Going into free agency, one of the well-known facts around the league is that there was going to be a game of musical chairs at the quarterback position. And, as is the case with musical chairs, somebody gets left without a seat when the music stops.
There was always a good chance that Jameis Winston was going to be the guy without a seat. Same goes for Cam Newton, but for different reasons.
In the case of Winston, his 88 interceptions and 50 fumbles in 72 career games -- an average more than two per game -- make him a tough sell.
In the case of Newton, it is foot and shoulder injuries that limited him to two games in 2019. It's a big reason why he hasn't gotten much attention following his release. In the current climate, teams can't bring a player in for a physical as of yet.
Both have talent. They were selected first in their respective drafts for a reason. And both have plenty of starting experience. But both also have seen the teams that spent the No. 1-overall pick on them give up on that investment.
That brings us to the Steelers. A lot of national talking heads -- and one local radio personality -- have put one and one together and gotten four when it comes to the Steelers' quarterback situation, despite the fact there are a number of teams that don't have a starter on their roster, the Patriots and Chargers among them.
Ben Roethlisberger missed all but two games in 2019 with an elbow injury. He's now 38. And the team struggled offensively with Mason Rudolph and Devlin Hodges at quarterback in his place.
Those are all based in reality. But so is the Steelers' belief that Roethlisberger will return healthy in 2020. In fact, GM Kevin Colbert went as far as to say the team expects a better version of Roethlisberger in 2020.
In fact, the Steelers are so convinced Roethlisberger will return and play well that they restructured his 2020 salary to free up cap space. That pushed more of his signing bonus from the contract he signed prior to the 2019 season into 2021, creating $22.25 million in dead money should Roethlisberger not be on the roster in 2021.
Even if the cap goes up by $20 million in 2021, Roethlisberger would account for 10 percent of the team's cap space -- to not play. That's not all that palatable.
And if Roethlisberger does play, he's currently on the books for $41.25 million in 2021. So the chances are, the Steelers are going to want to tack another year or two onto the end of this deal to lessen that hit.
Does that sound like a team that will be in the market to go sign an expensive backup who will want some assurances he will be the future starter?
Then there is this, at different times throughout this offseason, Art Rooney II, Mike Tomlin and Colbert have all said they believe in Rudolph as the team's backup.
"We’ve seen Mason. He had eight starts. He won five of them," Colbert said most recently at the NFL Scouting Combine. "I feel Mason could do that again if called upon. That’s why there’s a comfort level with our backup situation. He’s done it once before and he did it in a season where, quite honestly, that second year, you’re not ready for NFL football yet."
The Steelers feel that Rudolph, now with eight starts under his belt and having thrown 283 passes last season, will continue to grow from that experience.
This is not about whether Newton or Winston are more talented or better than Rudolph right now. Both were talented enough to be the No. 1-overall pick in their respective drafts. Newton is a former NFL MVP.
But the logistics of signing one of them to be Roethlisberger's backup just isn't feasible, not for a team that has $6.5 million in salary cap space available and will need $4.3 million to sign its rookie class.
The organization believes in Rudolph as the backup. The Steelers feel he's more than capable of coming off the bench or making a spot start and helping the team win.
And those are just the reasons why this won't happen on the Steelers' side of things. There has been nothing put forth from Newton or Winston that suggests either would be happy to accept a backup job -- or backup money.
So, it might all sound great in a vacuum. Thirty years ago, it would have made sense. But in the salary cap era, it's not happening.
Bill Cowher admitted that earlier this week when asked on CBS Sports Radio if Winston, in particular, would be a good fit for the Steelers. Sure. But there are a lot of caveats. And those caveats are as big as the Rocky Mountains.
