Pro Football Talk reported that former Lions safety Louis Delmas is visiting with the Steelers today.
The Steelers have a need for at least one starting safety spot with Ryan Clark sure to be in a seat at ESPN during the 2014 season.
Delmas fits the mold of many Steelers free agent signings in that he was a guy that certainly had talent being drafted high in the 2nd round, and is still relatively young at 26 years old.
However, he’s not a guy that’s going to break the bank.
Delmas started all 16 games last season for the Lions, and was a surprise cap casualty. Delmas is certainly more than a depth signing, as he’s been named a pro bowl alternate twice in his short career.
The Steelers have plenty of work to do with their own free agents, and salary cap situation before they would likely sign a player like Delmas.
This meeting could simply be seeing what sort of contract Delmas is expecting, to see if it fits into their budget. I imagine that he’ll also visit some other teams soon, and the Steelers will not get into a bidding war.
It’s also possible the Steelers are simply asking what’s important to Delmas. Some guys like Jerricho Cotchery liked the idea of moving from a chaotic locker room environment, to something more professional.
It’s also possible that the Steelers are covering bases in the event that they can’t work out some sort of pay-cut or extension with Troy Polamalu.
I’ve stated on here already that I’m not so sure Shamarko Thomas is ready to start at FS in 2014 (and I think he’s more of a SS anyway), so a Polamalu/Delmas safety tandem would be a good fit in my opinion…
I wouldn’t get too excited just yet however. I see this as a “let’s talk and re-visit later” situation, much like they did with Ahmad Bradshaw last off-season.
