Tag: Matt Feiler

Chargers make Corey Linsley, Matt Feiler signings official

The Los Angeles Chargers inked the two offensive linemen to multi-year deals.

Center Corey Linsley and guard Matt Feiler, who had agreed to terms with the Chargers, have now officially signed contracts with the team.

Feiler signed a three-year deal, while Linsley inked a five-year deal, making him the highest-paid center in the NFL.

In addition, Los Angeles made the re-signing of cornerback Michael Davis official.

Linsley started 99 games for the Packers. Voted first-team All-Pro and rated Pro Football Focus’ No. 1 center from 2020, Linsley didn’t allow a sack or a tackle at or behind the line of scrimmage, according to Sports Info Solutions.

Feiler started 40 games for the Steelers since joining them in 2016, including 29 games in the last two seasons. He helped the Pittsburgh offensive line hold opponents to the fewest sacks in the NFL over the past three seasons.

The additions are huge gets for an offensive line that’s under construction. Linsley will fill in at center and the thought is that Feiler will plug in at left guard.

Contract details for former Steelers OL Matt Feiler

After seven seasons in the league, Feiler is finally getting paid.

Steelers utility offensive lineman Matt Feiler was picked up by the Los Angeles Chargers on the first day of legal tampering. While Feiler has been serviceable, he became expendable once Pittsburgh took Kevin Dotson in the 2020 NFL draft.

Feiler is finally getting paid after seven seasons in the league. According to Spotrac, his three-year, $21 million contract break down like this:

Average annual salary: $7 million
Base salary: $3 million
Signing bonus: $6 million
Fully guaranteed: $14.5 million

The contract carries a cap hit of $5 million and a dead cap value of $13 million.

The hefty contract came as a surprise to many, but Feiler is earning more with the Chargers than he has all career-long. In seven seasons, Feiler has earned a total of $5.299 million.

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5 under-the-radar free agents Chargers should consider

While the splash signings are always great, most of the time, the best value-signings come in the second and third waves of free agency.

With free agency right around the corner, the Chargers should not waste too much time to fill their roster holes.

Even though Los Angeles has the money to spend on one or two big-name free agents, I expect general manager Tom Telesco to still do what he does best by bargaining on some of the more underrated options on the market.

With that being said, here are five players that could be targeted:

OL Matt Feiler

Feiler has started for Pittsburgh at two different spots along their offensive line during the past three seasons — 26 at right tackle and 13 at left guard. In 1,499 pass-blocking snaps, Feiler has only blown 31. In 903 run-blocking snaps, he has only blown eight, per Sports Info Solutions. His versatility, durability, consistency and familiarity with assistant offensive line coach Shaun Sarrett should be selling points.

C Austin Reiter

Packers’ Corey Linsley has received that majority of the attention as a target for the Chargers to upgrade at center. However, Reiter is a high upside option that shouldn’t cost much. Reiter proved to be a premiere pass-blocker, with Pro Football Focus grades of at least 78.0 in every season of significant playing time in that area. This past season, Reiter didn’t allow a single pressure and wasn’t penalized at all.

CB Troy Hill

The Chargers should be in the market for a corner, given the fact that Michael Davis is a pending free agent and Casey Hayward & Chris Harris, Jr. aren’t getting younger. Playing inside and outside, Hill finished tied for second on the team with three interceptions and scored three of the Rams’ defensive touchdowns on the year. Hill also had 10 passes defensed. Based on how head coach Brandon Staley runs his system with versatility and play-makers in secondary, Hill is one that he would love to reunite with.

S Will Parks

Parks is versatile, having played safety, slot and outside corner and box linebacker. Parks is a starting-caliber talent, so having him as a depth piece should be very enticing for a team that’s in need of deepening the defensive backfield and one who will be relying on it under Staley’s system. The defense would benefit from his energy, attitude and play-making ability at various spots in the secondary and on special teams. Parks is also familiar with Staley and defensive coordinator Renaldo Hill.

DL Roy Robertson-Harris

Another thing that’s required in Staley’s defense is the ability to play multiple spots on the defensive line, which the Chargers need more players who are capable of doing so. A consistent force up front, Robertson-Harris might not intrigue in the stat sheet, but his consistent generated pressure allows for teammates to finish off plays. In 2020, he posted six quarterback knockdowns in 2020 and six pressures. Outside linebackers coach Jay Rodgers was his defensive line coach in Chicago the past five years.

