All off-season, Pittsburgh Steelers fans have been beating the drum for the Steelers to sign Pro Bowl safety, Tyrann Mathieu. There's been multiple reports that the team had interest in Mathieu, but not from very reliable or creditable sources. That changed this morning when ESPN's Jeremy Fowler reported the Steelers are monitoring his situation.
This was the blurb in Fowler's story that dropped Wednesday morning on ESPN+:
After an uncharacteristically active free agency in Pittsburgh, the Steelers are still on the lookout for safety help. Yes, we hear the chatter about Tyrann Mathieu, who plays with the kind of edge that would seamlessly fit in Pittsburgh. But Pittsburgh also is monitoring Terrell Edmunds, a four-year starter with the Steelers who is yet to sign anywhere. A reunion is not off the table. And a wild-card option is free safety Damontae Kazee, who played for Dallas last season. He is known as a ball hawk who can play multiple spots. The Steelers have him on their radar.
Mathieu would be another uncharacteristic move for the Steelers as they generally don't pay big money for any free agent, let alone one that is soon to be 30. But without Ben Roethlisberger, maybe the Steelers brass will agree that beefing up the defense is the best way to win games in 2022.
The other interesting name in Fowler's story is Damontae Kazee. Kazee left Atlanta for Dallas last season on a one-year contract. He started 15 games for the Cowboys, but had pedestrian statistics overall. To his credit, he did force two fumbles, and have two interceptions. His best season came in Atlanta in 2018 when he recorded a career high 7 interceptions, 82 tackles, and 7 pass breakups. The Cowboys' defense was middle of the road in terms of pass defense last year allowing the 13th most yards at 4,049, but finished 7th overall in total defense.
On the Terrell Edmunds front, we expected as much. The Steelers and Edmunds know each other well and the most likely scenario is for him to come back. The fact that there's been no movement there is a little bit surprising, but if the Steelers are in fact waiting for the Mathieu situation to play out, it's understandable. I would expect Kazee to be the Steelers third option behind Edmunds if they don't land the Honey Badger.
The Steelers are tight on cap room as we reported on Monday here, but as we noted, a couple of restructures, namely from TJ Watt and Cam Heyward, would free up enough room for a Mathieu signing.
More to come.
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