Will Keeanu Benton be the next Steelers player to sign a contract extension?
After Pittsburgh signed three players to contract extensions this week, the Steelers still need to negotiate with Keeanu Benton and Joey Porter Jr.
While extending Porter is a no-brainer as their top cornerback, Benton’s case is a little fuzzier. He is a good player, but does Pittsburgh envision him in their long-term future on an elevated salary?
A second-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft, Benton is coming off his best season and normally would be in line for a contract extension. But the Steelers are already throwing money around, and Porter’s extension will be a big one. After signing Nick Herbig to a $100 million deal, Porter’s could look quite similar.
Pittsburgh drafted a defensive lineman in the first round last year in Derrick Harmon. While Cam Heyward is still here, someone will eventually have to take his place.
If the Steelers see Keeanu Benton moving there long-term, a contract extension makes a lot more sense. Even as a “nose tackle” last year, he still showed he can produce. After just one sack in each of his first two seasons, he put up 5.5 sacks last season.
But will the sheer volume of deals interfere with Benton’s quest for a contract extension? Having already extended Chris Boswell, Darnell Washington and Nick Herbig, with Joey Porter to come, how much deeper do the coffers run?
Through three seasons, Benton has recorded 123 tackles, 9 for loss, with 7.5 sacks, 3 forced fumbles, 1 interception and 9 passes defensed. His 5.5 sacks and 6 tackles for loss last season both represented career highs by a good margin.
If these are indicators of his trajectory, it would be wise to sign Benton to a contract extension now. But if he regresses to the mean, that could be a problem.
The Steelers still need to figure out what he is. Is he a nose tackle, a defensive end, or somewhere in between? How and when does he play?
He has never been a prototypical nose tackle, and in some ways, that’s been an issue. But if you already have two starting defensive ends, what do you do with him? And what kind of contract do you give him?
The Steelers have a long road ahead of them under Mike McCarthy, along with his cadre of quarterbacks.With seven consecutive postseason losses, and no wins in nearly a decade, they are under fire for their repeated playoff failures. While we have seen many changes, none could dream of topping Mike Tomlin resigning.
We’re already deep into the offseason, with free agency and the draft already reshaping rosters. The Steelers, of course, are used to early offseason mode as a team thatloses by the middle of January all the time. Enjoy the ride, even the turbulence, because it’s the only way we know how to travel anymore.
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