Last in our Pittsburgh Steelers' free agent watch is outside linebacker Jason Worilds.
2014 pay: Worilds made $9.754 million after signing the one-year contract that came with the transition tag he signed last March.
By the numbers: Worilds started every game in 2014 for the first time in his career, and the 2010 second-round draft pick tied defensive end Cameron Heyward for the team lead with 7 1/2 sacks. He finished second on the Steelers with 18 quarterback pressures and led the team with two fumble recoveries.
The case for keeping him: Worilds’ 15 1/2 sacks over the last two seasons leads the Steelers and the 6-foot-2, 262-pounder is also solid against the run. The fifth-year veteran did not become a full-time starter at left outside linebacker until midway through 2013, and general manager Kevin Colbert has said Worilds is “an ascending player.” Pass rushers are a coveted commodity and the Steelers need as many as they can get after recording just 33 sacks last season, their lowest total since 1989.
The case for letting him walk: The Steelers would have had to offer Worilds a one-year contract worth just over $11.7 million had they used the transition tag on him for the second year in a row. They will let the open market set his value, and all it takes is for one team to overpay in free agency. Worilds has developed into a solid player after getting a chance to start regularly but did not emerge as a game-changer in 2014. The Steelers aren’t going to pay Worilds in excess of $9 million a season, and this is the contract with which he should be seeking a big pay day and a multi-year deal.
Prediction: The Steelers will double back on Worilds if they are unable to land an outside linebacker in free agency and if the market is soft for Worilds, driving down his value. That isn’t going to happen with a pass rusher who is still young -- Worilds just turned 27 -- and has produced. Worilds will not be back in 2015.
