William Gay announces he's returning to the Steelers

The Steelers struck another deal with one of their impending free agents. One day after signing safety Robert Golden and receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey, the Steelers have come to terms with veteran cornerback William Gay.

http://www.post-gazette.com/sports/steelers/2016/03/08/Cornerback-William-Gay-announces-he-s-returning-to-the-Pittsburgh-Steelers/stories/201603080143

Not a surprise but glad he will be back

Hope McLendon is next.

Well, that's the slot CB signed. Right now, we have:

#1 CB - TBD
#2 CB - Cockrell
Slot CB - Gay

T.B.D. CB - Golson

Boykin and Blake are still TBD as well.

jak341 wrote:

Well, that's the slot CB signed. Right now, we have:

#1 CB - TBD
#2 CB - Cockrell
Slot CB - Gay

T.B.D. CB - Golson

Boykin and Blake are still TBD as well.

Golson! Woo!

BlackAndGold wrote:

Hope McLendon is next.

me too, McLendon and one of either Beachum or Foster...

I like the signing. He knows the system, is a good guy, and probably wasn't too much. I'm feeling we got TE and S early but with our philosophy it's always about who is there. It will be interesting to see who is brought in for interviews. That's a good guage. In any case welcome back Will Gay, DHB, and Robert Golden.

SUPERBOWL!

Antowan Blake will be next. Just watch.

Meanwhile the Giants sign Janoris Jenkins...So we got an aging Gay...an avg Cockrell...a draft pick in Golson taken waaaaay higher than he should have been, and some dude named Grant...yeah i'm feeling real good about these db's

I would have preferred Boykin but happy to see at least one of the two is coming back.  Gay is definitely better bang for the buck but obviously doesn't have the same upside.

Still need an early round CB. Don't trust Cockrell yet and Golson is a complete unknown.

People are leery about two second year guys in Golson and Grant, plus a 3rd year player with NFL experience that played rather well (Cockrell). Yet they think a redshirt sophomore like Eli Apple is the answer.

If the Steelers draft a CB, that guy is likely to be the #4 or #5 CB on the depth chart. They need one IMO to replace Gay in 2 seasons and somebody that can legitimately upgrade a secondary that may still be a weak link.

Good to have veteran depth in Gay. I'm honestly good with a top 3 of Gay, Cockrell, Golson and would be fine seeing a guy like Fuller come in to learn things and look to get acclimated for 2017, if not by the end of the season. I think Apple has more upside, but is a 2-3 year project.

El-Gonzo Jackson wrote:

People are leery about two second year guys in Golson and Grant, plus a 3rd year player with NFL experience that played rather well (Cockrell).  Yet they think a redshirt sophomore like Eli Apple is the answer.

If the Steelers draft a CB, that guy is likely to be the #4 or #5 CB on the depth chart.  They need one IMO to replace Gay in 2 seasons and somebody that can legitimately upgrade a secondary that may still be a weak link.

Good to have veteran depth in Gay.  I'm honestly good with a top 3 of Gay, Cockrell, Golson and would be fine seeing a guy like Fuller come in to learn things and look to get acclimated for 2017, if not by the end of the season.  I think Apple has more upside, but is a 2-3 year project.

There is no instant fix because FA starting CBs are simply too expensive.  But the simple fact is any 1st round guy has a better chance to fix our secondary this year or next than a mid-round pick or guy off the street like we've seen this team go after for years. As close as we are to a Lombardi right now, that's a risk we have to take.

And for the record I've never been on the Apple train.  Has always seemed like a guy people like more than they should just because he played at Ohio State.  Fuller, Jackson, Alexander all better options IMO.

When it comes to corners.....it's always

"That FA was too expensive...not enough funds left after taking care of our own"
"There was better value in round 1, and we feel good about the depth at CB in this draft"
"We liked what he did for us...but the market dictated we had to part ways and feel good about our 3-6 round corner stepping up."

Enough people......tell it like it is.....The steelers havent valued the CB position......and that might be a very big deal given how GODell and other 7-7 champ statues like Peyton manning bitched and moaned until they got the rules changed to favor wrs and Qbs.

Maybe this is the year they finally wake up to that fact....we'll see

But they better not act shocked if they bring back essentially the same style and players to defend the pass and find themselves looking at flacco still completing moon balls and Marsha ripping their zone blitzes to shreds.

PhantomJB93 wrote:

El-Gonzo Jackson wrote:

People are leery about two second year guys in Golson and Grant, plus a 3rd year player with NFL experience that played rather well (Cockrell).  Yet they think a redshirt sophomore like Eli Apple is the answer.

If the Steelers draft a CB, that guy is likely to be the #4 or #5 CB on the depth chart.  They need one IMO to replace Gay in 2 seasons and somebody that can legitimately upgrade a secondary that may still be a weak link.

Good to have veteran depth in Gay.  I'm honestly good with a top 3 of Gay, Cockrell, Golson and would be fine seeing a guy like Fuller come in to learn things and look to get acclimated for 2017, if not by the end of the season.  I think Apple has more upside, but is a 2-3 year project.

There is no instant fix because FA starting CBs are simply too expensive.  But the simple fact is any 1st round guy has a better chance to fix our secondary this year or next than a mid-round pick or guy off the street like we've seen this team go after for years.  As close as we are to a Lombardi right now, that's a risk we have to take.

And for the record I've never been on the Apple train.  Has always seemed like a guy people like more than they should just because he played at Ohio State.  Fuller, Jackson, Alexander all better options IMO.

