There was no announcement from the Steelers, but the team has made tender offers to its two pending restricted free agents, interior offensive lineman B.J. Finney and tight end Xavier Grimble.
Finney, who has appeared in 43 career games, starting nine, received a second-round tender, meaning any team that signed him in free agency would owe the Steelers a second-round draft pick in return if they refused to match the deal.
As part of the tender, Finney will be paid $3.095 million in 2019, a big raise over the $630,000 he made in 2018. Finney joined the Steelers in 2015 as an undrafted rookie free agent out of Kansas State.
Grimble, meanwhile, received a low tender of $2.025 million. He also earned $630,000 in 2018.
Grimble is free to sign with another team and if the Steelers refuse to match the offer, they would get nothing in return. Grimble joined the Steelers in 2016 after stints with three other teams.
In three seasons, he has 22 receptions for 236 yards and three touchdowns.
The tenders to their only two restricted free agents leaves the Steelers with just under $12 million in available salary cap space. The cap was set at $188.2 million by the league last week.
LOLLEY'S VIEW
The high tender on Finney isn't a surprise. In fact, the Steelers likely will try to lock him up to a long-term contract at some point this offseason -- probably before training camp.
The Steelers think very highly of Finney and expect him to battle Matt Feiler for the starting left guard spot in 2019.
Of course, this does mean it's unlikely unrestricted free-agent and 33-year-old Ramon Foster is back with the Steelers in 2019, considering his 2018 cap hit of $3.5 million is only slightly more than Finney will make this year. I still think Foster going to the Broncos, where he can be reunited with offensive line coach Mike Munchak, makes a lot of sense.
As for Grimble, his situation is a little more dicey, considering Jesse James is an unrestricted free agent, and the Steelers will let him test the market.
Grimble isn't ever going to be a starting tight end, but he's a solid depth player, who can also play special teams. If the Steelers were to lose both he and James, tight end would move way up their list of needs in the draft.
But don't discount Jake McGee being in the mix. Though he missed all of 2018 with an ankle injury, McGee was a star on the practice squad in 2017, making a number of impressive catches.
