Steelers Insider Ed Bouchette Previews Offseason Moves
PITTSBURGH (93-7 The FAN) - Steelers Insider Ed Bouchette joined Starkey, Miller and Mueller with Andrew Fillipponi filling in to take a look at some of the moves the Steelers might be forced to make during the offseason in order to keep some of their more productive players.
One of the biggest decisions that will have to be made will be in regard to LaMarr Woodley's future with the team, and Ed said there's no clear answer right now as to what they'll do.
"I don't know what they're thinking," Bouchette told the guys. "I know what some people are thinking, I have no idea what Mike Tomlin is thinking. There may be a real big debate on LaMarr. I know Tomlin has always been in his corner."
With Bears' quarterback Jay Cutler signing a seven-year deal today worth $54 million in guaranteed money and almost $18 million yearly, Bouchette talked about what negotiations between the Steelers and Ben Roethlisberger could look like as the franchise quarterback is at the point in his deal where the Steelers typically like to enter negotiations.
"I would think $20 (million per year)," Bouchette said. "He has two years to go on his contract, and the Steelers have always, when I say always, there's not a long history of this. They started it with Kordell Stewart, they didn't do it with Neil O'Donnell and they lost him...so they can just say, 'Ben, we're going to wait a year, our cap situation is pretty bad and we want you hear, we're going to wait a year,' and he's still under contract through 2015."
Bouchette also talked about who will be the backup running back to Le'Veon Bell next year, the team's opinion of Jonathan Dwyer and a whole list of players who will and won't be brought back next year.
