SteelerWatch

The Steelers didn’t have to deal with another team’s Right of First Refusal this time like they did with punter Andy Lee and the 49ers, and they wound up adding to an offensive line that was suddenly in disarray after years of stability and superb play.

Sean Mahan, formerly a starter for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at left guard, signed a deal that is, as best as I can tell, worth about $17.5 million and puts him in black and gold until 2011. His versatility will certainly serve to shake things up even more on the line, potentially making it a three-way battle for the center position with heir-apparent Chukky Okobi and Kendall I-snapped-a-little-in-preseason Simmons. Simmons is the one feeling the biggest squeeze, because he will potentially be battling for both the center and right guard positions, as his play in 2006 did anything but guarantee him a spot in the 2007 starting lineup.

To make matters even stranger, Mahan could possibly be considered for right tackle as well, where Max Starks either needs to be benched or to have someone light a fire under his rear. Last season Kendall Simmons was bad. But Max Starks usually made Simmons look like an All-Pro.

How do you tell a team is strapped for cap room? When they wait almost a week to bring in their first unrestricted prospect, and when the first four of them are Floyd Womack, Alex Bannister, Colby Bockwoldt and Sean Mahan.

In their defense, the Steelers are looking primarily for depth, with virtually no turnover among the starters from last season. The only 2006 starters no longer with the team are center Jeff Hartings (retired) and linebacker Joey Porter (free agent, signed with Miami), and only about five of the other positions are likely to be unsettled before the end of training camp.

The players they are looking at aren’t exactly the sort of guys you build your team around, but wile the names might not be that big, the possibilities are intriguing.

Womack and Mahan are both left guards, and both were 2006 starters. Both are versatile enough to be moved to other positions on the line with little adjustment, which is a good thing because the team has a nearly guaranteed starter at left guard with Alan Faneca. However, the team is looking to upgrade at right guard after Kendall Simmons struggled at times early in 2006, and either player would be an upgrade at right tackle as well, where Captain Erratic (Max Starks) often was a liability rather than an asset. Starks, a restricted free agent, was offered a tender that will require any team that signs him to give their first round pick to Pittsburgh. Teams looking for a perrenial All Pro at right tackle aren’t likely to look toward Starks, but a team that is desperate for a young, powerful player with NFL experience to immediately step into the starting lineup could be willing to make such a deal. Think Arizona Cardinals, Houston Texans or Oakland Raiders. If nothing else, Starks could become trade bait once training camp begins.

The 6-foot, 5-inch Bannister could give the Steelers some altitude at wide receiver, where Nate Washington currently is the king of height at a relatively meager 6-feet, 1 inch. He has very limited experience on offense, though, with a total of nine catches in four career starts since 2001. However, he made the Pro Bowl in 2003 on special teams, and could serve as a replacement for Sean Morey if he isn’t re-signed.

The most intriguing visitor, however, is Bockwoldt. In a city known as the NFL’s Linebacker Factory, history has told us that if you aren’t at least 250 pounds, you aren’t a Steeler linebacker. Bockwoldt tips the scales at a comparitively featherlike 237 pounds, and comes from a 4-3 defense. If the Steelers sign him, look for more moves to be made in the draft to transition the team further away from its traditional 3-4 defense, something that sports pundits across the nation have speculated since Mike Tomlin was named the head coach.

Expect more visits in the coming weeks from players you’ve likely never heard of. The Steelers are traditionally quiet in free agency compared to other teams, and given the tight salaray cap situation and next year’s impending exodus of free-agents-to-be, they need to act fast if they want to build the depth that will be necessary to prevent a dramatic slide to the bottom of the league.

During Bill Cowher’s tenure in Pittsburgh, the Steelers had a long list of linebackers who had a bit of a bad-boy image: Levon Kirkland, Jason Gildon, Kendrell Bell, Joey Porter. Friday ended with the release of Porter, and now the group has a more anonymous, preachers’ kids feel.

Sure, Clark Haggans has a nasty streak in him, and Larry Foote has his post-sack Stomp dance, but there’s just no one left to fear.

I don’t want to spoil the linebacker capsule in the Before the Draft series (defensive coverage begins Monday), so I won’t go too much into detail, but Mike Tomlin needs to make one of his top priorities finding a linebacker who other teams will fear. The blue-collar work ethic in Pittsburgh is vital, but losing Porter meant losing the team’s pulse. That’s not to say I never figured this would happen, or even to say that I didn’t think it was actually the right move, but the locker room just isn’t going to be the same unless someone vocal steps up to lead. Maybe it’s Anthony Smith, the high-stepping, receiver-taunting safety who held the ball up to his ear to make sure everyone chasing after him saw him heading to the end zone for six points. Cowher put the kibosh on that sort of attitude, at least with everyone but Porter. And it was because he let Porter be his ornery, vocal self that this defense had the swagger and attitude of an unstoppable force, even when they were down on their luck,

I dread thinking where Porter may end up. The Ravens released their top linebacker in a salary cap move; maybe Porter takes a pay cut to avenge his release. Unlikely, because he likes his money. But there’s a chance.

I expect to see him on San Francisco, more likely. Or, perhaps, in Philadelphia. I shudder to think that, but they have cap room and could move him to defensive end in their 4-3 defense. Or, he could follow so many other Steelers to New England.

I knew it would be a sad day to see Joey in another team’s colors. While I felt it was the right move to make, part of me wishes it didn’t have to come to this. It’s that part that’s afraid that there’s no longer a bad boy in Pittsburgh to be feared.