Most of the heavy lifting has been done by the Steelers 2015 Free Agent Focus in terms of its free agency preview. The would be and should be fates of the likes of James Harrison, Jason Worilds, Troy Polamalu, Ike Taylor and Brett Keisel have been discussed.
With that out of the way, we take a look at the remaining second line Steelers Free Agents, starting with the wide receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey.
Capsule Profile of Darrius Heyward-Bey with the Steelers
The Steelers decision to sign Darrius Heyward-Bey turned some heads last year, if for no other reason than Heyward-Bey’s status as a being one of the top 7 players taken in the 2009 NFL Draft. And with Emmanuel Sanders departed for Denver and Jerricho Cotchery heeding the call to Carolina, Heyward-Bey seemed like a very interesting prospect.
Of course Markus Wheaton established himself as a starter as expected, and Martavis Bryant emerged as a stand out rookie, relegating Heyward-Bey to the role of spot duty receiver and special teams player.
- Heyward-Bey did quite well on special teams notching 7 tackles.
Heyward-Bey didn’t make a lot of noise as a reciver, catching only 3 balls, but he only had 5 targets.
The Case for Keeping Darrius Heyward-Bey
The case for the Steelers keeping Darrius Heyward Bey is pretty simple: He’s fast, he integrated well into the locker room, he knows the system and he’s willing to play on special teams. He’ll also come cheap.
The Case Against Keeping Darrius Heyward-Bey
The fact that veterans like Jacoby Jones are already on the free agent market suggests that the Steelers can fill that roster spot with someone who can contribute more at a comparable contract and salary cap value.
Curtain’s Call on Steelers and Darrius Heyward-Bey
The Steelers have a lot of reasons to bring back Darrius Heyward-Bey, but really face no urgency to do so quickly. They can afford to shop the free agent market. If they can find someone who adds more bang for the same salary cap buck, then they should sign him. If not, Heyward-Bey’s a good fall back option.
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