Mar 7, 2016 4 min read

In the grand scheme of things, re-signing Robert Golden and Darrius Heyward-Bey won’t send shock waves across the league.

But they were two important things to get done for the Steelers.

Both guys are very well respected in the team’s locker room, which, with the retirements that the Steelers have had in recent years, including Heath Miller this year, cannot be overlooked.

Golden also has been the Steelers’ special teams captain the past two seasons, and played well when called upon to fill in at strong safety for Will Allen last season.

Allen won’t be back in 2016 – the Steelers had to talk him out of retirement last year – and Golden will likely start the offseason at the top of the depth chart at strong safety. What he does with things from there is up to him.

Heyward-Bey, meanwhile, also filled in well for the Steelers in 2015 when Martavis Bryant began the season on suspension.

He remained a part of the team’s rotation even after Bryant returned because he showed to be the Steelers’ best blocking receiver.

There’s one other thing that the Steelers get from Heyward-Bey that can’t be overlooked. He’s a nice example for the coaching staff to point to when talking to the players about guys accepting their role.

The eighth pick in the 2009 draft by Oakland, Heyward-Bey has been the main guy on some teams. In 2011, he had 975 yards receiving.

But he couldn’t live up to his lofty draft status – few could. He’s hardly been a bust, however, sticking in the league now for seven seasons. He’s certainly no Charles Rogers, who was taken second in 2003 by the Lions and was out of football three years later.

It would have been easy for Heyward-Bey to carry on with the money he made in Oakland. But he reinvented himself in 2013 in Indianapolis, catching on as speical teams player.

That has carried over to his time with the Steelers. It’s not hard to get young guys to accept a role with which they’re not happy when the staff can point to Heyward-Bey as an example of why they should do so.

Do you want to stick around and have a career in the league or do you want to be a flash in the pan?

• Expect the Steelers to continue try to work something out with pending free agents William Gay and Steve McLendon. And even if that doesn’t happen before 4 p.m. Wednesday, I think the team will work something out with those two soon.

• Prior to signing Golden and Heyward-Bey, the Steelers had about $10 million in cap space. So much for them being in cap trouble.

That’s a decent amount of money, but not crazy money.

The team can still free up some cash with a release here – Cortez Allen – or an extension there – Lawrence Timmons – but it still won’t go crazy in free agency.

In fact, I would expect the Steelers to be more reactionary than anything. Lose a player at one position, attempt to sign somebody who can at least be in the mix as a replacement.

That’s why I expect the team to be active early in the tight end market. There’s some decent guys out there, but nobody in the Heath Miller mold, who is a true all-around player.

I would look for the Steelers to go for more of a blocker type, especially given Matt Spaeth’s injury history

Jermaine Gresham is a very good blocker who might like a chance to get back into AFC North after spending last season in Arizona. Scott Chandler would be another guy to look at.