Big Steelers moves: Did Omar Khan make right choice extending Cam Heyward? Pat Freiermuth next?

it's Wednesday here on the Northshore Drive podcast from the Pittsburgh Post cazette I'm your host Chris Carter joined today by Ray fit aalo we're going to talk about cam hayward's New Deal and how it helps the Steelers moving forward three years for a guy that's 35 years old some people think that might be crazy are they we we'll talk about that here on the Northshore Drive podcast as well as future deals for Pat fouth and what else the Steelers need to get right be right getting ready for in week one against the Atlanta Falcons it's the Northshore Drive podcast let's get into it [Music] you are now listening to the Northshore Drive podcast a show on all things Pittsburgh sports from the writers of the Pittsburgh Post Gazette hosted by Christopher [Music] Carter hello and welcome to the Northshore Drive podcast from the Pittsburgh Post Gazette I'm Chris Carter he's re ra aoto and and we are as always are brought to you here on your favorite podcasting apps and on YouTube like this video if you enjoy it subscribe to this channel to get all of our Monday Wednesday Friday episodes of the Northshore Drive podcast as well as the daily content that comes out here at the Pittsburgh Post Gazette Ray the news happened last night Cam Hayward is extended he's had the three-year extension $45 million in new money 16 million of that guaranteed and as our partner uh Jerry duac reports opens about $9 million in cap space for for this season right now for the Steelers Ray you and I kind of talked about this briefly before but you know we were wondering Hey would this happen would this move be made because he is older he is coming off in a season where he was injured but cam Hayward did play ball like he he he can't although he skipped the early part of OTAs he finished OTAs with the Steelers did mini camp did training camp did preseason and now he's getting paid what do you think led to the Steelers making making this call yeah I mean listen I think it was Cam's call I think cam despite what he said in the spring at OTAs he wants to be a stealer for life and I think this new contract gives him the opportunity if you look at the way that it's structured Chris um you know he was gonna make 16 million in salary this year before the deal was done he's still making 16 million in salary um but it's just in the form of $15 million signing bonus and 1 million in base pay and you know for the Steelers they can still sit back and watch and see how cam does this year there is zero money guaranteed beyond the 2024 season so um you know I I know it was reported by by national people as a new three-year deal um I I guess but you know the Steelers are going to go year to year with Cam after this year and you know we'll see how it goes if he plays well then great you know they they can revisit it if not they could walk away with it with no harm and I think that's the that's the thing here is that the Steelers keep their leverage but cam Hayward does get a chance to kind of keep playing get his money I I do wonder if Cam Hayward had hit the open market what kind of a deal would he have gotten in the NFL and I guess part of that would also have depended you know how well he would have played this season and I that might also be the gamble here right Ray because let's say cam goes off and gets you know eight or more sacks this season everyone's looking at him like wow they got him at a bargain yeah uh I mean to answer your question there's there's no way of knowing until we see how he plays in 2024 but you're right you know if if uh cam Hayward goes out and gets double digit sacks again and he's really good against the run then you know the Steelers have him under contract you know a fairly reasonable rate um you know I mean 14 and a half million isn't chump changed but you know there are really good defensive linemen in the NFL who who are making a around that or um you know a little bit more for interior linemen so uh yeah I think in the end cam didn't want to play anywhere else there are a few Steelers who can sort of dictate that right Ben rothberger was able to say okay I don't want to play for another team I want to walk away and be one of those guys Joe Green um um like even the some of the great like Franco Harris yeah were not afforded that opportunity I I think you know Dan Rooney was sensitive to this and I think Dan passed that down to Art you know they don't want those types of things to happen in future generation so they kind of learned their lesson from from Franco um sometimes it's inevitable sometimes guys want to keep playing even when they're the Steelers think they're done but you know it seems like right now it's all it's going to work out um both in the Steelers favor and in Cam's favor he wanted to remain in Pittsburgh and um you know I I think he's gonna be afforded that opportunity I think it's certainly you know he certainly get is afforded that opportunity um I also wonder that you know Ray as far as the long-term implications of this because like there's obviously onfield things what he brings to the table will he be healthy this year but to me part of this is also looking at this and makes me wonder you know