Mike Mitchell was signed by the Pittsburgh Steelers yesterday. The 6’1” 210 pounder will be starting free safety next to Troy Polamalu. He recently had a breakout season for the Carolina Panthers last season starting in 14 games and racking up 66 total tackles, 3.5 sacks, two forced fumbles, and four interceptions. To put his stats into perspective, the Steelers secondary as a unit did not have four interceptions in the 2013 season.
The reactions to his signing are mixed. Some say this is a great signing, reminiscent to Ryan Clark in 2006. I’ve heard hard hitter, plays with an edge, and decent ball skills. Most importantly he’s only 26 years old. On the other hand, some people wonder if his stats weren’t inflated by the awesome force of the Panthers pass rush. Maybe the Steelers overpaid for potentially a one-hit-wonder. Time will tell on whether he’s a bad signing or not, but I can definitely come to some conclusions based on the impact of the signing.
1) Clinton-Dix and Calvin Pryor are officially not in the discussion any longer for the Steelers first round pick at number 15. They did not pay Mike Mitchell $25 million over five years to sit on the bench. By the time his contract is done, he will be 31 years old. There still may be some solid playing days in him past this contract. In addition to Polamalu being signed for another couple of seasons and Shamarko Thomas seeing an expanded role in the defensive backfield, safety suddenly isn’t a top priority anymore.
2) The picture of who the Steelers are targeting is becoming a little clearer. They recently had Ike Taylor take a pay cut but did not add any years to his contract. This could indicate that the Steelers may have spoken to Ike and told him they were thinking of drafting a cornerback in the 1st round and would like Ike to be an on-field mentor to the draftee before letting him go next season. In addition to that, reporters saw Mike Tomlin and Kevin Colbert on March 11th for Michigan State’s pro day. It’s safe to assume that among other prospects, they were looking intensely at Darqueze Dennard, the Thorpe Award Winner at cornerback last season.
The only other position that could be a serious play in the 1st round is defensive line considering Cameron Heyward and Steve McClendon are the only D-linemen under contract. Wide receiver is in play also but the receiver class is the deepest it’s been in years so a quality receiver can be had on the second day of the draft. Tackle is the only wild card if one of the top three tackles falls to 15 but there is a low probability of that happening based on the value of the players and the position.
3) The work is not close to being done yet. The Steelers are the kind of team that has the intention of plugging every hole on the team pre-draft so they can be in the position to draft the best player available regardless of position. For that to be the case they need to continue being active in free agency. Right now, the glaring holes are in the defensive front seven. Currently, there isn’t any depth behind Worilds and Jones. Also, there are only two defensive linemen under contract. Signing Mitchell can shift the attention of the front office to other positions.
Ultimately, I support the signing of Mike Mitchell at this point. The Steelers saw a need, found a player, and got him for what they felt was a reasonable price. Many Steelers fans complain about the lack of activity in free agency by the team. They’re at least trying to actively become a good team again by taking calculated risks and bringing in young players, not re-signing older veterans that may have their best days behind them. Under the teachings of Dick LeBeau and Carnell Lake, Mike Mitchell’s best playing years may be in front of him.
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