Tag: Alejandro Villaneuva

REPORT: Steelers talk contract with pending free agent T Alejandro Villanueva

The Steelers appear to be talking contract with the veteran left tackle who is due to hit free agency on March 17.

Per Dan Graziano and Jeremy Fowler of ESPN, the Pittsburgh Steelers have had conversations with pending unrestricted free agent Alejandro Villanueva but can’t agree on a number.

The market value for left tackles is considerably higher than the Steelers can afford, especially given their shaky salary cap situation. Spotrac’s calculated market value for Villanueva is three years, $49.66 million or $16.5 million salary.

Villanueva, who will be 33 in September, is one of the players many prognosticators see walking in free agency.

Pittsburgh signed the left tackle as an undrafted free agent in 2014. Since his second season, he’s appeared in or started in all 16 games.

Where Villanueva excels in pass-blocking, he lacks in run-blocking. That’s a concern for a team that needs to be vastly more stout in 2021. At a towering 6’9 and 320 pounds, quickness is not his strong suit.

Talks are just that — talks. My thought is that nothing will come of it, and Pittsburgh will be addressing left tackle via the 2021 NFL draft.

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Pittsburgh Steelers offense: 5 studs through season’s first half

Steelers who have had stellar seasons through eight weeks.

Haters hated. Doubters doubted. Yet here we are midway through the regular season already. It’s hard to believe.

No one would’ve guessed the Pittsburgh Steelers would be undefeated at 7-0 eight weeks in either.

Here are eight reasons why the Steelers remain unbeaten.

Steelers G David DeCastro on OT Alejandro Villanueva: ‘[He] is seeing the light at the end of the tunnel’

Pittsburgh Steelers guard David DeCastro spoke to the media on Monday about how 2020 could be the last season the line plays together.

It’s true. The Steelers offensive line, a unit that has been one of the better lines in the league until last season, is getting old.

Guard David DeCastro is certainly not denying the inevitable. “We all know we’re old,” DeCastro said in a press conference on Monday. “It might be Al [Villanueva’s] last year, Pouncey and I are getting old too. Who knows what’s going to happen. I think we’re all trying to enjoy it the most we can.”

DeCastro said that his teammate sees the light at the end of the tunnel. The left tackle’s contract expires after this season. With the 2021 salary cap expected to be around $175 million, $35 million below the 2020 cap, Villanueva may be among next year’s cap casualties.

The Pro Bowl guard also vouched for Villanueva, saying that he “still has some juice left in his game”.

2020 may be the last hurrah for the Steelers O-line as we know them.

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Remembering Pittsburgh Steelers training camp fights from the past

Skirmishes are commonplace in offseason practice. Here, Steelers Wire takes a look at past fights from Steelers training camps.

This week marks the second week of Steelers 2020 training camp, and a fight has yet to be reported (c’mon guys, get on that!). Since we have nothing new to report on the scuffle front — at least until they put on pads on the 17th — let’s take a look back at some past camp rumbles.

Antonio Brown, Ike Taylor

(AP Photo/Keith Srakocic)

During practice, there’s no other way to really prep for in-game matchups than team defense versus offense and vise versa.

Two players that were well-known for getting into it multiple times during camp were wide receiver Antonio Brown and cornerback Ike Taylor.

In 2013, the series of scuffles usually started and ended with a pass from Ben Roethlisberger. In one altercation, Brown and Taylor were wrestling for a pass in the end zone when AB was thrown to the ground. When Brown got up, he threw a punch at Taylor. When practice ended, Taylor went after Brown. It took multiple players and general manager Kevin Colbert to break up the brawl.

Though neither player spoke to the media after practice, head coach Mike Tomlin had said, “We’re competitors… those things happen.”

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