Pittsburgh Steelers: Must Re-sign Kelvin Beachum and Ramon Foster
By Dan Thomas
Back in August, the Pittsburgh Steelers starting offensive line looked great on paper. Unfortunately, neither the team nor its fans had the pleasure of watching the starting unit play together in 2015.
During the Steelers third preseason game, Steelers All-Pro center Maurkice Pouncey fractured his left fibula and ankle. As a result, Pouncey missed the entire 2015 season.
In Week 6, left tackle Kelvin Beachum tore his ACL against the Arizona Cardinals. He was placed on injured reserve the following day and his season was over.
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While both players are expected to be 100 percent by the time Week 1 of the 2016 season rolls around, the Steelers face a different kind of problem at the moment: Free Agency.
Beachum has been protecting quarterback Ben Roethlisberger‘s blindside since the 2013 season and has done a great job of it to say the least. Pro Football Focus rated Beachum as the 67th best player in the NFL for the 2014 season. That’s the entire NFL and not just offensive players or lineman. They gave him a pass-blocking efficiency score of 97.8 which was second-best among LT’s for the season. Pro Football Focus currently has him ranked as the 25th best free agent in 2016.
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Not too bad for a former seventh-round pick out of SMU.
Beachum’s teammate, Ramon Foster, has started 83 games at guard for the Steelers since 2010. That is the most amount of starts by any Steelers offensive lineman in that time. Pro Football Focus has Foster ranked as the 35th best free agent in 2016 and said:
"Foster has consistently been an above-average pass protector, and he earned a career-high run-blocking grade in 2015."
Not too bad for a former undrafted free agent out of the University of Tennessee.
Unfortunately for the Steelers, both of these players are now free agents and have the ability to sign with any franchise in the NFL. If the Steelers do not re-sign either of these two players, their offensive line could be in serious trouble.
Re-signing Beachum
Franchise left tackles are one of the most valuable players in the NFL and they aren’t easy to come by. That is why in the last ten NFL Drafts, there have been 17 offensive tackles selected in the top-10 and 11 of those 17 have been drafted in the top-5. The emphasis placed on left tackles results in expensive price-tags. This is where the problem lies for the Steelers.
According to Spotrac, the Steelers currently have almost $7 million in cap space. That number will increase because the salary cap is expected to raise. Soon-to-be cuts and contract restructures will also increase the Steelers salary cap. However, the Steelers have some notable starters that need/will need new contracts in the near future. That’s including All-Pro wide receiver Antonio Brown, All-Pro running back Le’veon Bell and All-Pro guard David DeCastro.
Can the Steelers afford to shell out a big time contract to Beachum? Here’s a look at some recent contracts given to left tackles:
- Eagles T Lane Johnson signed a six-year contract worth up to $63 million with $35.5 million in guaranteed money on January 29, 2016.
- Redskins gave T Trent Williams a five-year extension worth up to $66 million with $43.25 million in guaranteed money on August 29, 2015.
- Cowboys T Tyron Smith received an eight-year extension worth $98 million with $40 million in guaranteed money on July 30, 2014.
- Dolphins signed T Branden Albert to a five-year $46 millioncontract with $25 million in guaranteed money on March 11, 2014.
Although Beachum hasn’t earned the reputation as a top-flight left tackle in the NFL, he was top-5 at that position in 2014. Does he deserve to get paid like a top 5 or top 10 left tackle with only one great year on his resume? Maybe. Maybe not. Either way, it wouldn’t be a surprise if a team with a lot of cap space (Jaguars, Raiders, Bears) offer him a contract that Pittsburgh can’t compete with.
The former seventh-round pick has earned less than $2.5 million over the first four years of his NFL career. If the 26-year old chases the money this off-season, can anybody really blame the kid?
Re-signing Foster
This scenario is more likely for Pittsburgh for three reasons:
- Guards are not as highly paid as offensive tackles. Therefore, the Steelers will not have to spend as much money to keep him compared to Beachum.
- There are four other guards in the 2016 free agent class that are ranked above him according to Pro Football Focus. This means his price-tag won’t inflate due to lack of options on the market (kind of like what you’ll see with wide receivers this off-season).
- He has spent his entire seven-year career with the Steelers. That should make the Steelers the favorite to keep Foster if they offer him a contract that’s in the same neighborhood of other offers.
Re-signing Foster wouldn’t be groundbreaking news in the NFL but it would be a smart move for the Steelers. Foster would continue to provide stability and consistency to an offensive line that features one of the most explosive offenses in the NFL.
Not re-signing Bechum or Foster
Over the last three seasons, Beachum and Foster have played together on the Steelers offensive line in 79 out of a possible 96 regular season games. They have solidified the left-side of the offensive line. If both of them were to be replaced, it would be a huge risk.
LT Alejandro Villanueva struggled a lot while filling in for the injured Beachum and even graded out as the second-worst tackle in the NFL during Week 9, via Pro Football Focus. To Villanueva’s credit, it was only one game and he did play well at times during the season. However, to think he’s ready to step in and be the team’s starting LT for 2016 is doubtful.
If the Steelers look to replace Beachum and Foster with either in-house replacements, the draft or free-agency there is going to be growing pains amongst the group. It will take time for the new starters to develop chemistry with the rest of the offensive line. It’s not just about each individual knowing what to do against certain formations, stunts, audibles and blitzes.
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It’s also about knowing what the guy next to you will be doing against certain formations, stunts audibles and blitzes. This takes time. Sometimes, a lot of time.
Remember, Ben Roethlisberger is coming off a season where he suffered injuries to his head, shoulder, knee and foot. Maybe replacing 40 percent of the Steelers offensive line and waiting for them to gel together isn’t a chance they should take. Then again, maybe they won’t have a choice with their salary cap limitations.