The off-season was filled with discussion about how to handle Alejandro Villanueva, and what he was worth to the team. We finally have the answer as the Pittsburgh Steelers and their starting left tackle have come to terms on a four-year extension.
#Steelers OT Al Villanueva signed a 4-yr deal worth $24M, source said. Was to earn just $615K as an exclusive rights FA, then been a RFA
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) July 27, 2017
Pittsburgh Steelers, Alejandro Villanueva Agree to Four-Year Extension
Villanueva is a fascinating story on his road to the NFL. Villanueva played collegiately at Army, where he played tight end, tackle and defensive end. After graduating, he spent four years in service and close to two years in Afghanistan as an Army Ranger.
From there, he began his pursuit of an NFL career. After trying out for a few teams, he found his way onto the Philadelphia Eagles roster as a defensive lineman. He was let go by the Eagles that summer but the Steelers picked him up eight days later. The Steelers had a different plan for him. They saw an offensive tackle.
After a season on the practice squad, Villanueva made the roster in 2015. An unexpected injury to Kelvin Beachum thrust Villanueva into the roster, and he started ten games in what was technically the 27-year-old’s rookie season. From there, the team moved on from Beachum as Villanueva has won the starting job.
Villanueva started all 16 games for the Steelers in 2016 and was a key to helping the Steelers get to the AFC Championship. Given the practice squad money that Villanueva was playing for, he started to become one of the biggest bargains on the market.
Still, where his deal appears to sit, he may be getting a huge boost in money, but he is still going to be a bargain value for the Steelers. His average annual value at these numbers would put him around 22nd among left tackles. It would be hard to name 16 left tackles better than Villanueva, so the deal has to be looked at as a steal.
Villanueva gets more than a $6 million raise, and the Steelers get a steal of value in their starting left tackle. Talk about a win-win.
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