One of the longest tenured and most experienced lineman, Simmons was released today by Pittsburgh.
I could be missing something here, but this is a pretty big surprise to me. I’m not alone in my shock either. JJ Cooper of Fanhouse wrote earlier that Simmons is “going nowhere.”
Simmons was also one of the more consistent performers on the line and I can’t recall hearing any rumors of a possible release. He did have a serious achilles injury in week four, so my best guess is that he won’t be playing football for anybody in the near future and the injury is serious, but that’s only speculation on my part. It’s the only real reason I can see for cutting the guy though. With the stretch run and the Super Bowl victory, Kendall Simmons became an afterthought for fans and bloggers like ourselves, so it’s possible that the injury was diagnosed as being far more severe than originally thought and nobody found out about it.
Either way, this further magnifies the franchise tag placed on Max Starks because the Steelers are running out of lineman quickly. As I’ve said before, Starks is a known commodity worth mildy overpaying for. As the chart below shows, he’s now one of only three regular contributors from the offensive line who are on the roster for next season.
| Player | Status |
| Max Starks | Signed |
| Darnell Stapleton | Signed |
| Jeff Hartwig | Signed |
| Willie Colon | RFA |
| Chris Kemoeatu | UFA |
| Trai Essex | UFA |
| Marvel Smith | UFA |
| Kendall Simmons | Released |
Colon could easily end up in black and gold next season, but it’s no sure thing. The Steelers have the right to match any offer he receives on the open market and if he signs elsewhere, Pittsburgh will recieve a first round pick in return.
Needless to say, the offensive line is going to look a lot different last year. The Stees need guards and tackles in the worst way. Losing Simmons salary makes the free agency period a little more interesting for the Steelers though. They’ve got a little more cash to play around with and are facing the possibility of losing Nate Washington and Bryant McFadden as well.
This should be fun.
