Steelers free-agent signings: Will they pay off?

The Steelers don't built through free agency. More often, the market is used just for depth purposes. This season was no different. Here are the top acquisitions in free agency this past offseason and where they stand after a week and a half of camp.

By Chris Adamski

Aug 6, 2012 at 8:46 am ET • 2 min read

Keeping with their history, the Steelers were far from major players in the free-agent market this past offseason. The franchise that has represented the AFC in the Super Bowl following three of the past seven seasons is coming off a 12-4 campaign. But of Pittsburgh's 22 projected starters, only one was not drafted or signed out of college by the team and was acquired via unrestricted free agency: free safety Ryan Clark.

Clearly, the Steelers don't built through free agency. More often, the market is used just for depth purposes. This season was no different. Here are the top acquisitions in free agency this past offseason and where they stand after a week and a half of camp:

TE Leonard Pope: The Steelers might not make big free-agent signings, but this year they sure made a BIG free-agent signing. Try 6-foot-8, 264 pounds big. Pope has made a career of going where new Steelers offensive coordinator Todd Haley has -- from Arizona to Kansas City to Pittsburgh. As might be expected, he's shown some good blocking skills in practice. He's also shown some hands. Pope looks like he'll be a nice No. 2 tight end and complement to Heath Miller.

LB Brandon Johnson: Signed during OTAs in June, Johnson is known as a special teams ace. He has the potential to be a captain of the special teams unit -- if he makes the team. Johnson is not thought of in terms of being much of a contributor at linebacker, though a spate of injuries on the outside has had him getting plenty of reps there this camp.

LT Max Starks: Starks' addition to this list comes with an asterisk since he played for the Steelers last season -- and the seven before that. But, like the previous offseason, Starks was allowed to become an unrestricted free agent partially due to an injury concern, no team signed him and Pittsburgh scooped him up late. Last season, it was a neck ailment that left him jobless into October. The Steelers signed him and immediately make him their starting left tackle. Starks tore an ACL in the playoff loss in Denver, and the Steelers waited until just before camp began to re-sign him. Starks has yet to be removed from the PUP list, and rookie Mike Adams appears to be asserting himself at left tackle.

LS Matt Katula: Yes, we're down to the backup long-snapper. That's just how little the Steelers use free agency. Katula is an eight-year veteran brought in to push long-time Pittsburgh long-snapper Greg Warren.