the Pittsburgh Steelers."WhiteFanposts Fanshots Sections Latest NewsSteelers Film Room2018 NFL Draft AnalysisLatest NewsLatest NewsSteelers News: Could the Steelers have found an instant starter in WR Diontae Johnson?New Diontae Johnson Pittsburgh Steelers Jersey ,5commentsTime to check on the latest news surrounding the Pittsburgh Steelers.EDTShareTweetShareShareSteelers News: Could the Steelers have found an instant starter in WR Diontae Johnson?Jasen Vinlove-USA TODAY SportsWith the 2019 NFLDraft in the rear view mirror, the Pittsburgh Steelersr17; 2019 season is fast approaching, and the news surrounding the black-and-gold is far from over. As the team now turns their attention to more offseason workouts, OTAs and minicamp, there is no shortage of news.Today in the Black-and-gold links article we take a look at whether 3rd round pick, wide receiver Diontae Johnson, could be a Day 1 starter for the Steelersr17; offense in 2019.Letr17;s get to the news:We all know the story...he runs routes like Antonio Brown, is hard to jam like Antonio Brown and is a natural pass catcher like Antonio Brown. While no one is expecting Diontae Johnson to be Antonio Brown, could he be a starter from Day 1?To read the full article, click HEREI guess those Cleveland Browns colors can run...To read the full article, click HEREOf the 30 pre-draft visitors the Steelers had leading up to the 2019 NFL Draft, three of those players became draft picks. Also Diontae Johnson Jersey 2019 , some jersey number information...To read the full article, click HEREExplaining why the Steelers currently have more than the 90-man offseason roster...To read the full article, click HERESocial Media Madness DENVER (AP) r12; The National Football Leaguer17;s annual free agency frenzy officially begins Wednesday, just 39 days after Tom Brady won another Super Bowl and 44 days before Commissioner Roger Goodell takes the stage in Nashville to announce the first overall pick in the 2019 NFL draft.Ler17;Veon Bell, Nick Foles, C.J. Mosley and Landon Collins are among this yearr17;s headliners cashing in during the 27th year of unfettered free agency, a system that emerged after a Minneapolis federal court ruled in 1992 that the Plan B free agency system of protecting 37 players on a team violated antitrust laws.A lawyer for the league, Frank Rothman, warned in closing arguments that a verdict for the players could mean r0;the destruction of the National Football League that we know today.r1;Modern free agency indeed laid waste to the old way of doing business.Yet, what rose in its place has been a godsend to the NFL, which is celebrating its 100th season this year. The NFL wouldnr17;t be the gigantic force it is in society and sports today without free agency empowering players with freedom and endowing long-suffering franchises and their fans with hope.r0;I think free agencyr17;s been great for the game for a lot of reasons,r1; said Joe Horrigan Diontae Johnson Jersey Youth , executive director of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. r0;Look at us, we have a whole season now for the fan. Itr17;s keeping the NFL front of mind 24/7, seven days a week, 365 days a year.r1;Without free agency, the Green Bay Packers wouldnr17;t have returned to glory in the 1990s; the second chapter of Peyton Manningr17;s magnificent career might have gone unwritten; the New Orleans Saints wouldnr17;t have been able to parade the Lombardi Trophy down Bourbon Street; and Deion Sanders might not have earned two nicknames and two Super Bowl rings, one in San Francisco and another in Dallas.Federal judge David Doty threatened to implement his own plan if team owners and the playersr17; union couldnr17;t agree on a free agency system following the leaguer17;s loss in court in 1992.What finally won over the hardliner owners was the inclusion of a franchise tag and the coupling of a salary cap to control costs. The first salary cap was $34.6 million in 1994. Now, itr17;s $188.2 million.The most significant free agent signing in NFL history occurred when the new system went into effect in the 1993 offseason: Reggie White chose Green Bay in a shocker that shifted the balance of power in the NFL and foretold free agencyr17;s boom and boon.r0;What was beautiful about that was everybody was fearful of free agency, fearful that all the best teams would stockpile all the greatest players and theyr17;d all go to one place,r1; Horrigan said. r0;Well, the salary cap that came with free agency prevented that, No. 1. But then Reggie to Green Bay kind of suggested that the system was good for all.r1;White teamed with Brett Favre to lead the Packersr17; resurgence that ended a 30-year title drought.Manningr17;s arrival in Denver two decades later also transformed a franchise that was far removed from its glory days.After missing the 2011 season with a neck injury, Manning was cut loose by the Colts Justin Layne Pittsburgh Steelers Jersey , who were turning to Andrew Luck. The Broncos won the Manning sweepstakes, which made it easier for general manager John Elway to lure other free agents such as DeMarcus Ware, Emmanuel Sanders, Aqib Talib and T.J. Ward, the emotional backbone of the team that won Super Bowl 50 in Manningr17;s farewell.Somebody asked Elway at the introductory news conference what he would have done had Manning turned him down.r0;Plan B?r1; replied Elway. r0;We donr17;t have a Plan B. Wer17;re going with Plan A.r1;Sort of like the NFL had to do when the players decertified their union three decades ago and took the league to court in the face of long-standing fierce opposition to free agency.r0;The pushback was huge, going back to 1969 and r17;70 with owners and labor-player management,r1; former commissioner Paul Tagliabue said.The issue led to the 1987 players strike and ownersr17; infamous use of replacement players.r0;Dan Rooney (the late chairman of the Pittsburgh Steelers) talked about some form of free agency then, but the majority of the ownersr17; committee would have no part of free agency,r1; Tagliabue said. r0;Then we came up with Plan B.r1;Owners unilaterally imposed Plan B free agency in 1989 with the absence of a labor agreement, giving teams the right to protect 37 players on their 47-man rosters from becoming free agents.r0;They werenr17;t trying to satisfy the players association, they were trying to satisfy the courts,r1; Horrigan said. r0;They thought they could get limited free agency and (union chief) Gene Upshaw kind of chuckled at how transparent that was: r16;Thatr17;s not free agency; thatr17;s making available your castoffs.r17;r0;And the judge also saw through it Justin Layne Pittsburgh Steelers Jersey ,r1; Horrigan said.While some players switched teams, all the really good players were still stuck.r0;We knew then it did not make any sense,r1; players agent Donald Yee said. r0;But to be fair, the owners were simply grasping at anything to present to the courts that seemed reasonable. I represented a reserve player who had never played, and all of a sudden, he was exposed in Plan B and he had numerous offers from other teams. His own veteran teammates were jealous and upset. It was a laughable situation.r1;The NFLr17;s current system isnr17;t flawless. The franchise tag irks the gamer17;s superstars, and a recent AP study found that teams often turn to younger, cheaper players rather than put savings from the rookie salary pools into signing proven veterans.r0;When the CBA came into effect in 1993, there was more of a middle class within the roster, and it was difficult for any young player to play, or much less make the active roster,r1; Yee said. r0;On the vast majority of rosters now Justin Layne Jersey Cheap , there is no middle class, and this certainly affects the product quality on the field. If a highly paid star is sidelined, often an inexperienced younger player has to step in.r1;Both sides will try to tweak free agency again in the next round of labor negotiations.r0;Ultimately, fan response carries the day,r1; Yee said. r0;If the fans donr17;t like the product and reject it, that will affect owners and the union, and theyr17;ll have to work together to come up with a fix. Every r16;fixr17; is a balance of competing interests, and there will be merit to a number of potential innovations.r1;
