On the heels of cornerback Mike Hilton signing his restricted free-agent contract on Thursday, it appears offensive tackle Matt Feiler will be following suit.
Feiler will earn $3.259 million with the second-year tender he was offered in March.
It’s expected that Feiler will sign within the upcoming days — according to the collective bargaining agreement, the Steelers have the option to rescind the offer if not signed by Monday. Instead, Pittsburgh could retain his 2020 rights by offering him a contract at 110% of his previous season’s salary. He made $645,000 in 2019.
The 6-foot-6, 330-pound right tackle has started 25 of the Steelers’ past 26 games.
Last season, Feiler was rated as the NFL’s 15th highest-rated tackle, according to Pro Football Focus.
The Steelers have the option to keep Feiler at tackle or move him to the position freed up by guard Ramon Foster’s retirement in March. A versatile lineman, Feiler played at guard for five games (74 snaps) in 2017.
To me, it doesn’t make much sense to move Feiler from tackle since he’s pretty darn good at it. Pittsburgh signed veteran guard Stefan Wisniewski and drafted Kevin Dotson this offseason to help replace Foster.
Feiler will become an unrestricted free agent at the start of the 2021 NFL league year unless the Steelers sign him to a long-term contract between now and then.
