Steelers face many key offseason negotiations

[Livinginthe past]

Is Taylor supposed to be going somewhere?

Joey Porter may well leave, but I dont think Ike is leaving so soon after that big contract.

NM

[Stlrs4Life]

I'm all for letting Starks go, if another team signs him, i believe we get a compensation pick for him right? I believe Colon has done well for Starks while he was in there vs Baltimore and Cincy.

[sumo]

Originally Posted by Livinginthe past

Is Taylor supposed to be going somewhere?

Joey Porter may well leave, but I dont think Ike is leaving so soon after that big contract.

NM

Well why would they pay a guy that much to sit? - is he going to be the next Duce Staley - cheering from the sidelines in a pair of baggy sweats?

[Elvis]

Originally Posted by sumo

Well why would they pay a guy that much to sit? - is he going to be the next Duce Staley - cheering from the sidelines in a pair of baggy sweats?

FUNNY.... bUT tRUE!! maybe the browns will pick Max up..

[MJ5150]

Originally Posted by Haiku_Dirtt

Max wears 78. Hutchinson wears 76. The only thing Hutchinson and Starks have in common is that their number starts with a 7.

Well, not really. Hutch was a RFA last season, and Starks will be soon as well. The Seahawks got hosed for not being aggressive about signing him. If Pittsburgh really wants him back, they should sign him soon before another team comes in and makes a contract offer the Steelers can not match. I realize Hutch is 10 times the lineman Starks is, so the chances of Starks getting the same offer are zero. Still...a deal needs to be done if the Steelers want him.

That's cool and all if you don't want him. You don't have to agree with me that we should resign him. I was only pointing out that if the Steeler FO wants him, I hope they move quickly.

-Mike

[Rotorhead]

Taylor is already locked up, I think Porter will be gone actually, he wants top money and the Steelers arent going to give it to him.

[polamalufan43]

Well, I think there are a few people who should be signed ASAP from a short and long term point of view. Others I think we have seen their best days and should think about what we really need,

~Polamalufan43

[paw-n-maul-u]

Originally Posted by sumo

Well why would they pay a guy that much to sit? - is he going to be the next Duce Staley - cheering from the sidelines in a pair of baggy sweats?

there is no way they are going to let Ike go. He didn't have that great of a season but our secondary has so much young talent. mcfadden, taylor, troy and A. smith are all verrrry young and i think we are in really good shape as far as the secondary goes. maybe bring in another corner on day 1 this year to push ricardo/mcfadden/taylor.

I think porter is gone, along with hartings.

Jeez this is going to be such a big draft for us. we don't really have a ton of holes to fill but I'm really excited to see who our coach will be. whoever it is will have a signifigant impact on who we draft. I don't really see us going offense in the first round. We haven't had a round 1 defensive pick since troy. You can bet that will change if rivera is the coach.

[jbattenhouse]

I hope the Steelers are careful with Max Starks. Maybe they can learn from what happened in Seattle with Steve Hutchinson.

What happened in Seattle was different. Hutchinson was an UFA, but Seattle could have slapped the franchise tag on him, which would have required them to pay him the average salary of the top 5 OL but they would have received 2 FIRST ROUND draft choices if some other team chose to sign him. Instead, they designated him the transition player, which required that they pay him the average salary of the top 10 OL but Seattle would receive NO compensation if another team chose to sign him. The cost savings for Seattle was about $500 -$600k, but they could have negotiated a long term deal and removed the franchise tag if done in time. Instead, they lost possibly their best lineman and got NOTHING FOR IT, except to be the laughing stock of the NFL for such stupidity.

This situation cannot happen with Max Starks. He is a RFA and can either receive a tender offer (I believe there are 3 tiers to this) or not. And from a desirability standpoint, he will certainly not draw the same attention that Hutchinson did.

[lamberts-lost-tooth]

Originally Posted by Stlrs4Life

I'm all for letting Starks go, if another team signs him, i believe we get a compensation pick for him right? I believe Colon has done well for Starks while he was in there vs Baltimore and Cincy.

I agree..and just as an added bit to the fact that he played well...(He has "a little" experience at the center position)

During a blocking drill, the former Hofstra lineman controlled outside linebacker Clark Haggans. Frustrated at being shut down by a rookie, Haggans yanked off Colon's helmet.

Not a good idea, even for a veteran.

"You hit me, I'm going to hit you back, just like your mama told you to do when you were a kid," Colon said. "I know I'm a rookie, but I didn't care if it was Haggans -- if you let a player of that status show you up, you become a weak link. And I refuse to be the weak link. I worked too hard to be the weak link."

When assistant coach Russ Grimm offered Colon a chance to jump back in against Haggans on the next play, Colon willingly did so. But Haggans was pulled out by assistant coach John Mitchell to take part in a drill on another field, so Haggans and Colon exchanged words for another 30 seconds.

"All day," Colon said, referring to how he felt he could contain Haggans in any kind of matchup.

Haggans and Colon later laughed off the flare-up, with Colon joking that he planned to give Haggans "a hug -- and a kiss" during dinner that night.