Report: Terms of former Virginia Tech star Terrell Edmunds deal revealed
Terrell Edmunds inked a one-year deal to stay with the Pittsburgh Steelers on Friday and turned down multiple other offers to remain with the program that selected him out of Virginia Tech in the first round of the NFL Draft.
The deal makes sense for both parties, when it’s all said and done. The Steelers are basically getting a cheap one-year rental while Edmunds can ball out on a defense he knows well, full of talent, with the hope of inking a long-term deal there or with another squad after 2022.
The former Hokie had an up-and-down start to his NFL career, but his best football has clearly been played the last two seasons as he’s matured and grown. There was plenty of chatter of Edmunds lot living up to the first-round choice, particularly after his first two seasons, where he started every game in 2018 and 2019 but showed vulnerability in coverage and never flashed the playmaking ability that is synonymous with a highly drafted safety. While Terrell Edmunds recorded a sack, fumble recovery an interception to go with his 78 tackles his rookie year, it felt like regressed majorly during his sophomore NFL season, recording nothing on the stat sheet from a “playmaking” perspective.
But when Minkah Fitzpatrick came on board, it seemed to be the perfect compliment for the former Virginia Tech defensive back.
In his last two season, Edmunds has two sacks, four interceptions and 14 pass deflections which doubles his stats from the first two years in those categories.
Terrell Edmunds signs to stay with Pittsburgh Steelers
Former Virginia Tech star Terrell Edmunds is expected to re-sign with the Pittsburgh Steelers on a one-year deal, according to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler. Barring a major change of plans, the four-year starter will be back in the Steel City as the franchise approaches the 2022 NFL Draft. He’s been highly productive during his four seasons with the Steelers, racking up 340 total tackles, 12 tackles for loss, and five interceptions.
Last season, he tallied 89 tackles and eight tackles for loss. The former Hokie standout has always been a sure tackler throughout his football career. Coming out of Virginia Tech, he only missed five tackles in 585 snaps during the 2017 season, per Pro Football Focus.
There were rumblings this month that the Steelers had interest in free agent safety Tyrann Mathieu. Edmunds’ return might indicate Mathieu is possibly going to sign elsewhere before the 2022-2023 season.
Seifert gave a blunt assessment of Edmunds that leaves a grey cloud over his future.
“Edmunds is not the most well-known of the Steelers’ starting safeties, and he’s not the most talented, either,” Seifert continued. Minkah Fitzpatrick holds both of those titles.
The Steelers, in fact, declined Edmunds’ fifth-year option last spring. But he had this best season in 2021, starting all 17 games and setting a career high with eight tackles for loss. Even so, the Steelers might not be able to clear up much cap space to re-sign Edmunds, assuming they want to re-sign Fitzpatrick next year.”
It’s clear the Pittsburgh Steelers front office has plenty of work ahead and the roster could look very different come kickoff next season.