The Pittsburgh Steelers have a busy summer of contract negotiations approaching. New General Manager Omar Khan is going to have to work his magic to make receiver Diontae Johnson, safety Minkah Fitzpatrick, and kicker Chris Boswell happy. And to make them happy he's going to have to break out the check book in a big way. All three are set for big raises, and if they don't get them, they could possibly be gone after 2022.
Photo JSKO_PHOTO (twitter)
This week Steelers special teams coach Danny Smith indicated that he believed a new contract was on the horizon for Boswell. Boswell is currently the 9th highest paid kicker in the NFL, but his yearly salary of 4.2 million is only about $800,000 less than the highest paid kicker, Justin Tucker. Tucker makes 5 million per season.
When it comes to Fitzpatrick the Steelers are going to work out a long term deal with him like they did Watt. The deal will likely make him the highest paid safety in the NFL. He's a two time All-Pro and he hasn't even reached his prime yet. The Steelers brass has noted all offseason that Fitzpatrick is priority. Yesterday 93.7 The Fan's Josh Rowntree said fans should be encouraged by the progress being made with Fitzpatrick and the Steelers brass.
Based on a couple of conversations that I had today, #Steelers fans should be encouraged about the progress of Minkah Fitzpatrick's contract situation.
— Josh Rowntree (@JRown32) June 9, 2022
Might not be imminent, but overwhelming sense is that it's in a very, very good spot. @937theFan
That leaves Johnson as the odd man out. He's clearly been the teams number one receiver for two seasons in a row, but he's had trouble catching the ball. In 2020 he led the league in dropped passes, but after challenging himself during the offseason he was much more consistent with his hands in 2021. But late in the season he dropped a few passes including a critical one against the Kansas City Chiefs in the playoffs.
A few weeks prior to the end of the regular season Johnson spoke to Pro Football Focus who has been critical of Johnson's drops in the past.
“It’s just bound to let stuff get to you reading social media,” Johnson told PFF. “It’s not like you don’t see it. But at the end of the day you try to put it in the back of your mind, but at the same time it’s steady coming to the front of your mind. Can’t do nothing but think about it. Little off the field stuff as well, so that all played a big part in that mental aspect when it comes to focusing. Because there would be times when I would be thinking about other stuff at the line, and I wouldn’t be locked in, and, boom, dropped the ball and I’m thinking about that the whole game.
Johnson had a 13.7% drop rate in 2020. Which put him 10th for the ranking.
So the Steelers are stuck. Receiver contracts have went through the roof this offseason. With the league turning even more into a passing league teams are now being forced to pay a premium for talented receivers. But what is Johnson? Is he one of the leagues premier pass catchers? Or is he the benefit of being targeted so many times that his numbers are inflated? If you looked solely at his stats you'd believe that he's due for a huge new contract. But when you take everything into consideration you could be making a mistake with a big contract.
JOHNSON CAUGHT 107 PASSES FOR 1161 YARDS IN 2021
On the other hand Johnson made the Pro Bowl last season. He didn't make the initial roster, but entered as an alternate. He finished the season with his first 100+ reception season for 1161 yards and 8 touchdowns. All of which were career highs. He's increased his production each year he's been in the league.
Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin and wide receiver Diontae Johnson (18) participate in Organized Team Activities(OTAs), Tuesday May 31, 2022 at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex. (Karl Roser/Pittsburgh Steelers)
But the blue print for what the Steelers need to do may have just been laid out in front of them. On Friday morning the Las Vegas Raiders may have helped the Steelers figure out what to do with Johnson. They reached a 2 year extension with Hunter Renfrow. Over his career, Renfrow has caught 208 passes for 2,299 yards with 15 touchdowns. Johnson has 254 catches and 2764 yards for his career.
It was a win-win situation for the Raiders. They secured Renfrew for two more seasons giving him a hefty raise to make him happy, but they avoid shelling out a 100-million-dollar contract. He gets a two-year contract worth $32 million that includes $21 million in guarantees, per CBS Sports NFL Insider Jonathan Jones. He also will get a 9 million dollar signing bonus according to Josina Anderson.
Johnson would demand a little bit more in a contract than Renfrew, but something along the lines of 36 million could get it done.
The Steelers aren't exactly giving out guaranteed contracts to everyone, but times are changing and they're going to need to adapt. They did so with Watt last year and will likely need to do so with Fitzpatrick when he gets a new deal. The short deal gives the Steelers the out they need if things don't go as planned with Johnson.
Taking the shorter contract would give Johnson another attempt at collecting his first monster contract in two years. It would also give the Steelers another year to see if he can take his game to an elite level. Is he going to go back to his inconsistent ways or is he going to continue to develop as the teams top receiving option. Another upside for Pittsburgh would be it would allow the Steelers to see what they have from Chase Claypool, and rookies George Pickens and Calvin Austin.
The other contract signed this week would go towards the other option Pittsburgh has. That would be to pay out the big contract and hope that they don't regret it. Rams super star Cooper Kupp's freshly signed new deal will pay him $110 million total over the next five seasons, according to Adam Schefter. The extension itself is for about $80 million over three years, with $75 million guaranteed.
