While the Steelers look into the crazy NFL free agency market, they know Lawrence Timmons is an option who could be a perfect fit. Plenty of teams are spending big to rebuild their rosters, while Kevin Colbert and Mike Tomlin know they only need to grab one or two pieces to make it out of the spring with the necessary additions to contend again.
As we continue to see free agents fly off to new homes with huge contracts, the reminder that the Steelers can't be big spenders this year becomes more apparent. Anthony Hitchens set the market for inside linebackers when he signed with the Chiefs for a deal that's estimated to give him over $9 million per year. The top inside linebackers like Avery Williamson and Navarro Bowman can expect similar types of deals, deals which the Steelers don't have much room to make.
As it stands, the Steelers can expect to have around $8 million in cap space after they release Mike Mitchell and William Gay, so if they want to be able to sign an inside linebacker and still have some wiggle room, they'll need one of the guys lower on the board of available free agents.
Knowing the Steelers like to get players whom they can see fitting into their system, it only makes sense that they would consider bringing back Tomlin's first-ever draft pick in Timmons, who just got cut from the Dolphins.
But Timmons is 31 and will be 32 by the time the 2018 season kicks off, so after a full year away from the Steelers, it is reasonable to ask whether he still has enough in the tank to be valuable to what the Steelers need as an inside linebacker.
We consider that question in Carter's Classroom:
Of course, one of the biggest questions that I had about Timmons was how he moved out in space. As an inside linebacker, the Steelers need the kind of player who can flag down running backs in space to prevent big plays in the passing game with screens and delayed routes. As a 4-3 outside linebacker for the Dolphins, Timmons often found himself doing just that, and he didn't do a bad job.
One game that stood out to me in particular was his seven-tackle performance against the Titans early in the season. Most of his tackles against the Titans came in covering the short passing game of Marcus Mariota. What impressed me was how well he moved laterally across the field, like he hadn't lost too many steps.
Watch him chase down DeMarco Murray in space from playing in the dead middle of the field. Timmons sat in a zone and as soon as he recognized that Murray was the target, he broke in direct pursuit to cut off Murray from the sideline. That's not just athleticism, but veteran wiles that got him to run and break down into a good defensive stance that cut off the sideline. He ultimately made a solid tackle in space:
These kind of plays are what the Steelers would expect of their inside linebackers. Often times when they're not rushing the passer, they have to be the ones who stick with the running backs and their underneath routes. Timmons showed that he was still proficient at that aspect of coverage in 2017.
The other aspect of Timmons' game that was still on point, and definitely missed by the Steelers, was his gap integrity in the run game. Timmons was always solid for being able to attack a wide gap and being disciplined enough to not be the leak point for a running back to scamper free into the secondary.
Watch how he did just that against the Ravens when he tackled Alex Collins in a considerably large hole. Timmons attacks with a wide base from seven yards off the ball and gets there quickly enough to stop Collins for no gain:
Timmons is still explosive and physical enough to bring down good backs in the hole. That's the kind of stopping power the Steelers were missing when Collins gained 166 all-purpose yards and a touchdown against them. It took Timmons a few years learning in the Steelers' system to become as consistent as he became, and for a while he was a pillar of the defense.
But while Collins is a decent running back, going up against elite backs is another story.
In 2016 the Steelers started to see the impact of Timmons' age. In key situations, he was a step slower than he was in his prime. Here's a key 3rd-and-1 situation in which the Steelers knew the Cowboys were going to their star rookie, Ezekiel Elliott, to run for the first down. Timmons works behind Ryan Shazier and has the responsibility, again, for a large gap against a younger and faster running back.
While Timmons did end up making a solid, fundamentally sound tackle in the hole, he wasn't quick enough to stop Elliott from converting the first down. That's the difference that youthful explosiveness can make, because a few steps quicker than the next guy can be enough to win those kinds of battles:
While that's not a problem that makes him a bad player, it is a reality of adding a 32-year-old veteran to the team. Still, Timmons knows when and where he has to be in the Steelers' system, and they saw plenty of problems with younger players who still weren't nearly as comfortable as Timmons with playing against the run in their scheme.
If the Steelers do bring back Timmons, this is how they would most likely be comfortable using him, as they groom a younger inside linebacker whom they acquire in the early rounds of the upcoming draft.
Where Timmons will struggle the most is covering the athletic tight ends and receivers deep down the field. The Dolphins thought they were getting a cover linebacker in Timmons, based on what he had done for the Steelers during his career, but saw that his proficiency was limited to underneath coverage.
Here he matched up with Phillip Supermaw, a sixth-year tight end who's a backup behind Delanie Walker, and got beat for a 11-yard fade route for a touchdown. Timmons does a good job engaging Supermaw initially by using his hands to take away any immediate pass, but he's unable to stick with the receiver down the field and ends up putting up his right arm hoping to blindly slap away the floater:
The problem with Timmons' biggest weakness for the Steelers is that his biggest liability is the team's biggest need. The team already has a decent run-stuffer in Vince Williams who can also rush the quarterback. Williams also struggles covering down the field against the pass, so bringing back Timmons wouldn't be the ultimate answer and only doubles down on the type of player they already possess.
But the bigger problem is that the Steelers still do need depth at inside linebacker as they had to go from Tyler Matakevich, to Arthur Moats, to L.J. Fort, and eventually Sean Spence for answers at the position in 2017 after Shazier's injury. None of whom would be considered adequate starters at the position.
Timmons, however, would be that adequate starter because he'll be able to stop the run and contribute to covering underneath running back receiving options. Keith Butler has already shown that he's looking for his outside linebackers to contribute in coverage more, and especially against tight ends who sit out in space.
With the increased usage of sub-package defenses and outside linebackers like T.J. Watt and Bud Dupree who drop into coverage, Butler should be able to make space for Timmons and Williams to do most of their coverage underneath against running backs and let them focus on being downhill run-stuffers. So it may make the most sense to scheme around letting the inside linebackers focus on stopping the run and primarily covering running backs instead of the more varied coverage assignments that Butler would give to Shazier.
Whichever player the Steelers do end up going after in free agency to play inside linebacker will compete with Williams and a rookie from the early rounds of this NFL draft. If it's Timmons, the team will have a player who knows their signals, how they operate, and how to stop the run in the middle of the field.
That would give the team some answers as Williams, Timmons and the rookie act as the top three options at the position and at least provide some relief should one of them fall to injury like Shazier did in 2017. While there are younger options available in this free agency group, the Steelers need a reliable player and less of a gamble to provide some insurance to an important linebacker group.
There might not be a better insurance policy than your former defensive captain who has another year or two left in him.
