Among the crazy amount of information to come out of the NFL yesterday, there actually was one piece of information that should interest Steelers fans, besides the crazy retirement announcement by Jason Worilds.
Former Steelers, and current Saints cornerback Keenan Lewis reportedly asked the Saints to fully guarantee the rest of his contract, or cut him. He also posted “I think it’s time for me to take my talent somewhere else, I only want fairness. I would love to stay and play for my hometown but I only want to be treated fairly.”
My first thought is, sorry Keenan but that’s not how NFL contracts work.
My second thought is that the Steelers should reach out and see if the Saints are interested in a trade. Steel City Blitz is being told that the Steelers are keeping a close eye on the situation.
Over the next 3 seasons Lewis’ contract has base salaries of 1.8, 4.3, and 4.8 million dollars. Since signing bonus money will still be on the Saints, his cap hit for the Steelers would only be $2.5, $5.0, and $5.5 over the next 3 seasons. That’s a steal for a starting corner.
Lewis likely knows with the Saints salary cap problems that he could be a salary cap casualty after the 2015 season.
Given their issues, I think that if someone would take Lewis’ contract off their hands, they’d let him go for cheap… Something like a 5th round pick?
It would require some work by Omar Khan, and it couldn’t happen until the Ben extension frees up some cap space, but it wouldn’t be impossible to fit Lewis under the Steelers’ cap.
With the outrageous contracts being handed out to guys like Davon House getting over 6 million per season despite just 14 starts in 4 season; Lewis, who knows the Steelers’ system and has plenty of starting experience is a bit of a bargain honestly.
I’d hope after 2015 he would get an extension that would present the Steelers with a more comfortable cap number, but this is an opportunity for the Steelers to grab a 28 year old cornerback with success in the black and gold.
If I was Kevin Colbert, I’d definitely be making a call a the very least.
3 comments
Know that makes sense . But like I wrote in the past .Guys like me they do not listen too.They need fresh outside ideals.
Go get him dont wait go get him
[…] wrote earlier that Keenan Lewis makes a ton of sense for the Steelers, and I still think that, but here’s a few other names that could help this […]