Hines Ward. Plaxico Burress. Santonio Holmes. Mike Wallace. Emmanuel Sanders. Antonio Brown.
The list of talented receivers drafted and developed by the Pittsburgh Steelers in the recent past is impressive to say the least.
During their turn at the helm, Steelers GM Kevin Colbert and head coach Mike Tomlin have continued the franchise's long and storied history of successfully selecting talented receivers - and players in general - and turning them into contributing and, sometimes even, star NFL players - based on flashes from last season, perhaps Martavis Bryant can soon be added to that list as well.
Unfortunately, recent history has also shown another pattern for Colbert and Tomlin - poor salary cap management which could again cause them to lose a key free agent they otherwise may have wanted to keep.
"Last year Pittsburgh had to waive goodbye to receiver Emmanuel Sanders (who had a terrific season with the Broncos); this year it could be outside linebacker Jason Worilds," writes Greg A. Bedard of Sports Illustrated's MMQB. "Teams should be in the business of keeping their best young talent, not having to allow it to walk out the door. A year ago, the Steelers placed the transition tag on Worilds to keep him, and now they have to let him hit the market. This isn't smart business. Neither is annually restructuring contracts (Marcus Gilbert, Maurkice Pouncey and Mike Mitchell so far this year), which only pushes the cap damage down the road, meaning the Steelers will always be tight against the cap."
Burress, Holmes, Wallace and Sanders all left the Steelers during their prime NFL years for big payday's elsewhere. While the Steelers' continued winning ways despite the personnel losses is a testament to the viability of their manner of operation - and the abilities of quarterback Ben Roethlisberger - sometimes in the NFL, you're forced to pay, even if it means offering more than a player is truly worth - Brown did get an extension that'll keep him in black and gold until 2017.
Really, the fact that the team is in a salary cap crunch without having handed out bloated, long-term contracts to mercurial receiving talent is an odd and, most likely, poor sign for the future of the franchise.
Meanwhile, Wallace, one of the receivers who left the team for a major payday with the Miami Dolphins, is reportedly interested in returning to the Steelers, according to Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports.
La Canfora notes that the Dolphins are trying to trade Wallace and his outsized contract, but they have been unsuccessful to this point. It's doubtful the Steelers would have any interest in a return, though he did post 235 receptions for 4,042 yards and 32 touchdowns in four seasons with Pittsburgh.
