Steelers Free Agency 2013: Beanie Wells Visits
By Matt Shetler
It’s no secret that the Pittsburgh Steelers must improve their dreadful ground game from a season ago and they could be taking their first steps in doing so with Beanie Wells.
The former Cardinals back has been linked to the Steelers, Cincinnati Bengals and a few other teams and has already paid the Steelers a visit.
Dec. 16, 2012; Glendale, AZ, USA: Arizona Cardinals running back Beanie Wells (26) against the Detroit Lions at University of Phoenix Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY Sports
There seems to be serious interest from the Steelers as according to ESPN’s Jamison Hensley and the Post-Gazette, Wells visited the Steelers and took a physical.
The former Ohio State Buckeye’s best season was 2011 where he rushed for 1,047 yards and 10 touchdowns, which aren’t terribly impressive numbers, but better than anything the Steelers currently have on the roster.
Wells has had problems in both of his knees and has only played a 16 game season once, his rookie year. Last year he was only able to appear in eight games, only putting up 2.7 yards per carry average, but scored five touchdowns.
I’m not overly excited about the possibility of signing Wells.
He is a big, slow back who runs in between the tackles and not very effectively at that. The Steelers already have enough guys like Wells who don’t perform, although he could represent a slight upgrade.
The good news is that Wells is only 25 and there is still a possibility he could put things together and become the featured back the Steelers need.
The bad news is that for the Steelers to sign him it would likely have to be on a cheap, incentive-laden contract. There are other teams which much deeper pockets who could offer Wells more money up front.
Check back often to City of Champions Sports as we will have continual updates of all of the wheeling’s and dealings of Steelers free agency.