The move of rookie Dan Moore from left to right tackle this week by the Steelers at training camp was kind of expected.
It always helps to get rookie tackles -- especially ones who weren't high draft picks -- acclimated to playing both sides. And after three weeks of training camp on the left side of the line, Moore will spend the final three weeks working on the right side.
But it could resonate on down the roster in terms of future draft picks. And perhaps it wasn't coincidental that move came at the same time the team traded a sixth-round pick to the Jaguars to acquire Joe Schobert.
Here's why ...
The Steelers are currently estimated to get two compensatory picks for their free agent losses this offseason -- Bud Dupree, Matt Feiler and Mike Hilton -- measured against the players they signed in free agency who count against that formula. Who might that be? Offensive tackle Joe Haeg was the only player signed by the Steelers who fits into that category.
Haeg was signed to a two-year, $4.6-million deal that included a $1 million signing bonus.
But if Haeg isn't on the Steelers' roster, there's a good chance the Steelers could wind up with three compensatory selections since they would have no "additions" that count against the formula. And while Haeg would still count $1 million in dead money against their cap, the Steelers could decide that's worth the cost of a, say, additional sixth-round draft pick.
This is especially true considering they already traded a sixth-round pick to acquire Schobert last week. So, what they have to figure out over the next three weeks is if Moore is capable of being their swing tackle on game days. If that's the case, Haeg's value is all but gone.
And there are reasons for the team to want to not have him on the roster. Moore just might be better.
The Steelers had that happen to them a couple of years ago when linebacker L.J. Fort initially signed with the Eagles but was then released before the Week 10 deadline for players to be counted in the compensatory formula. Fort was released by the Eagles despite having been a core special teams player to that point, and the Steelers lost a comp pick, even though they no longer held the rights to the player in question.
The Steelers could open the season with Haeg on the roster if they feel Moore isn't ready yet or they just want to cover themselves in case of a rash of injuries. But Haeg doesn't figure to be on the roster over the course of the whole season. There also are play-time incentives in the comp pick formula.
It also could be a reason for Kevin Colbert freeing up some additional cash with the restructure of Stephon Tuitt earlier this week. He knows he'll need that additional cap space to eat Haeg's contract. As a vested veteran, if Haeg is on the roster in Week 1, his entire 2021 salary of $1.5 million will count against the team's cap instead of the $1 million if he's released before that.
The Steelers obviously didn't have those things in mind when they signed Haeg. But Moore's emergence has made it a possibility.
MORE STEELERS
• When the Steelers signed Dwayne Haskins to a one-year, $850,000 contract -- the league minimum -- it was a "prove-it" situation. In turn, Haskins has proven he belongs on the roster. But that doesn't mean the Steelers will need to sign him to a big money deal at the end of the season -- or any long-term contract at all. As a third-year player, Haskins will be a restricted free agent at the end of this season, meaning the Steelers can still retain his rights relatively cheaply by placing a tender on him. Haskins would still be able to negotiate with another team, but the Steelers would receive compensation based on the tender they place on him. A first-round tender would cost in the neighborhood of $4.776 million (at least that was the price in 2021). A second-round tender would be in the $3.384 million range. Or, the Steelers could simply place an original-round tender on Haskins -- though since he was signed as a street free agent, they would not recoup a pick if he's signed elsewhere. It would seem likely the Steelers would place at least a second-round tender on Haskins and perhaps roll the dice he wouldn't get an offer they wouldn't want to match. And if they did choose not to match it, acquiring a second-round pick for Haskins wouldn't be the worst thing in the world. This is why the move made sense for the Steelers all along. It was like finding a $20 bill in your pocket you didn't know was there. -- Lolley
• Typically, when NFL officials visit team training camps, they'll hold a mini-press conference to go over the points of emphasis on things the league wants to crack down on during the season. Offensive holding was not among those things according to Mike Tomlin, but that doesn't mean the Steelers aren't prepared for more holding penalties to be called this season after the league saw a historic drop in holding calls a year ago. There were 477 holding penalties called in 2020, a massive dip from the 732 called during the 2019 season. And it wasn't because offensive players suddenly played the game more cleanly. So, even though it's not a point of emphasis, Tomlin feels there will likely be an adjustment. Perhaps that led to the five total holding penalties called in last week's preseason win by the Steelers over the Eagles. "It hadn’t been identified as a point of emphasis, but obviously we all look at numbers, they all look at numbers, and I’d imagine there was some messaging involved in that, certainly," Tomlin said. You might think that Tomlin, with a team breaking in essentially a whole new offensive line, might not like that. But given that the Steelers have one of the top pass rushes in the NFL, the defensive players -- particularly T.J. Watt -- would appreciate seeing more holds called. -- Lolley