can the Steelers show this as an example of like hey if you don't hold out if you don't skip out on these things if you do show up and and play ball and you do all the right things this is what you get you know as as far as work working with with the with the front office because they will give you a deal because Steelers could point two pass things like Le'Veon Bell when he kind of played hard ball and it didn't work out for him you know on the flip side you can say look at cam Hayward he didn't not show up he didn't pout he he came in did it did the work behind the scenes the the job got got done and by the end of his career cam hayward's gonna have made a lot of money playing for the Steelers yeah I mean I think this was a unique situation Chris I I think with younger guys who are definitely going to keep playing um you know beyond the season I think it's a it's a different story let's say you know we're talking about a 28y old who's entering his prime he would not settle for no guaranteed money beyond the current season this exact deal no yeah he wouldn't take this exact deal would not work for everybody but I do think it shows like hey look at Kim hay were getting paid at 35 years old yeah I mean I and listen hold ends have been a problem around the NFL I mean you know Brandon auk um pretty much forced the 49ers to to give him what he wanted or he was gonna force a trade out right Jamar Chase might not play week one for the Bengals this week yeah and uh Deontay Johnson did it TJ watt did it um I'm trying to think who else well yeah Minka didn't do it because he was done in June but yeah others have others have held in and and got what they wanted so um I think we all know the owners got the better of the players um uh you know in the in the CBA that that was uh last negotiated but you know agents and players have found this loophole and in certain instances not you got to be a great player you got to have leverage but definitely in certain instances Chris um you know this can work in the players favor for sure absolutely I want to talk about one of those young players that I think is in position position to is in the position to negotiate with the Steelers right now and that's Pat Frou will his extension be coming soon well we'll talk about that next year on The Northshore Drive podcast on the Pittsburgh Post cazette Chris Carter Ray fed aado stick with us we'll be right [Music] back welcome back to the Northshore Drive podcast from the Pittsburgh Post cazette Chris Carter Ray F aado Ray cam hayward's deal is done but now there's still everyone looking at a few other extensions that might happen I think everyone can kind of push past Naji Harris that one seems more obvious like it's not going to happen they'll see what happens at the end of the season you know most likely they probably go get another running back but Pat Fruth was one that I thought would be a little bit more easy to make happen simply because the tight end position is not an expensive position he has not been you know he has not put up the numbers of a supreme tight end like the guys like Travis Kelce or George KD or TJ Hawkins and the guys that make the big bucks at tight end so I thought there'd be a pretty safe middle ground for both to come to like hey there's a lot of potential it's recognized you weren't in a great situation but at the same time not going to overpay for you at this point do you think that a deal does get done this week or is this something that might be a little bit harder for both these these two sides to land on yeah I mean I I think the Steelers want to get one done and I think Pat frth wants to get one done and when you have both both parties working together um then I I tend to think that it is going to happen but Chris you know these negotiations are are tricky sometimes and you hit on a couple of the points that that are issues um with Pat fouth number one he hasn't produced like a big time tight end now the Steelers believe he is one but the numbers because of offensive coordinators because of of playing with three different quarterbacks in in three years even four five if you want to count him um you know it's been an issue number two um Pat has had some issues with concussions and he had a soft tissue injury last year I think it was a hamstring that kept him out for four um four or five games so um you know he has that working against him um that's why I I don't think he's G to get um um you know great money in this deal but I think we talked about it um earlier in the week I I think you know 12 or 13 million a year I think that's fair um for for Pat FR MTH if he does ball out this year and put up the numbers that we all think he can in this offense then I think it's well worth it too so I think it's G to come down somewhere in that uh Ballpark and uh you know we'll see if it happens before Saturday but as I sit here right now I I do think it's it's likely to get done and you've seen some some of these negotiations go down to the down to the wire TJ watt took a lot of time and that's TJ watt the guy that's you know the defensive player of the year and everything like that um you know I know back in the day Troy pamalu had an extension that literally got signed uh while he was getting on the plane