Four Free Agent OLB Options for Steelers

The Pittsburgh Steelers are still searching for outside linebacker depth after releasing Genard Avery.

Late August isn’t the ideal time to be searching for contributors on either side of the football. However, the Pittsburgh Steelers find themselves in a familiar predicament as enter the final week of the preseason, without an established third edge rusher. 

Pittsburgh boasts one of them best edge tandems in the NFL, with T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith but the depth behind both players could be described as murky at best.

You know the old saying: beggars can’t be choosers. When glancing at the list of current available free agents, it’s unsurprisingly thin at edge rusher given the leagues obsession with finding players that can rush the passer. With that being said, there are a handful of veteran options on the market that could make sense for the organization to look into.

Trey Flowers

Flowers just recently turned 29 years old and is only three years removed from signing a massive 5-year, $90 million dollar contract with the Detroit Lions. Unfortunately for both parties, Flowers was only healthy enough to participate in 14 games over his final two seasons in the motor city. A broken forearm ended his 2020 campaign and then he found himself on IR the following season due to a knee injury.

When Flowers was last on the market, he was one of the hottest commodities in football. He amassed 21 sacks in his final three seasons in New England and was known for having some of the best hand usage for the position. Flowers was also widely regarded as a stout run defender which is no surprise given his technical prowess to go along with his strong frame and plus length.

If Flowers has recovered from the knee injury that he suffered in December, he’s certainly young enough to bounce back and potentially be a significant contributor off the bench. It’s worth noting that he was widely considered one of the leaders within the locker room in Detroit. There’s also some potential upside as a pass rusher that can align at different spots on along the Steelers front. It doesn’t hurt that Brian Flores was the linebackers coach in New England during Flowers’ tenure as there’s familiarity there between the two.

Dee Ford

There was a time when Ford was regarding as one of the games most promising speed rushers off the edge. Ford’s dealt with back issues over the past two seasons that have reduced his availability to just seven total games. His 2021 season got off to a solid start as he registered three sacks in the first month of the season prior to getting hit again with the injury bug.

Ford was once a special athlete at his position. At 31 years old, he’s certainly lost a step in regards to his burst but he’s shown flashes of still being able to win the corner and bend at a high level. San Francisco would tinker with utilizing him inside as a 3 technique on passing downs where he would annihilate opposing guards with his quickness.

Pittsburgh has a history of showing interest in players that go off for big games against them in years prior. Ford registered at least .5 sack in four of his last five matchups against the Steelers. Maybe one of those performances was memorable in the eyes in Mike Tomlin.

Takkarist Mckinley

The former Falcons first round pick spent last season in Cleveland where he enjoyed a solid campaign playing in rotation with Myles Garrett and Jadeveon Clowney. In eleven games, Mckinley scored 2.5 sacks but his impact went beyond the generic box score. His 13.8% pressure rate was third on the team, numbers that are right in line with what Alex Highsmith achieved last season. 

Mckinley's first season in Cleveland ended abruptly after he tore his achilles back in December which landed him on injured reserve. In recent weeks, the Dallas Cowboys and Arizona Cardinals have brought him in for visits which is a sign that he's likely fairly close to being healthy enough to land a contract. Mckinley's a long, explosive pass rusher that plays with a red hot motor at all times. 

During the 2017 draft process, Mckinley was reportedly one of the Steelers top 30 pre-draft visitors coming out of UCLA. Mckinley was selected 26th, just prior to the Steelers selection at pick #30 when they would choose Watt. Needless to say, that worked out well for Pittsburgh but now they have an oppourtunitiy to potentially pair both together on the same defense. The former Bruin would be a nice rotational piece assuming he's close to fully recovered from his injury. 

There will surely be other players that come available as all NFL teams are required to chop their rosters down to 53 players by August 30th. Hopefully there will be a couple more worthy names to add to this list when that time comes. One thing is for certain, the Steelers absolutely must make a move to address the depth at the edge position before the season opener in Cincinnati. 

Pittsburgh's defense revolves around their ability to get consistent pressure on the quarterback. If T.J. Watt or Alex Highsmith miss any amount of significant time, which occurred in 2021, the Steelers can't afford to not have a quality backup that can pick up additional snaps in a pinch. Neither Derrek Tuszka or Hamilcar Rashed likely give the coaching staff much confidence given their overall lack of experience and production. 

None of the players above or any others that are likely to come available should cost a significant amount of money. Even then, Pittsburgh still has $9.8M in cap space available to them per overthecap. That's more than enough money to play with in order to add another depth piece to shore up an area of need on an otherwise talented defensive unit. 

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