Ben Roethlisberger was devastated when Heath Miller retired a little over a year ago. His safety blanket for over a decade was gone, but general manager Kevin Colbert went out and signed the young, athletic tight end Ladarius Green to fill the opening and hopefully solve the issue.
Mission failed.
Ladarius Green suited up in the black and gold a mere six times due to a variety of injuries. After he failed a physical earlier this year, the Steelers cut him loose. Now, chapter two of the post-Heath era begins.
Enter Vance McDonald
McDonald comes to the Steel City via a trade from the San Francisco 49ers just 8 months removed from signing a three-year, $19.7 million dollar deal. There is potential for that deal to be worth $35 million if the fourth and fifth-year options are picked up by the Steelers. The cap-hit is modest for a starting tight end, as this year it will count as $4.165 million, then $6.0 million in 2018 and $6.5 million in 2019. The fourth-year team option would count as $7.8 million in 2020 and $6.4 million in 2021.
They gave up a fourth-round pick, but Colbert got San Francisco to throw a fifth-round selection right back.
We haven't even gotten to the good part yet.
If Vance McDonald follows a similar path as Ladarius Green, the Steelers can cut him at any time and not owe him anything more.
The ability to drop McDonald is a safety net for the Steelers so they don't make the same mistake as last season, as they still had to pay Green several million dollars. As a Super Bowl contender, the Steelers need every dollar available, and they have several young talented players looking for extensions that are vital to sign in Stephon Tuitt and Ryan Shazier. This trade, combined with Big Ben's possible retirement looming, reiterate to the world that Pittsburgh is all in to win the Lombardi Trophy in 2017. They aren't worried about paying Tuitt next year and saving space; they are closing any holes they can right now.
A Deeper Look at McDonald
Vance McDonald isn't the next Rob Gronkowski. He was a 27 year-old former 2nd-round pick playing for a team in rebuild mode with lots of tight-end depth, making him expendable. That doesn't mean he lacks talent, however. Despite the Niners finishing with a horrendous 2-14 record in 2016, McDonald managed to rack up almost 400 receiving yards in just 11 games and four touchdowns. He's also known around the league as a very capable blocking tight-end.
Before acquiring McDonald, the Steelers had three depth tight-ends but no legitimate starters. David Johnson could block extremely well, but he wasn't a big enough threat in the passing game. Xavier Grimble showed flashes of athleticism and could get by blocking, but he lacked consistency. Jesse James showed capable receiving skills, but in his first two seasons and especially this training camp, he has lacked the ability to block against top-tier rushers. By acquiring McDonald, the Steelers have a capable starting tight end that checks all of the boxes.
Colbert and his team were able to tie-up the only loose knot in this offense. With a stacked offensive line returning entirely intact, an already deadly receiver core adding Martavis Bryant and Juju Smith-Schuster, arguably the best running back in the NFL in Le'Veon Bell, and the drafting of an extremely capable backup in James Conner in addition to signing veteran Knile Davis, Colbert assured that there is no position of weakness across this potent offense.
Oh, and he only has an elite two-time Super Bowl winning quarterback in Roethlisberger.
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