to to go to the to go to week one so uh it is a real deadline that the Steelers seem to impose on on the on their players to get it done before week one kicks off unless you're a quarterback um you know but I I also think part of what Pat farming has Pat fman has also done done things the right way he's been a positive person he's been a he's been a team player he hasn't been a guy who's blown up about the problems on offense because you know we've seen other guys like George Pickins you know say throw me the the bleeping ball uh you I don't think you've ever seen that from Pat fry and if anything like you know we've seen the training camp practices Pat Uh uh Ray we've seen we've seen Pat kind of be you know one of those enthusiastic guys the guys that shows up the guy that's motivating others and I think like if you're the Steelers and you have a young offense and you have to pick guys that are on this young offense to carry forward with you Pat fry makes a whole lot of sense yeah he he really does I think he's built um for this offense too and um not only because Arthur Smith loves to use tight ends um I mean you were a training camp Chris I mean you know two tight end three tight end formations I mean it's I want to say it's goingon to be the norm but we're going to see it quite a bit and um you know number two this Steelers receiving room um still sort of feels unfinished to me um and I I think because of that because of Van Jefferson being more like a three than a two and you know you bump it down Calvin Austin being more like a a four than a three you know and so on and so forth it just makes sense that Pat farar MTH would get the second most Targets on this team behind George pickings likely the second most yardage and likely the second most catches because um he he's just shaping up as the second best receiving option for this team so you're right he's done everything the right way and as I said usually when that happens and you have two willing parties um you're you're able to meet in the middle so we'll see where this goes later in the week one one other guy that I always remember I remember Troy paalo signing before he got on the plane Cortez Allen happened like at 10 o'clock at night I mean I was wow on a Saturday I mean I was at a party and I look at my phone and fortez Allen signs I'm like oh man I gotta go home and and write a story now so I mean they they do tend to take it up to uh the deadline so don't be surprised if it doesn't happen Wednesday or Thursday there's there's still time to do it on Friday and Saturday as well no I I I definitely agree there I just I wonder how this will play out as far as like what kind of money that he does get because again like the top guys in the league they uh they make you know 17 165 million dollars a year the Steelers just cleared out a good amount of cap space with Cam hayward's contract and um I do wonder if that plays into how they could pay Pat fyou or if that's setting up something else because as we've talked about we would not just because they didn't make the trade for Brandon iuk or make a trade you know before uh before the season opener or even that Mike tomman says quote unquote he's comfortable with the Steelers wide receiver situation I that does not mean I would rule out a move happening with with with this with this team with trying to add some sort of talent to this roster and maybe to some of the more obvious positions like wide receiver yeah absolutely and you got to remember Chris um you know Omar Khan loves to wheel and deal and he show a couple years ago that he could do it at the trade deadline too and uh you know they got a pick back in exchange for a player but listen if they're in a s situation this year where they need a player to help them get to the playoffs and they have to flip a pick then you know I think we all know that Omar um W would be willing to do that so they they have the cap space to do something in the short term but Hey listen they could do that um in November as well once the trade deadline uh does get here no yeah that's absolutely part of the question there I want to talk to you about some of the things Mike tommen also said about the offensive line because it seemed like he was kind of moving you know kind of being kind of all over the place not all over the place but he would not kind of nail down the image of like hey this is what they're going to look like this year when everything's all said and done I want to talk about that with you Ray here in a minute here on the North store Drive podcast from the Pittsburgh Post cazette but first what remind you this show is brought to you by savena Kan and G they are your Mesa and as best as lawyers with over 85 years of experience that's Mees that's seenus Canan guchi calls them now for a free consultation today we're also brought to you by Moon Township Honda you go to them at 582 University Boulevard in Moon Township Pennsylvania or visit their website Moon honda.com to see all the deals on the new Hondas on the lot here's a here's a message from our friends at Moon Township Honda to build the Honda CRV hybrid we took everything you love about the CRV and kicked it up a notch with greater power for a CRV unlike any before Adventure confidently with