As expected, the Steelers have lost another player in free agency.
The team Thursday lost cornerback Keenan Lewis to the Saints, where he inks a five-year deal.
It’s a homecoming of sorts for the former Steeler who grew up in the Crescent City, LA.
In his first year as a starter for the black and yellow, the fourth-year pro led the NFL with 23 pass defenses last season. He added 71 tackles and a forced fumble.
“We are excited to be able to add a player of Keenan’s ability to our defense,” said Saints General Manager Micky Loomis in a news release issued Thursday. “He was a top free agent target for us and I know that he is very excited to be able to come home to play football.”
The Steelers inked Willie Gay last week after he was dumped by the Cardinals as a possible replacement for him. Also draft pick Cortez Brown will be in the mix to replace Lewis.
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George H
March 14, 2013 at 7:43 pm
That kinda hurts. Lewis was going to take over for Ike as the number one eventually. Maybe the FO thinks Lewis over performed on a contract year and his production will taper off or even out. Either way we have some major depth issues in the secondary now. Ike is getting older; he typically hasn’t had injuries but now his age night start catching up with him. I’m excited to see what Allen can do but both he and Brown have faced injuries in their young careers. I’m definitely not sold on any other of our options currently on the roster. Gay, Van Dyke, Golden, and Victoria are all overmatched. The one thing they have going firstborn is their youth minus Gay, but I don’t see much potential other than Golden as a safety.
I’m hoping the Steelers don’t spend a pick on a cb early in the draft, we have other needs to be addressed. However, what was once a strength is now starting to be average.
Bill K
March 14, 2013 at 11:54 pm
What is going on, We loose Keenan Lewis but we sign Willie Gay who was garbage the firsrt time he was here, Major Downgrade. We loose Mike Wallace but we Sign Plaxico Burress, Major Downgrade, we re-sign Larry Foote, who already lost a step, to a 3 year contract but we release James Harrison, But the good news is we Re-signed Greg Warren. its time to seriously look at the people who run the draft, because there is no way we should have to re-sign an old linebacker that couldnt make it with the Lions or a Cornerback That couldnt make it with the Cardinals. This team has gone down hill since we started loosing Bill Cowhers players, Goodbye Mike Tomlin and Goodbye whoever else runs the draft. the next few years will be bad for Steeler Nation.
Dave B.
March 15, 2013 at 5:05 am
Two things I totally agree with Bill on . 1) Losing Keenan Lewis and bringing back William Gay is a big downgrade any way you slice it . Gay was beaten like a drum almost everytime teams went at him . 2) Losing James Harrison and replacing with him with unproven Jason Worilds is a huge roll of the dice . Time will tell .
George H
March 15, 2013 at 9:30 am
Lets see how the draft and the rest of the offseason plays out before we bury them
Black&gold4life
March 15, 2013 at 12:21 pm
Cortez Allen is going to have to bring it! We can’t have Gay or Victorian out there Starting!
George H
March 15, 2013 at 3:51 pm
Agreed 100%
DrGeorge
March 15, 2013 at 4:03 pm
I agree with my colleague, George H. It’s too early for sack cloth and ashes. For example, W. Gay was totally lost at CB, but he played nickel pretty well for us. K. Lewis performed adequately at CB, but he is very fragile; I hate losing him, but money was a factor in letting him go and he is injury prone. We will probably add a free agent veteran at CB to fill Lewis’s spot, and that will save a draft pick. With R. Mundy gone, Cortez Allen and Will Allen will both have to step up, but they showed flashes last year of what they can do. Worilds is not the second coming of Harrison, but he’s solid. And Carter’s return will add speed.
Tomlin waited two years too long to clean up the roster, which makes the belated fix look like a housecleaning. But these changes are actually methodical and logical. Things will look better when all of the pieces are in place. Keep the faith, guys. The front office knows the score.
George H
March 15, 2013 at 4:49 pm
Well said Doc, the top picks have to be hits on positions of need. If Sanders in fact leaves, wr will be a position that will need to be targeted early. I do like Patterson but his inexperience is a little worrisome and I still think the first rd needs to be safety or linebacker. I do like Hopkins in the second round though, he’s a big, physical receiver that we could definitely use and brings value in the second round. It’s definitely tough to mock the steelers draft this year given all the question marks this offseason. Colbert and co. have lots of work to do.