Steelers make roster moves as injuries keep mounting

Offensive lineman Matt Feiler was placed on injured reserve, and former Colts EDGE Cassius Marsh was added to the active roster.

Steelers offensive lineman Matt Feiler, who has been playing at left guard since the season began, was placed on injured reserve on Monday. He suffered a torn pectoral early in the Buffalo Bills matchup.

Rookie guard Kevin Dotson (shoulder) entered the game, only to exit in the third quarter.

Steelers head coach will have an update on injuries during his weekly press conference on Tuesday.

Pittsburgh has activated linebacker Cassius Marsh to the 53-man roster. He was signed off the Indianapolis Colts practice squad last week.

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Steelers lock up 2 priority RFA for 2020 season

The Steelers continue to do business int he unusual circumstances of the NFL this offseason.

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The unusual circumstances have made it all-but-impossible for teams to do business as usual in the NFL. This includes contracts. For the Pittsburgh Steelers, they typically like to take a top player or two heading into their final season and work out extensions but no such luck this year. The same could go for the team’s priority restricted free agents.

Pittsburgh announced on Friday that both offensive tackle Matt Feiler and cornerback Mike Hilton had both signed their restricted free agent tenders. This means each player will earn $3.259 million for the 2019 season.

This would also be the time when the team would begin negotiations with Feiler and Hilton’s representatives to get them new contracts. Unfortunately, the uncertainty in the league could de-rail negotiations and leave Feiler and Hilton waiting until the end of the season.

Feiler is entering his third season as the starting right tackle for the Steelers. He took over for an injured Marcus Gilbert in 2018 and has held the position down ever since.

Hilton is the team’s primary slot cornerback and one of the best in the NFL. the former UDFA is ferocious as a run defender and blitzer which only adds to his value.

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Report: Steelers OT Matt Feiler expected to sign RFA tender

It’s been reported that Pittsburgh Steelers offensive tackle, Matt Feiler, will sign the RFA contract locking him in for the 2020 season.

On the heels of cornerback Mike Hilton signing his restricted free-agent contract on Thursday, it appears offensive tackle Matt Feiler will be following suit.

Feiler will earn $3.259 million with the second-year tender he was offered in March.

It’s expected that Feiler will sign within the upcoming days — according to the collective bargaining agreement, the Steelers have the option to rescind the offer if not signed by Monday. Instead, Pittsburgh could retain his 2020 rights by offering him a contract at 110% of his previous season’s salary. He made $645,000 in 2019.

The 6-foot-6, 330-pound right tackle has started 25 of the Steelers’ past 26 games.

Last season, Feiler was rated as the NFL’s 15th highest-rated tackle, according to Pro Football Focus.

The Steelers have the option to keep Feiler at tackle or move him to the position freed up by guard Ramon Foster’s retirement in March. A versatile lineman, Feiler played at guard for five games (74 snaps) in 2017.

To me, it doesn’t make much sense to move Feiler from tackle since he’s pretty darn good at it. Pittsburgh signed veteran guard Stefan Wisniewski and drafted Kevin Dotson this offseason to help replace Foster.

Feiler will become an unrestricted free agent at the start of the 2021 NFL league year unless the Steelers sign him to a long-term contract between now and then.

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What are the Steelers getting in OG Stefen Wisniewski?

The Pittsburgh Steelers signed guard Stefen Wisniewski on Thursday.

It’s not often a veteran gets to play for their hometown team. But Stefen Wisniewski will. The 10-year offensive lineman, who spent seasons with the Raiders, Jaguars, Eagles, and Chiefs, was signed to a two-year contract Thursday.

The Pittsburgh native played high school football at Central Catholic before attending Penn State, where he helped the Nittany Lions to runners-up in the Big Ten title as a junior. The next spring, Wisniewski switched from guard to center, and earned first-team All-Big Ten honors.

Wisniewski was drafted with the 48th overall pick by the Oakland Raiders in 2011. He started all 61 games in four seasons at center for the Raiders.

After one season with the Jaguars in 2015, Wisniewski switched to left guard after signing with the Eagles. He became a Super Bowl-winning guard after Philadelphia beat New England in the 2018 Super Bowl.

