Colbert Has Had Success Signing Street Free Agents Early In Offseason

Pittsburgh Steelers general manager Kevin Colbert has had his share of successes when it comes to signing true unrestricted free agents during the primary signing period dating back to 2000, his first year with the organization. With that said, Colbert has also fared well as a whole when it comes to signing street free agents early on in the offseason.

Let me first define the criteria of the street free agents on this list. For starters, the player had to have been cut by his former team prior to the start of free agency. Second, the Steelers had to sign said player prior to June 1, which is when the main free agent signing period ends.

As you can see below, Colbert has had a few significant signings when it comes to street free agents and his most recent one, running back DeAngelo Williams, might now be his best to date and especially since he signed center Justin Hartwig in 2008. Hartwig, by the way, like Williams, was a Panthers castoff.

Now, a few names on the list below are players who had previously played for the Steelers and that group includes Antwaan Randle El, William Gay and Matt Spaeth. Additionally, while Jerricho Cotchery falls way outside the cutoff date of June 1, it’s important to remember that 2011 was the year of lockout.

As I recently pointed out in a post, there are already a few players who have been cut ahead of the start of the 2017 free agent signing period who might just interest the Steelers and a few of those play cornerback.