PIRATES
• There was a notable baseball figure at all three games for the Pirates’ series in Los Angeles this week: Scott Boras. Wednesday, the game’s most infamous agent struck up a brief conversation with Ke’Bryan Hayes. There’s a reason why: Boras is recruiting Hayes, trying to get him to change agencies. There’s no guarantee it will happen, but Boras tends to get what he wants. To speculate on how this impacts Hayes’ future with the Pirates, Hayes and his agency have discussed a long-term extension the last two spring trainings, and while nothing came from those talks, both sides left on good terms and open to try again later. Boras honors his players’ wishes if they want a long-term extension, but Hayes switching agencies would probably hurt the odds the Pirates lock him up to a long-term deal in the coming seasons. -- Alex Stumpf in Los Angeles
• Hayes did something in Los Angeles he hadn’t done all year: A non-ground ball base hit to left field. Hayes has a batting approach to drive the ball to center or right field, but it has created a major hole in his swing. He can’t drive balls to his pull side, which explains his only OK year at the plate. He’s addressing it, and thinks he’s on the right path. “I’m feeling a little better,” Hayes told me at Dodger Stadium. “Still not where I want to be. I’m swinging at pitches I shouldn’t be swinging at.” And for those wondering about the wrist injury he had back in April and May, he says it’s not effecting his swing. However, those injuries tend to linger longer than just an IL stint. -- Stumpf in Los Angeles
• The Pirates had plenty of relievers on the trade block this past deadline, and ended up dealing three: Richard Rodríguez, Clay Holmes and Austin Davis. As the deadline neared, there were some reports that David Bednar was available. Turns out, it was like how Bryan Reynolds was technically available. Ben Cherington was willing to listen, but not actively trying to trade him. The asking price was, presumably, sky high for a young late-inning reliever with five additional years of control. The Pirates are in no rush to trade someone who could be their closer of the future. -- Stumpf in Los Angeles
PENGUINS
• The Penguins did it right a few years ago, when they named the press box at PPG Paints Arena in honor Mike Lange. Not only because it was a richly deserved tribute to Lange's decades of world-class broadcasting, but because they didn't wait to do it posthumously; every time Lange exits the elevator on the seventh floor of the arena -- and he figures to still do that occasionally, even though he's stepped down from his play-by-play duties -- he is reminded of just how much he has meant to the franchise, and to hockey in this region. But even that seems inadequate to recognize Lange's contributions. He deserves a banner, just like the ones honoring Michel Briere and Mario Lemieux (and to be joined in the future by those recognizing Jaromir Jagr, Sidney Crosby and probably a few others). Retiring a microphone isn't the same as retiring a number, and the Penguins' standard for taking a number out of circulation, reserving it for only the greatest of the great, is commendable. But Lange's impact on the Penguins far surpasses that of anyone else who hasn't been directly involved with the on-ice product and deserves to be recognized for as long as the franchise is in operation. A banner would do that long after the arena press box has been renovated or replaced. -- Dave Molinari
• It's no secret the Penguins have had some extraordinary young players enter the NHL through their organization -- guys like Lemieux and Jagr, Crosby and Evgeni Malkin, among others -- over the years, but the team has done a pretty impressive job of turning out young executives during the past decade or so, too. GMs Bill Guerin (Minnesota) and Tom Fitzgerald (New Jersey) have earned lavish praise for their work in rebuilding the teams they inherited and Jason Botterill, despite being harshly criticized for some of the decisions he made during a three-year run as GM in Buffalo, has established himself as an integral member of Ron Francis' management team in Seattle. Coincidentally enough, all three were touted as possible successors to Jim Rutherford during the time as assistant/associate GM here, but all had moved on before Rutherford's surprise resignation in January. -- Molinari
• Ben Lovejoy, a member of the Penguins' Cup-winning team in 2016, was an unfailingly upbeat, smiling presence in their locker room during both of his stints here. He, like most players, could find a way to put a positive spin on the most discouraging of developments, whether it was a lopsided defeat or an injury to a key teammate. That's why it was surprising when Lovejoy recently volunteered the games that made the deepest impression on him were the ones that did not go well, whether for him or for the team. "Most of my most vivid memories of games are negative," he said. "Those are the ones that stick out. A gutting loss for our team or some game that I made a huge mistake and let the team and the city and my teammates down." -- Molinari