The Pittsburgh Steelers have never been much of a spender in free agency. They use draft picks to build their team, and then pay their homegrown talent. That usually leaves them with little to invest in big name free agents. That all changed this off-season when Ben Roethlisberger and his huge contract went into retirement. That opened the door for Kevin Colbert, and he hasn't quit since the tampering period started.
Now the Steelers were likely in the middle linebacker market to begin with, with Joe Schobert set to make $9 million, and the team being able to save $7.8 million if he were to be released. His play was average last season, and because of it, it was an easy decision to move on from the bloated contract Jacksonville gave him in 2020.
Bobby Wagner had been a name that Steelers fans and national media had been connecting to the Steelers. He had to be on their radar as an 8x All-Pro, but he's 32 years old, and likely entering into the twilight of his career.
Then the Jaguars released Myles Jack, and the Steelers knew what they wanted. Jack is much younger, and while not an All-Pro, he's very good. The Steelers apparently didn't waste any time going after him.
"Tuesday night, my agent is saying we have a couple offers and we'll see what's going on," Jack said during his press conference Thursday." Wednesday they're saying the Steelers want to talk to you and they're very very interested."Once I got on the phone with Coach Tomlin and got to speak with him, the first thing he said was 'we're trying to win a championship and we need that on defense.' Once he said that, it was a no brainer."
The Tomlin effect. I can't imagine that Mike Tomlin gets on too many phone calls to players. So he must have really wanted Jack, and his recruiting pitch won out. Say what you want about Tomlin and his short comings, in the end, players want to play for him. And while it's paid dividends in the past, with money to actually recruit big time players, it seems like it could come in handy a lot more moving forward.
"When he said championships and winning a championship, that was really all I needed to hear because I feel like in my career, I just really...at this point, I just really wanna win games.I wanna be part of something. I want to go home on that night and be happy and wake up on Monday and be happy. You know what I mean? So I'm eager to win. And with that comes championships."
Another big factor to consider is who Jack's position coach will be now. With Brian Flores taking over the inside linebacker coaching duties, it seems like a forgone conclusion that Jack will become an even larger force in the middle. Jack also seems to have a chip on his shoulder, just like his coach.
"We both kind of came to the agreement that we both have something to prove. Him feeling his way with his situation and me and myself getting released and I feel like I got a second chance at life," Jack said comparing he and Flores' situations. "I feel like we vibed off that connection. I'm very excited to work with him and see how we can collaborate and make this thing go."
Flores is going to have his hands full rebounding Devin Bush's career. His life should have just got a little bit easier though with the addition of Jack. Jack will allow the Steelers to use Bush in a different way. Bush won't have to worry so much about covering, and will be able to focus more on disrupting the run and the quarterback. Jack is a very viable option against the pass, something that the Steelers thought they were getting with Schobert.
We can't wait to see them get to work.
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