Honda car and driver's most awarded brand in 10 best history the CRV and CRV Hybrid part of the Honda line of buged vehicles visit your local Honda dealer for new vehicles or arriving date buy online or Reserve from select Honda dealers [Music] back here in the North Shore Drive podcast from the Pittsburgh Post Gazette Chris Carter rayfit aotto Ray Mike tommen acknowledged the offensive line several times in his Tuesday press conference and in doing so he talked about you the potential of getting a Troy fou Tomy back and he seemed optimistic about that and that that's a good thing but he also kind of acknowledged that like the Steelers might not know who their starting off offensive lineman are until they get to see how Troy looks this week which is interesting because you know they've been kind of been really solidified about who their offensive line would be all summer you look at brck Jones how he hasn't played well in the preseason he's been dealing with injury Troy falano has been dealing with injury Isaac seam Malu is now hurt with Spencer Anderson you know filling in for him at left guard now granted as Mike tman said Seal's injury not nearly as bad as as as thought it it's even more of a week- to week situation so he could be back in three games maybe four games but um looking at this at this situation what do you think is the outlook for the Steelers is brck Jones and Dan Moore definitely going to be are they going to definitely be the starting offensive tackles do you think Troy fanu has a shot to kind of crack starting lineup this week no here's what I think is gonna happen in Atlanta I think it'll be Spencer Anderson at left guard Dan Moore at left tackle and bro Rick Jones at right tackle um you know Troy uh Troy fanu was limited in the bonus day on Monday he went out there and and did a little bit of IND idual work but he did not do team workor so um I I think it would be um a little bit uh out of character for Mike Tomlin just to give Troy fot tanu Wednesday Thursday Friday after missing three and a half weeks to boot to get ready for his first NFL start now Chris you could look at Isaac Seal's injury and yeah I mean Troy fanu can dress if he's healthy enough because you you need bodies on Sunday they'll probably dress eight offensive linemen so I do think if Troy proves this week that you know he is good enough to to to play that he he'll be a backup but I don't see them starting him this week I think what we're all looking forward to is when he is when he gets his feetback on the ground and he's ready to go back in that then it becomes okay does brck sit down or does Dan Moore sit down that that's the question that has to be answered but for this week I don't think there's going to be a lot of intrigue I think it'll be more staying on the left and Jones staying on the right for week one I think do you think that a lot of this that that that future decision of when he is fully you know feet on the ground healthy ready to go do you think a lot of that decision is going to get determined by who plays the best in week one and maybe week two if it goes that long because Dan Moore was definitely the best tackle throughout preseason granted he's the most polished he's the most experienced uh but brck Jones didn't have a good strong performance but let's say brck Jones comes back his arm is healthy he's not he's not afraid to throw punches and he he looks good you know is is this going to be something that's determined by just simply how these two play in in this first game yeah I mean usually Chris things like this tend to work out on their own so um you know we'll see how danam Moore plays in week one Falcons are are fairly talented um on the outside you know he'll have his hands full bro Rick Jones will have his hands full and I I think one of those guys will will rise to the top and maybe it'll be clear by by Sunday at 5:00 you know who who who it will be who's who's going to to the bench and who's going to stay in the lineup um you know maybe they both play well maybe you know maybe this goes into a second week here maybe Troy isn't where we think he is so a lot can happen between now and Denver but um you know the one thing you said was yeah Dan Moore has the most experience I think Troy fanu is the most polished offensive lineman I thought than Isaac sealo on this football team so interesting yeah I I think he's his technique is is is really good there's a there's a reason they elevated him to to be a starter so I I think um yeah there's some things to clean up from that Texans game but um once he's ready I think he's GNA be one of the best offensive lineman if not the best offensive lineman on this football team I think that's that's something that we've talked about a lot uh from just seeing him in training camp the Steelers feel like he he is he is that polished guy there and listen this this team needs polished guys on the offensive line they need to fit the guys that can realize their their their potential sooner rather than later uh to kind of get where they want to go Arthur Smith has talked about you know all off season leading up to this Andy widle has talked about mik Tom they want to be a physical football team but to be a physical football team you have to be good up front and