MORE STEELERS
• One of the concerns for many teams with doing a virtual draft in two weeks is the potential for another team to hack into a rival's team feed, where they are discussing picks or trades. It's not unprecedented. And I'm not even referring to anything the Patriots have done or suggesting it's happened in football before. But remember, the St. Louis Cardinals got caught hacking into the draft database of the Astros -- talk about irony -- and were docked their first two high draft picks, fined $2 million. Cardinals executive Chris Correa also received a lifetime ban from baseball. Roger Goodell is expected to let NFL teams know that if anything nefarious happens in what will be a completely unprecedented draft in two weeks, similar punishment will be handed down by the league. -- Lolley
• Kevin Colbert said last week the Steelers aren't interested in moving back into the first round of the draft. Doing so from pick No. 49 would likely cost the team its first-round pick in 2021, and the Steelers have no interest in doing that. But that doesn't mean the team won't be interested in moving up at different points this year. As things currently stand, the Steelers are predicted to get compensatory picks in 2021 in the fourth round and two in the sixth round for the losses they've had in free agency this year. Given previous trades and picks acquired, that would give the Steelers 10 draft picks in 2021, including two in the fourth round. That would be enough ammunition if the team wanted to, say, move up 10 or 15 spots in the third round this year. -- Lolley
• One thing that might give the Steelers pause if considering a trade up with future picks is the ridiculous rule that allows a team to release a player signed in free agency before Week 10 and how that affects the compensatory formula. We saw that happen with the Eagles last season when they released L.J. Fort a month into the season despite the fact he led the team in special teams snaps. That forced the Steelers to release Donte Moncrief before Week 10 -- no big deal, to be sure -- if they wanted to keep the third-round compensatory pick in place they were going to receive for the loss of Le'Veon Bell. By releasing Fort, the Eagles gained a compensatory pick. Had the Steelers not released Moncrief, they would have lost their compensatory pick, even though they no longer had the services of Fort. It's a bad rule. But the difference this year is the Steelers have more wiggle room with three net free agency losses. So if, for example, B.J. Finney were to be released by the Seahawks, if the Steelers didn't release a player on their side of things, they would only lose one of the projected sixth-round picks, not the fourth. It's highly unlikely, after all, that the Eagles will release Javon Hargrave, whom they gave a three-year, $36-million contract. -- Lolley
PENGUINS
• One of the many uncertainties facing the NHL when it finally resumes play will be the financial impact the shutdown had, particularly as it pertains to the salary-cap range for the 2020-21 season. The range is based on what's known as "hockey-related revenue," and the ceiling had been projected at $84 million. That is sure to drop because of lost ticket sales and a lot of teams, including the Penguins, could be hard-pressed to stay under the cap if the league and NHL Players Association don't work out an altered formula for determining it because of the extraordinary circumstances now playing out. One possibility for easing the financial stress on clubs would be compliance buyouts, a tool they were allowed to use after a lockout in 2012-13. Those allow teams to buy out a contract without any portion of it counting against their cap hit. "If the cap's being lowered, clearly, the league would have to look at that," Jim Rutherford said. "It would put teams in a very difficult spot if the cap is lower than what it is this year. I would suspect that could be a possibility." After that lockout, teams were allowed two compliance buyouts over the following two years. The Penguins didn't use any, but other teams did use them to escape deals with prominent players such as Martin Havlat, Vincent Lecavalier and Scott Gomez. -- Dave Molinari
• May 12 will be the 10th anniversary of the Penguins' final game at Mellon Arena, a 5-2 loss to Montreal in Game 7 of the second round of the playoffs. And while PPG Paints Arena is a superior venue in just about every possible way, some guys who played in the old building still have fond memories of it. "The greatest place to play, ever," Colby Armstrong said. "I loved playing in that rink. I was kind of old-school. I liked the character that it had. I liked that it was different. It just had a certain vibration of insanity to it when it started getting going. It was incredible. It felt like everyone was right on top of you, and you don't get like that anymore. Most of the (current) rinks are the same; they're pretty big and stretched out. I appreciated how rugged it was. Just the way it looked. It was an uncomfortable rink for teams to come into because of that. I think we had an advantage and I just felt so comfortable there. It was just so different, so much more rugged. They don't make them like that anymore." -- Molinari
