The Pittsburgh Steelers have a big offseason ahead of them as the AFC North champs try to re-tool before the 2021 season. On Thursday, the organization made a move to bolster a depleted offensive line.
According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, the Steelers signed center J.C. Hassenauer to a one-year deal, keeping the 25-year-old in Pittsburgh for a third consecutive season. The former Alabama product made four starts for the Steelers in 2020.
Prior to landing back in the NFL with the Steelers, Hassenauer played eight games in 2019 for the Birmingham Iron in the Alliance of American Football. He began his career professionally with the Atlanta Falcons as a un-drafted free agent with the Atlanta Falcons in 2018.
Signing a young center like Hassenauer isn’t surprising for the Steelers who needed to replace three-time All-Pro Maurkice Pouncey. The 31-year-old and his twin brother, Mike, both announced their retirements this offseason after 10-year careers in the NFL.
Steelers sign center J.C. Hassenauer, an exclusive rights free agent, to a one-year deal, per source.
— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) March 4, 2021
Given his lack of experience in the NFL, Hassenauer isn’t a signing that will instill confidence in Steelers fans. However, it might be the best that Pittsburgh can do with shrinking cap space and other position needs to address.
The Steelers did make major progress on their offseason checklist earlier on Thursday. Pittsburgh announced that Ben Roethlisberger would return as the team’s quarterback after reaching a compromise. The recently-turned 39-year-old agreed to reduce his salary from $19 to $14 million for the 2021 season, helping the Steelers gain some much-needed cap space. The negotiated deal is expected to free up an additional $15 million for the franchise to work with this offseason.
Roethlisberger threw for 3,803 passing yards and 33 touchdown passes in 2020, but due to nagging injuries on both sides of the ball, the Steelers fell out of the playoffs prematurely. Now the veteran quarterback will need to get used to a new center as he tries to bring Pittsburgh back to the postseason next fall.
The post Steelers Reportedly Make Decision On Center J.C. Hassenauer appeared first on The Spun.
Leave a Reply