it's not just simply about just power and and dominance it's about technique it's about you know making sure your feet are in the right place your hands are in the right place your your pads are are low enough to to to to be be able to win those leverage battles I think the guys like Zack Frasier Zack Frasier has shown you know steady Improvement he's shown that I think that he's ready to go for for for week one uh but brck Jones He struggled at that and that's a guy who last year I thought was in a was in a really good trajectory for setting up for this year and granted again he's been dealing with injuries he had an elal injury that you know it looks like and we've broken down film here at the Pittsburgh Post Caz that where his his his punching power seems to be reduced or non-existent uh since since then injury but they need this offensive line to be better I do think that Arthur Smith and the Steelers the way their offense is constructed right now they can buy time they don't need this offensive line to be dominant right away to be able to win football games but to be a very good offense and a very good team that you're efficient offense they need this offensive line to figure it out and for guys to be put in their positions and it makes me wonder you know are they misplaying how they're using these tackles because you drafted brck Jones he played left tackle in college he's been playing all right tackle they drafted Detroit F he's been playing left tackle all college he's they want him at right tackle and you're doing this for a fourth round pick in Dan Moore Jr who a lot of people said was one of the worst starting tackles in the League last year now again Dan Moors played well in this preseason but it just seems like there's a lot of questions and there isn't a clear picture of what will be this the the the offensive line that this team wants to pull out and how it wants to look once everything's all said and done yeah if fans want to know the number one key for the Steelers to win this game in Atlanta it's the running game and I'll tell you why why have the Steelers always wanted to replace Dan Moore it's his issues in pass protection okay brck Jones on the right side why was everybody up in arms about his Play It's because he was a Turn Style in pass protection so if the Steelers cannot run the ball in Atlanta you know if we see another game where they have 17 rushes for 42 yards like they put on film for the first half of last season they're going to lose Chris because you don't want to put Russell Wilson um in a situation where he's having the pass on second and third and long not behind this offensive line as his currently construction now hey maybe when br's on the left side and Troy's on the right side and those guys those guys are are comfortable in their new spots then yeah it's probably going to be a little bit better from from a pass Pro standpoint but um you know just what I know about Dan Moore and just what I've seen from brck here this summer um I don't want those guys dropping back having the pass protect 40 45 times in this game and if they do I'm telling you right now it's a losing recipe yeah yeah certainly I think it's this team was built on that and if they don't don't actually become that it will it will be a problem and look Russell Wilson I think can be a good quarterback still in the NFL but they're put they put him in a balance an offense is need going to be balanced with the Run they've made this offense about niji Harris and Jaylen war and cordello Patterson using play action to set up off that if you can't run the ball in the first place it's a big piece of the foundation that's non-existent which is why we are talking so much about the offensive line of the Steelers and how it needs to shape up moving forward but we will keep you address keep you um up to date with all of that here at the Pittsburgh Post cazette Chris Carter and Ray fadoo all week long it's got we still got we still got several days before the Steelers play the Falcons in Atlanta for week one but there's practice we get to see injury reports we'll see that that the first injury official injury report today where we get to see how guys are practicing how active is a guy like Troy Fano also Roman Wilson who was said to be back sooner sooner rather than later how much will he factor into the Steelers plans considering he's missed basically all of training camp and preseason we'll keep you covered with all of that at the Pittsburgh Post Gazette and here on the Northshore Drive podcast Chris Carter ra at Apo thanks again for tuning in everyone remember you can find the show on your favorite podcasting apps and on YouTube like this video if you enjoy it subscribe to this channel to get all of our Monday Wednesday Friday episodes as well as the daily content that comes out from all of our writers here at the Pittsburgh Post Gazette from Chris Carter and Ray we'll see you here Friday on the Northshore Drive podcast thank you for tuning in to another episode of the Northshore Drive podcast from the Pittsburgh Post cazette if you watch this video on YouTube please like the video and subscribe to our channel for all the sports coverage from the Post Gazette that we have to offer visit postgazette.com [Music]