Mike Mitchell to the Steelers.

[Midnightangel]

Mike Mitchell, Pittsburgh Steelers reach agreement - NFL.com

For the first time in nine years, Troy Polamalu will be paired with a safety other than Ryan Clark.

The Pittsburgh Steelers have agreed to terms with former Carolina Panthers safety Mike Mitchell, according to multiple reports.

The 26-year-old safety confirmed the agreement via Twitter:

Widely ridiculed as a second-round "reach" pick by legendary Raiders owner Al Davis in 2009, Mitchell turned his career around by finishing only behind Luke Kuechly and Thomas Davis in total tackles with the Panthers last season.

An upgrade on the aging free-agent Clark, Mitchell offers more range and packs more punch as a hitter

I like the move. He's younger then Ryan so that's a positive and seems to be a solid tackler.

We usually aren't that active in FA.

 

[cdumler7]

Price though is a bit much in my opinion. TJ ward is essentially making less and was the highest rated strong safety last year

 

[SteelersPride]

Cross safety off the draft list! i like it........

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

Price though is a bit much in my opinion. TJ ward is essentially making less and was the highest rated strong safety last year

We didn't need a strong safety... Mitchell is a Free Safety... But I hope he is worth $5mil/yr.

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

The only thing that really worries me is the learning curve. Doesn't matter how talented you are if you don't understand Lebeau's scheme. Another thing to worry about is whether Mitchell can fill the "communicator" roll that Clark filled. He cannot fill those shoes if he doesn't fully understand Lebeau's scheme. It is going to take a lot of coaching up on Lake's part, as well as veterans like Polamalu & Taylor.

 

[Money]

This signing surprised me. This was a pretty decent chunk of change to investment in a guy who has had one good year. The Steelers are usually much more cautious. Not saying it won't work out...it just surprised me.

 

[FaCe-LeE-uS]

This signing surprised me. This was a pretty decent chunk of change to investment in a guy who has had one good year. The Steelers are usually much more cautious. Not saying it won't work out...it just surprised me.

True it is very surprising to me. Thankfully they structured his deal so that if the Steelers lose interest after 2 years & cut him then the cap hit is only $2.85mil which would save them $15mil in base salary. Smart move by Colbert & Kahn with the structure.

I'm interested to hear about what connections he has to the staff here, because all I have heard about is that he was very highly coveted in the FO. I'm wondering if any of the staff had prior coaching experience with him, but so far I can't come up with anything?