Steelers free agency big board, sorted according to PFF ranks and attuned to the Steelers needs.

CORNERBACK

Players on the roster: Art Maulet, Levi Wallace, Ahkello Witherspoon
Free agents: Cam Sutton, James Pierre (RFA)

BAL Austin Peters
JAX Shaq Griffin
SF Emmanuel Mosley
LAC Bryce Callahan
TB Sean Murphy-Bunting
LAR Troy Hill
DAL Anthony Brown
CIN Eli Apple
WAS Danny Johnson
DET Mike Highes

INSIDE LINEBACKER

Players on the roster: Tae Crowder, Myles Jack, Mark Robinson
Free agents: Marcus Allen, Devin Bush, Robert Spillane

TB Lavonte David
BUF Tremaine Edmunds
TEN David Long
LAR Bobby Wagner
PHI T.J. Edwards
IND Bobby Okereke
DAL Leighton Vander Esch
CIN Germaine Pratt
LAC Drue Tranquill
DEN Alex Signleton
PHI Kyzir White
LV Denzel Perryman
SF Azeez Al-Shaair
WAS Cole Holcomb
MIN Eric Kendricks
NO Kaden Elliss
TEN Rashaan Evans
JAX Quincy Williams
CLE Anthony Walker
DET Alex Anzalone
SEA Cody Barton
CHI Nicholas Morrow

DEFENSIVE TACKLE

Players on the roster: Montravius Adams, Cam Heyward, Isaiahh Loudermilk, Jonathan Marshall, Renell Wren
Free agents: Tyson Alualu, Larry Ogunjobi, Chris Wormley

PHI Javon Hargrave
NYD Dalvin Tomlinson
DEN Dre’Mont Jones
ARI Zach Allen
NO David Onyemata
NYJ Sheldon Rankins
CAR Matt Ioannidis
LAC Morgan Fox
LAR A’Shawn Robinson
SEA Poona Ford
GB Jarrad Reed
LAR Greg Gaines
CLE Teen Bryan
GB Dean Lowry
PHIL Fletcher Cox
KC Khalen Sanders
TB Akiem Hicks
NO Shy Tuttle
LV Andrew Billings
LAC Jerry Tillery
KC Derrick Nnadi
SEA Kerry Hyder

STRONG SAFETY

Players on the roster: Miles Killebrew
Free agents: Terrell Edmunds, Karl Joseph, Damontae Kazee

CIN Jessie Bates III
BUF Jordan Poyer
PHI Chauncy Gardner-Johnson
CIN Vonn Bell
SF Jimmy Ward
NYG Julian Love
LAR Taylor Rapp
KC Juan Thornhill
DAL Donovan Wilson
GB Adrian Amos
IND Rodney McLeod
PHI Marcus Epps
LAR Nick Scott
LV Duron Harmon
DET DeShon Elliott
CLE John Johnson III
SF Tashaun Gipson
DEN Kareem Jackson
LAC Nasir Adderley
TB Mike Edwards

SLOT WIDE RECEIVER

Players on the roster: Calvin Austin III, Anthony Miller, Gunner Olszewski
Free agents: Steven Sims (RFA)

NE Jacobi Meyers
KC JuJu Smith-Schuster
IND Parris Campbell
KC Mecole Hardman
NO Jarvis Landry
TEN Robert Woods — Houston Texans, 2 years, $15.25 million
GB Randall Cobb
NE Nelson Agholor

TIGHT END, FULLBACK

Players on the roster: Pat Freiermuth, Connor Heyward
Free agents: Zach Gentry, Derek Watt

MIA Mike Gesicki
CIN Hayden Hurst
TEN Austin Hooper
LV Foster Moreau
MIN Irv Smith Jr.
GB Robert Tonyan
GB Marcedes Lewis
BAL Josh Oliver

OUTSIDE LINEBACKER

Players on the roster: Alex Highsmith, Jamir Jones, Quincy Roche, T.J. Watt
Free agents: Malik Reed

CLE Jadaveon Clowney
HOU Charles Omenihu
SF Arden Key
SF Samson Ebukam
HOU Ogbonnia Okoronkwo
IND Yannick Ngakoue
LAR Leonard Floyd
PHI Brandon Graham
MIA Melvin Ingram III
BAL Justin Houston
KC Frank Clark
LAC Kyle Van Not
HOU Rasheem Green
ATL Lorenzo Carter
JAX Dawuane Smoot
TEN DeMarcus Walker
SEA Carlos Dunlap
TEN Bud Dupree
BUF Shaq Lawson
TB Anthony Nelson
DAL Dante Fowler Jr.
MIA Andrew Van Ginkel
PHI Robert Quinn
TB Carl Nassib