Tuesday, March 4th, 2008 by Adam Wagner
Mewelde Moore, Brett Favre, Jerame Tuman, and T.J. Duckett
Mewelde Moore could be the only free agent signing for the Steelers this offseason. As absurd as that sounds, it is completely true. The Steelers had $2.5 million in cap room on Friday, but then signed the running back and inked QB Ben Roethlisberger to his massive extension. If Moore is the only signing, the Steelers will have to classify this as a disappointing free agency period.
The team has brought in ex-Patriot S Eugene Wilson, but if their cap room is as low as it seems, they are not going to have the space to sign him. Wilson, however, would be an excellent compliment to Troy Polamalu and Ryan Clark in the secondary, giving the Steelers three proven safeties, two of whom (Clark and Wilson) would allow the third (Polamalu) to freelance, the style of play where Polamalu is at his best.
Back to Moore, however, the player whom the Steelers claim they brought in to return punts and kicks and to compete for the third down job. A fourth-year player out of Toledo, Moore has always rushed for decent average yards, but has only broken the 100-carry plateau once, in 2005 when he ran the ball 155 times for an average of 4.3 yards. Because he has carried very little, Moore more than likely has a solid amount of football ahead of him and still has room to make a fair amount of improvement.
Moore could be a very good fit as the third down back due to his solid hands and quick feet, but he is not the power back that the team needs to compliment Willie Parker and already seems to have something of a clone on the roster in the form of Najeh Davenport.
On top of his running back duties, however, Moore is also going to return punts and kicks for the Steelers, saving the explosiveness of Santonio Holmes and Ike Taylor for WR and CB, respectively, thereby patching up one of the largest holes on the roster and possibly setting the team up for more production out of its running game.
In other free agency/transaction notes:
- T.J. Duckett, the back who many believed the Steelers should go after for years, received a five-year contract from Seattle according to various sources. That contract seems way too long for a pounding back who has never had a great deal of success.
- Jerame Tuman is being reunited with Ken Wisenhunt in Arizona, a solid landing place for the ex-Steeler who was excellent as a second or third tight end for the Steelers for several years. Hopefully Tuman, who always seemed to have two or three touchdowns a year that would indicate future success in the red zone, will receive a greater role with Arizona.
- Farewell, Brett Favre. Like many fans my age, Favre was one of my favorite players despite John Madden’s obvious mancrushing on him during any game the two were both involved with. Whether it was that legendary game against Oakland after his father died or the Super Bowl against the Patriots, the first one I actually remember, where I was rooting for Favre, Antonio Freeman, LeRoy Butler, Reggie White, and the rest of that Packer team to beat Drew Bledsoe and the Patriots, Favre has always honored the game and given the fans something to cheer for. There is no question that he will disappear, only to show up on the steps of the Pro Football Hall of Fame in about five years.
Leave a Reply