It’s a rite of passage in the days after a season ends for a professional sports team.
In public comments with the cameras and recorders rolling, soon-to-be free agents express how much they love being part of their current team and that they’d love to be back.
Monday at UPMC Rooney Sports Complex was no different. During an hourlong open locker room segment that officially served as the final media availability of the season for the 2022 Pittsburgh Steelers, one-third of the 18 players scheduled for unrestricted free agency talked to reporters.
Unsurprisingly, none said he couldn’t wait to bolt town.
Quite frankly, the free agents who felt that way were wise enough to avoid reporters during the allotted 60-minute window. But among the six who spoke Monday, five were among the nine pending free agents who can be considered “starters.”
In that group were three players who combined to miss just four of the Steelers’ defensive snaps during Sunday’s season-ending 28-14 win against the Cleveland Browns: cornerback Cameron Sutton, safety Terrell Edmunds and inside linebacker Robert Spillane.
Related
• Alex Highsmith likely the lone candidate for offseason contract extension from Steelers
• First Call: Mike Tomlin calms talk about Cam Heyward's status; Terrell Edmunds ponders 'package deal' with brother
• Tim Benz: For Steelers, the 'standard' is now ... pretty standard
“This is home base,” Edmunds said of the Steelers. “They gave me the opportunity to do what I love. They gave me the opportunity to be an NFL player, and I can’t say thank you enough for that. If they do offer me another deal, of course, I would definitely try to make things work and go from there.”
This is Edmunds’ second go-round in free agency. He was on the market for about six weeks this past spring before returning to the Steelers in late April.
CB Cameron Sutton on pending free agency pic.twitter.com/KcxGbED1eB
— Chris Adamski (@C_AdamskiTrib) January 9, 2023
Sutton, too, has been in this situation before. He re-signed for two years during the “early tampering period” just as the market opened in March 2021.
“This is home. This has been home to me since the beginning,” said Sutton, who is tied for third on the Steelers in tenure with the team (six seasons). “There’s a strong foundation, and it’s just really solid here. A lot of love for all the aspects here and the city as a whole.
“We’ll see what that looks like, obviously, when the opportunity comes.”
Spillane joined Sutton in not leaving the field on defense for any of the Steelers’ final four games of the season, all wins.
“Right now, I’m just in the process of processing the season,” Spillane said. “That takes a while to fully understand what we just went through, and I give myself time to have that grace and understanding to take it all in and learn from what it was and go on from there.”
Steelers ILB Robert Spillane on being a free agent this spring pic.twitter.com/fOhZsiusXV
— Chris Adamski (@C_AdamskiTrib) January 9, 2023
Other members of the defense set to hit free agency are starting defensive lineman Larry Ogunjobi, erstwhile starting inside linebacker Devin Bush, injured starting defensive lineman Chris Wormley and part-time starting safety Damontae Kazee.
The offense doesn’t have as many expiring contracts among its most important players. The two most significant contributors who are unrestricted free agents are No. 2 tight end Zach Gentry and fullback Derek Watt (who’s more renowned for his special-teams work).
“I have so much love for this organization and the people who are here” Gentry said, “so (free agency) is going to be quite the process, quite the journey. I’m just intrigued to see how it goes, what happens.”
Other unrestricted free agents are No. 3 quarterback Mason Rudolph, 35-year-old defensive lineman Tyson Alualu, special-teamer Marcus Allen, backup outside linebacker Malik Reed, No. 5 wide receiver and special-teams standout Miles Boykin, No. 3 running back Benny Snell, veteran reserve offensive linemen Trent Scott and Jesse Davis, and injured safety Karl Joseph.
Two other players are restricted free agents: backup interior offensive lineman J.C. Hassenauer and depth cornerback James Pierre.
Hey, Steelers Nation, get the latest news about the Pittsburgh Steelers here.
Chris Adamski is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Chris by email at cadamski@triblive.com or via Twitter .
"come" - Google News
January 10, 2023 at 05:40AM
https://ift.tt/6Xr48ah
Robert Spillane, Terrell Edmunds among Steelers' 18 UFAs expressing eagerness to come back - TribLIVE
"come" - Google News
https://ift.tt/fSmRMEe
Shoes Man Tutorial
Pos News Update
Meme Update
Korean Entertainment News
Japan News Update
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Robert Spillane, Terrell Edmunds among Steelers' 18 UFAs expressing eagerness to come back - TribLIVE"
Post a Comment