After a successful three-year run with the Eagles, Wisniewski spent the past two seasons with the Chiefs, where he won his second-consecutive Super Bowl ring. The Chiefs starting LG, Wisniewski’s blocking helped score three unanswered touchdowns in the game’s final minutes of the 2019 Super Bowl. During his two-year Chiefs career, Wisniewski played in pass-blocking 131 snaps over eight games, which earned him an 80.5 grade from Pro Football Focus.

Wisniewski joins a top-ranked Steelers offensive line that is anchored by Pro Bowl center, Maurkice Pouncey, two-time All-Pro guard, David DeCastro; and two-time Pro Bowl left tackle, Alejandro Villanueva. Pittsburgh’s offensive line also includes starting tackle Matt Feiler, whom the team gave a second-round tender, and reserve tackle Zach Banner, who signed a one-year deal with the Steelers Thursday.

Steelers giving OL Matt Feiler second-round tender

Pittsburgh is doing its best to keep Matt Feiler.

No player has outplayed their salary like Pittsburgh Steelers offensive lineman Matt Feiler. Feiler took over the starting right tackle spot in 2018 when Marcus Gilbert was injured and never looked back. Despite significant competition on the roster, Feiler was strong and started 16 games in 2019 to give him 27 career starts in three seasons. Not bad for an undrafted free agent.

The Steelers understand how important Feiler is as they have placed a second-round tender on the restricted free agent according to NFL reporter Mike Garafolo. What this means is Feiler will make $3.259 million in 2019. That is unless another team comes in and offers him a long-term contract. If they do, the Steelers can either match it or let him leave and get a second-round pick as compensation.

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How will the new CBA effect the Steelers in free agency?

The Pittsburgh Steelers are over the salary cap heading into free agency, but the new CBA gives the team some breathing room.

General manager Kevin Colbert and his staff have been working through various scenarios with the Pittsburgh Steelers fragile salary cap position for months. The ratification of the Collective Bargaining Agreement – which is slated to take effect Wednesday – brings clarity to what is still a complicated situation.

Here’s the good news: The passage of the CBA eliminated the 30 percent rule, one that would’ve limited the amount of contract restructuring teams could do.

Here’s the bad news: The salary cap figure, $198.2 million, is significantly less than the $200 million-plus that was initially projected, and puts the Steelers $2.4 million in the red – according to OverTheCap.com.

Throughout the offseason, only the players with the 51 largest cap hits for the season will be counted toward the salary cap. The Steelers’ total cap number for their top 51 is roughly $204 million. This figure does not include any pending free agents (i.e., Mike Hilton, Matt Feiler, Zach Banner), nor does it cover the $16.26 million franchise tag that is likely to be placed on Bud Dupree.

There is plenty more that the total cap number for the top 51 does not incorporate, such as the rise in minimum salaries and rookie minimum wages. The cost of the expansion of rosters to 55 and practice squad to 12 players also adds to the cap number.

Colbert will need to get creative with the avenues toward cap-saving measures. Among the options will be to cut 2021 free agents Ramon Foster, Mark Barron, and Anthony Chickillo, and restructure contracts of key players like those of Ben Roethlisberger, Vance McDonald, Stephon Tuitt, and Joe Haden.

All clubs must be under the salary cap before the start of the 2020 league year and free agency, which begins Wednesday at 4 p.m. eastern.

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Steelers OT Matt Feiler gets big pay bump thanks to performance-based pay

Matt Feiler far outplayed his base salary last season.

Pittsburgh Steelers offensive lineman Matt Feiler started 16 games in 2019. The former undrafted free agent became the starter in 2018 and made Marcus Gilbert expendable. He is also staring down being a restricted free agent in a few days.

But for now he can be happy he will be getting a nice bump in his 2019 salary thanks to the performance-based salary formula and the veteran pool. Feiler got $387,578 in performance pay and $236,004 from a veteran pool. This nearly doubled his salary from last season and brought his full compensation to $623,582.

Pittsburgh now has to take the last two seasons and determine how important Feiler is to the team and be sure they offer him a tender that is fair but will also assure another team in need of a big, strong starting right tackle won’t just scoop him up.

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