Kovacevic: Why keeping Foster matters

So, the Steelers are finally getting rid of that guy?

Good.

But where's it ordained that they have to get rid of this guy:

I'm told by a highly reliable source within the organization that the team plans to make at least one outreach to keep Ramon Foster from leaving through free agency. This probably would have to happen before Monday, when other NFL teams can begin making contact with pending free agents.

That said, it probably won't happen. Which is a shame.

That's not to cut down B.J. Finney. He's 27 years old, six years younger than Foster, and he's filled in more than admirably over 43 NFL games, including nine starts. There's a reason Mike Tomlin, Mike Munchak, Ben Roethlisberger and his linemates have loved him, and there's a reason management yesterday attached a second-round tender to him, meaning he'll cost $3.095 million in 2019.

But there's also plenty to be spoken for continuity. And that's doubly true of the offensive line.

Finney might make a fine starting left guard in the NFL. And Matt Feiler might make a fine backup at multiple positions. And Chuks Okorafor might keep growing into a fine tackle. And Marcus Gilbert, who now pretty much must be retained at right tackle, might stay healthy.

There already will be mights aplenty on this offense upon losing Antonio Brown, regardless of the trade return, and that's not something I need to spell out for anyone. The very last thing the Steelers should want is to risk the weakening of a controllable strength. Foster won't work for free, but I know for a fact that he, Roethlisberger and Maurkice Pouncey have all been pushing behind the scenes to bring him back. That strongly suggests to me that Foster could be had at a reasonable rate.

Show me an offense that loses a superstar wide receiver, and I'll show you a team that needs to go get a wide receiver.

Show me a team that loses something special on the line, and I'll show you a franchise quarterback lying on his back.

At least think about it. Trust me, it's not too late.

• Anyone who thinks Roethlisberger and Pouncey aren't leaders on the offense is dead wrong. And anyone who states it for public consumption is either being willfully disingenuous to jump on the national hype train, or they flat-out don't know.

• I've been writing for weeks that the Steelers would get a first-rounder for AB, to countless scoffs. Now, it's clear they will.

And they might do even better.

This is flagrant conjecture, but let's suppose the first-rounder is one of the three the Raiders currently hold. They've been my target all along, and I'm sticking to that. Well, let's also suppose Kevin Colbert already knows the Raiders are willing to part with the 27th overall pick, the lowest of their three, but would rather stall to see if anyone else might step up.

Know what I'd do?

Set an artificial deadline. Like, oh, Friday. That cranks up the heat on all concerned, while also not leaving Oakland management to twist in the wind. And if it means the Raiders or other teams see fit to sweeten the pot in the interim, so be it.

• If all of this activity seems unusual for the Steelers, that's because it centers on the activity of a crazy person. All of this does. Never forget that.

• Some people claim not to be hearing or reading what AB's been spouting off lately. I'm actually practicing that. Couldn't care less. His credibility's been blown to bits, maybe more than any athlete I've ever covered.

• It's easy to pinpoint inside linebacker as the Steelers' greatest overall need. But that need can -- and probably should -- have safety being equally considered, given the modern NFL defensive structure. The days of the Lawrence Timmons/Hardy Nickerson fill-the-middle monster are gone. It's about covering first, tackling second.

• Much more on Steelers from Dale Lolley and me on today's Morning Java:

• Accompanying the Penguins' simplified 'mindset' to their strategy, as Nick Bjugstad was describing it for me this week, is an equally simple focus to their broader approach.

"It's just about taking points," as Jack Johnson was telling me. "Every night, every game, the opponent doesn't matter, the out-of-town scoreboard doesn't matter ... if we just take our points, everything else takes care of itself."

Same goes for Columbus, believe it or not, including these games tonight and Saturday. After the Penguins' OT victory over the Panthers a couple nights back, just for fun, I asked a handful of guys if they'd paid attention at all to the Blue Jackets' outcome that night in Newark. I wasn't surprised they hadn't, naturally, since they were playing their own. But I was surprised they didn't follow up -- not one of them -- by even asking what had happened.

That's healthy. They're talented and tough enough to take that tack.

• Matt Murray needs to start both Columbus games. Save Casey DeSmith for Sunday vs. the Bruins, the second of back-to-backs.

• The NHL's general managers met this week in Boca Raton, Fla., and, among their discussions about possible rule changes, only two minor concepts were raised:

1. The team awarded a power play could pick its preferred circle for the first faceoff. This actually could have come into play Tuesday night, for example, when the Penguins' first draw after a Florida penalty came in the right circle, and Sidney Crosby was beaten cleanly. Under the new rule, Mike Sullivan surely would have chosen the left.

2. Any player losing a helmet during play would necessitate an immediate whistle. Which is worth mentioning only so I can once again run this awesome Canadian Press photo we licensed the other night from Montreal, when Juuso Riikola lost his lid in the second period and kept right on playing:

You're welcome.

• Please don't include the Maple Leafs on any list of Cup contenders without an addendum explaining how Frederik Andersson might be part of any such endeavor. This was late last night in Vancouver, all in the third period or overtime:

The goal that completed the #Canucks comeback, in @EASportsNHL OT. ?? pic.twitter.com/BV2iHiBn2u

— Vancouver Canucks (@Canucks) March 7, 2019

• Remember all the angst across Major League Baseball that Manny Machado and Bryce Harper somehow didn't get snapped up right away this winter?

I wrote then and will reiterate now: Eventually, they would. And they'd get everything they and their agents wanted, possibly more. And they did, Machado getting $300 million over 10 years from the Padres, and Harper just now getting $330 million over 13 years, from the Phillies.

The market didn't change. Because the market, in this context, is always defined by how much one team -- just one -- is willing to pay for a certain talent. How quickly that occurs is beyond irrelevant.

• Not to be taken seriously: Had the Pirates signed either Machado or Harper, their payroll would be in the range of $100 million, still the lowest in the National League Central, still lower than what it was just a year ago.

• A couple weeks ago in Bradenton, I asked Francisco Liriano how he might fit in the Pirates' bullpen after years of starting:

I share this primarily to pose this question for readers, if only because I'm certain I don't have the answer myself: Where is pitching headed in this game?

Starters aren't going deep, relievers have been reduced to one-out specialists, and suddenly there's unprecedented blowback about the latter. League executives are openly discussing the possibility of three-batter minimums, roster limitations and other ways to stem the interminable rise of strikeouts:

Let's hear from you below!