Steelers Sign Chris Kemoeatu to Reasonable Deal

The Steelers won the Super Bowl this year with one of the league's worst offensive lines. So with no real good options now that Jeff Saturday has signed with the Colts, the Steelers kept the old gang together by re-signing Chris Kemoeatu to a reasonable five-year, $20 million deal (with only a $3.885 million signing bonus).

By locking up Kemoeatu, the Steelers will bring back the same five offensive linemen who were on the field for the Super Bowl. If you're a pessimist, it's worth nothing that that offensive line is the same group that gave up 49 sacks during the season and averaged only 3.7 yards per carry on the ground.
But if you're an optimist, the Kemoeatu signing is a good sign. Pittsburgh now heads into the draft knowing it doesn't have to draft an offensive lineman to immediately start (although this signing doesn't preclude the team's need to draft linemen). And Kemoeatu has some upside. Most of his problems stem from struggling to figure out who to block, as well as some poor footwork. Both of those problems are potentially fixable with more experience, while his strengths (excellent strength and decent mobility for a 330 pounder) could turn into significant assets if he polishes up the rest of his game.

But while that's true, make no mistake. Kemoeatu is a below-average starting guard, no matter what his agent says. That explains why he got only $4 million a year in a market where average guards can land $5-6 million deals.

Pittsburgh still needs to draft at least two linemen as Willie Colon and Justin Hartwig could be headed to free agency after the 2009 season, although Colon could lose his shot at free agency if there isn't a new collective bargaining agreement. And the team also needs backups at both guard and tackle. But by franchising Starks and re-signing Kemoeatu, they have slapped a band-aid on the problem that hopefully can stabilize things until some better linemen can be acquired through the draft.