Another NT Possibility

The Steelers have groomed Steve McClendon to take over for Casey Hampton at NT.  McClendon is the guy they’d like to have at NT in 2013, but he’s a restricted free agent.  Today the Steelers made their RFA tender on him and went at the lowest level.  This means that other teams can sign him to an offer sheet, but won’t have to give up any compensation if the Steelers don’t match the offer. There was speculation that the Steelers would place a 2nd or 3rd round tender on him.

The Eagles should consider McClendon a target.  He is a young, ascending player.  He’s listed at 6-4, 280, but isn’t.  At his Pro Day in 2009 he was just under 6-2 and weighed 305 pounds.  He had bulked up to get to 305 so maybe he weighs 290 or 295.  He’s not 6-4.

Generally there is very little RFA movement in the NFL, but some have speculated that could change this year. Teams like the Steelers are against the cap and had to use low tenders.  There is no reason not to make an offer on McClendon.  He’ll only cost money, just like UFAs.

(h/t to @eaglesnut for finding the tender info)

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5 Responses to Another NT Possibility

  1. Norman says:

    Love the new spot Tommy. I imagine it will be quite a time sink. Hope you get much traffic and ad revenue.

    An idea for the blog, elaborate on why a team would tender a guy at a lower level and what kind of value usually equates to in terms of typically trading and then a long term contract.

    • deg0ey says:

      Teams have three options with regard to tendering RFAs and they each come with a different monetary commitment. They can put a first round tender on a player which means they have to offer a 1 year contract of a pre-defined value (this year it’s $2.7m) to the player. In exchange, the team have the right to match any contract offer from another team and, if they choose not to, the team who signs him away has to give up their first round pick in compensation.

      The next option is a second round tender, which costs less money ($1.9m) but only gets a 2nd rounder back if they don’t match his contract.

      The final option is the cheapest ($1.3m) but only returns a pick equivalent to the round the player was initially drafted in (maximum of a second rounder) if the team chooses not to match a higher contract offer.

      In this example, the Steelers are having issues with the cap (as evidenced by the fact they just had to cut James Harrison) so they went with the cheapest option for McClendon because they couldn’t afford either of the other tenders. This means that they have the right to match any contract he may get offered from another team (except they won’t be able to afford to) and if they can’t/won’t then they would get a pick equivalent to the round McClendon was drafted in. Since he was a UDFA, they don’t get any compensation at all.

  2. Thanks for writing this information on your website.

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