Steelers play an off man, cover 2 type defense.  They wont succeed by trotting out guys like Alexander or Apple as rookies, who like to play man and grab.  I like Jackson and Fuller better for the scheme, but also think they would struggle as rookies still making the transition, although I think Fuller has the best chance to come in early in the system.

I'll bet that Doran Grant (who ran a 4.44 at the combine and jumped 116" @ 200lbs) would be more ready to play this year than Jackson (who ran a 4.37 and jumped 116" @ 189lbs) in an off man system like the Steelers.  Jackson may have a higher ceiling, but it takes time to play the best WR's in the NFL.  

Cockrell has good technique and awareness of route concepts that he should be every bit as good as Will Gay in a year or 2(although I think he is better in some ways already).  Golson has great ball skills and zone awareness and I'm hopeful he can be effective in the slot or even outside.  Will Gay is dependable and 31 years old.  Somebody needs to be drafted to be a future started at CB, but I don't think we will see them start in September.

BlackAndGold wrote:

Hope McLendon is next.

It would be a clear sign if the Steelers are going to pick a DT high in the coming draft.

BKAnthem wrote:

Meanwhile the Giants sign Janoris Jenkins...So we got an aging Gay...an avg Cockrell...a draft pick in Golson taken waaaaay higher than he should have been, and some dude named Grant...yeah i'm feeling real good about these db's

Which looks like a very bad deal. I'm glad that the Steelers are not the one who sign him (if they have the cap space).

SteelerSpartan wrote:

When it comes to corners.....it's always

"That FA was too expensive...not enough funds left after taking care of our own"
"There was better value in round 1, and we feel good about the depth at CB in this draft"
"We liked what he did for us...but the market dictated we had to part ways and feel good about our 3-6 round corner stepping up."

Enough people......tell it like it is.....The steelers havent valued the CB position......and that might be a very big deal given how GODell and other 7-7 champ statues like Peyton manning bitched and moaned until they got the rules changed to favor wrs and Qbs.

Maybe this is the year they finally wake up to that fact....we'll see

But they better not act shocked if they bring back essentially the same style and players to defend the pass and find themselves looking at flacco still completing moon balls and Marsha ripping their zone blitzes to shreds.

I don't even think we need a top caliber, Pro Bowl corner. We need someone who is not rated 167 out of 169 of NFL CBs to cover the #1 WR of the other team.

I would be ok with someone, Cockrell, Gay, Golson, and a rookie CB as our CBs this year.

I think they are putting a lot of stock in the improvement of Bud Dupree. They are still very young in their front seven. I think they feel they will improve as a defense just because of the continuing development of those young players.

Jarvis Jones is playing for his Steeler life.

There aren't a lot of players rated as great pass rushers in this years draft, but I would look for them to add an OLB or DE as a pass rush specialist at some point in this draft. (Think Ochi)

If the pass rush is better and they consistently stop the run, the cornerback play will improve.

Pretty happy with the Gay signing.

Gay has been great for us and our scheme not sure why people would knock him. Our CBs are asked to be good tacklers, and to not give up the big plays and Gay has done that pretty well over the years. For the price he is a steal. Now if Grant, and Golson work out we can have a better over all secondary this year. He'll maybe they even get something out of CA this year... (Wishful thinking but hey optimism is better I always say)

SteelersYak wrote:

Pretty happy with the Gay signing.

Might you say you're gay that we re-signed Gay? Seriously though. It's good to have him back at a decent price and I know it sounds silly but the guy's a great guy too. He really has come a long way from being the favorite punching bag of the fans. I've always thought he reminded me of Deshea Townsend. Not a star but a reliable professional.

Boykin should've been signed. What they did to him was horrible. He was by far the best or maybe 2nd best CB we had on this team, and yet they still had Blake playing instead of him. Unbelievable! I have no faith in this organization and their talent evaluation at the CB position.

EbonySteel86 wrote:

Boykin should've been signed. What they did to him was horrible. He was by far the best or maybe 2nd best CB we had on this team, and yet they still had Blake playing instead of him. Unbelievable! I have no faith in this organization and their talent evaluation at the CB position.

The whole Boykin thing is mind boggling. Trade a pick for him, dont play him for x amount of games so that the lesser of two picks are traded, then let him walk.

Sign him and thats smart. Let him walk and thats just plain stupid, to me.

ImmaculateGreenePolamalu wrote:

SteelersYak wrote:

Pretty happy with the Gay signing.

Might you say you're gay that we re-signed Gay? Seriously though. It's good to have him back at a decent price and I know it sounds silly but the guy's a great guy too. He really has come a long way from being the favorite punching bag of the fans. I've always thought he reminded me of Deshea Townsend. Not a star but a reliable professional.

When Gay was drafted, he was compared to Townsend so its interesting that you make that comparison.

I personally think Townsend was a nickel CB that worked on his technique and developed into a #2 outside CB. Gay still I think is a nickel CB and is like a slot machine...he either gambles and pays off, or gives too much cushion and allows catches. Gay knows the system, his veteran experience makes him dependable, but there are probably 40 better CB's in the NFL.

IMO, DeShea Townsend was better than William Gay is now, but experience is really thin in the Steelers secondary, so he is a good signing.

Quickly off-topic: yes, the Boykins thing boggles my mind, too. He seemed to do well in limited action last year. Was there something we were missing?

Back on topic: wasn't Gay nominated for the Walter Payton award this year?