Inside linebacker is the biggest remaining hole for the Pittsburgh
Steelers, and their quest to find the solution isn’t over yet.
Jon Bostic appeared to be the answer in May. The Steelers
needed a replacement for Ryan Shazier, and finding one in the draft wasn’t a
safe bet. So, they brought in a veteran coming off a promising season, who
didn’t cost much.
By June, the team had a backup in the starting lineup, and
everyone just said Bostic didn’t know the playbook, yet. Tyler Matakevich began
to sneak his way into the minds of media and fans, having them believe he may
be the answer the Steelers are looking for on the inside.
Now, it’s June. The team is still battling between the two.
Bostic continues to fight for first-team reps when he’s clearly the better
option, and less and less people are sold on Matakevich being a starting inside
linebacker.
Fans and media aren’t alone in their worries of the
position. According to sources,
general manager Kevin Colbert is giving it a little more time, but will
consider another inside linebacker if he needs to.
Pittsburgh doesn’t have many options left. Free agency, at
this point in the offseason, is slim at linebackers. Gerald Hodges and NaVorro
Bowman headlines the remaining players.
On top of slim pickings, the team’s salary cap is pretty
close to dry. Right now, they have roughly $5.5 million to work with, but
that’s for the 51-man team. Once training camp ends, they’ll have practice
squad players to sign plus injured salaries to take care of. This leaves them
pretty empty in terms of finding a free agent.
The team may be stuck with the crew they have. They saw
something in Bostic when they signed him. Matakevich hasn’t lasted this long in
the system for nothing, and if Terrell Edmunds and Marcus Allen are taking
linebacker reps, this could be a position by committee to try and fill the
void.
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