The Steelers were roundly criticized last season for not doing enough to fill the void left by a career-threatening injury to inside linebacker Ryan Shazier.
Sunday, they might have filled the void in a more capable fashion.
The Steelers agreed to a deal with former Rams' star Mark Barron to a two-year deal worth $12 million, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter, giving them an inside linebacker capable of covering more efficiently than they did in 2018.
Barron, a former first-round pick of the Buccaneers (7th overall), played the past five seasons with the Rams before being released as a salary cap casualty. Barron was due a $3 million roster bonus from the Rams March 15. By releasing him, the Rams saved $6.33 million toward the cap.
A former safety, Barron (6-2, 230) has been a solid coverage linebacker in the past. But the 29-year-old saw his pass deflection numbers decrease in each of the last three seasons, from 8 to 4 to 1 in 2018. He did miss four games last season because of injury.
But Barron does have eight interceptions from the linebacker position, including three in 2017. The Steelers had eight interceptions as a team last season.
The Steelers were interested in selecting a linebacker in the first round of the 2018 draft, but were shut out in that respect when four were taken ahead of their pick. Instead, the team signed Jon Bostic to play next to Vince Williams.
Bostic, a former second-round pick of the Bears, was a regular on defense in the first half of the season, but never played more than 25 snaps in a game in the Steelers' final six games.
The Steelers will likely remain interested in acquiring another inside linebacker in the draft and were quite active at Michigan's Pro Day over the weekend, going out to dinner with potential first-round pick Devin Bush, among other former Wolverines. They also were quite active in Bush's on-field workouts, with inside linebackers coach Jerry Olsavsky putting Bush through position drills.
But Bush might not be available to the Steelers, who have the 20th pick in the first round of the draft.
Barron, a former Alabama star, has recorded 690 career tackles, nine sacks and eight interceptions in his career.
He also drew some ire from Steelers fans in 2014, when he recorded a hit on Ben Roethlisberger in a game in St. Louis on the quarterback's knee that left Roethlisberger with a sprain that kept him out of four games.
This is the Steelers' third outside free agent signing this offseason, joining cornerback Steven Nelson and receiver Donte Moncrief.
LOLLEY'S VIEW
I don't love this signing, certainly not at $6 million per season.
Barron was once a very active player. But he's been banged up in each of the past two seasons, missing six games total. And he turns 30 in October. While he certainly fits the bill as a coverage linebacker, he's obviously undersized. I wonder if he'll still be effective if his speed and coverage ability are starting to slip .
But he is an upgrade over Bostic. The Steelers can save $1.1 million against their salary cap by releasing Bostic, who was set to earn just $1.8 million this year. Or, they could keep Bostic, since they also lost L.J. Fort in free agency.
This could also be in response to Bush's workout this weekend, which drew rave reviews. The Steelers might now feel like both Devin White and Bush will be beyond their reach, even with a trade up in the draft.
One good thing is that since Barron was released by the Rams, he won't affect the Steelers' compensatory selections in 2020.