• NHL officials announced a while ago that the draft will not be held in Montreal June 26-27, as scheduled, although the details of how and when it will be conducted have not been finalized yet. Because the Penguins have traded away their choices in the first, second and seventh rounds, barring any trades, they are scheduled to make just four choices. Nonetheless, they have been getting ready for it the same as always. As much as possible, anyway, before late-season events were canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic. That includes the under-18 world championships, a tournament that was scheduled for Plymouth and Ann Arbor, Mich. April 16-26 and would have been a final opportunity for scouts to assess some prospects. "We didn't have the under-18 tournament, which was such an important (event) for all teams," Rutherford said. "It doesn't just affect the Penguins; it affects all teams, the guys who are usually out doing their scouting, making some final notes and decisions. It makes it harder on (Penguins director of amateur scouting) Patrick Allvin and his staff, but I know that our guys were well-prepared prior to that, so we'll be okay. But it wasn't ideal." -- Molinari
PIRATES
• The minor-league season was supposed to get started this week. Like MLB, the start date is up in the air, but there is some doubt there will be a season at all, one minor-league coach told DK Pittsburgh Sports. If that happens, teams may have just extended spring training for their prospects. While Major-League teams can push the start of the regular season back and extend the campaign into October to ensure they play as many games as possible, the minor-league schedule is not nearly as flexible. Not only are there other camps and events throughout the offseason like winter ball and the Arizona Fall League, the minor-league games are meaningless. Teams are going to be protective of their minor-leaguers and make sure they have as close to normal of an offseason as possible, so they won't let them play into late September or early October just to play more games. An official for the Altoona Curve said they are gearing up for a June or July start, but it will ultimately come down to whether or not MLB teams want to send their prospects to their affiliates or not. -- Alex Stumpf
• Teams have been permitted by the league to begin scouting remotely again for the amateur draft since it will definitely happen in July. The league shut down all scouting -- including public exhibitions and public meetings with prospects, both domestic and abroad -- as one of their first measures to try to stop the spread of COVID-19. Since the draft was up in the air until the union and league ratified an agreement last month, the league didn't want any team to get an advantage in scouting either, as teams with more local draft prospects could theoretically get better insight into some players without needing to do as much travel. Now that the embargo is lifted, scouts can call or video chat with potential draft picks, as well as send documents like questionnaires and tests. -- Stumpf
• MLB's plan to start the season in May is a pipe dream, regardless if it is held in Arizona, Florida or each team's home city. If they wanted to move forward with the Arizona plan, they would have to quarantine players for at least two weeks to start to make sure nobody has COVID-19 and is just not exhibiting symptoms. Then players will need a second spring training, which Pirates player union representative Jameson Taillon suggested would have to be at least three weeks. If that's the case, that means teams will have to wait at least five weeks from when they convene until the regular season could start. For any games to be played in May, the league would not only need to finalize the plan, but also get the players' union on board, clear the idea with the respective Arizona cities and handle all other logistics within a two-week window. MLB has only postponed games through May 9, following the Center of Disease Control and Prevention's recommendation of eight-week shutdown, dating back to mid-March. However, a June or July start is far more likely. -- Stumpf
PITT
• After the season ended in Greensboro, N.C., Xavier Johnson didn't want to rest and recover. He wanted to get back in the gym. "It’s time to work for real. It’s time.” were his exact words when asked. Then came the coronavirus and all that madness, and Johnson's plans hit a snag. “It’s weird because I can’t even be in my high-school gym … I’ll go outside and do dribble drills with my little brother," Johnson was telling me of his current routine. However, as a positive, Johnson notes the time away from the gym allows him to focus on his body and his conditioning, something that improved from Year 1 — "I wasn't catching as many cramps as I did the first year" — but can still use work. “It’s a little setback that you can’t touch the ball for real-for real, but it’s just the time to work on my body a little more, even though I don’t have a weight room. You can do push-ups, sit-ups every day and run, and I can get my body back right.” -- Hunter Homistek
• Ithiel Horton had a more hilarious take on the coronavirus madness when I asked him how he's handling it. "In terms of the world aspect, yeah, it's really crazy. As everybody says, these are unprecedented times. But from an athlete's perspective, I sat out the entire year, so this is really nothing new to me. It's just the fact of not having a gym, obviously, but if you have an outside court in your backyard or if your town didn't take the rims down at the local schools, then you're alright ... But as far as not playing, this is nothing new to me. I sat out an entire year." That's certainly one way to look at it. And, oh yeah, Horton does have an outdoor court. He was literally using it, dribbling a ball throughout our entire 15-minute interview. -- Hunter
• Pitt's 2019-20 season fizzled down the stretch, but there were plenty of positives to take away, including their six ACC wins, double the mark from the Year 1 under Jeff Capel. One highlight that gets buried a bit, though, was the team's win down in Florida during the Fort Myers Tip-Off Championship. Johnson certainly didn't forget that. In fact, “The most proud moment was probably when we went to Florida and won the little tournament. That was a good thing. We saw the potential that the team had, honestly.” -- Hunter
