After the transition tag sat dormant for so long, it has been used twice in the last hour.
The Steelers named outside linebacker Jason Worilds their transition player, the team announced.
That guarantees Worilds, who wasn’t even a full-time starter last year, a one-year deal worth $9.754 million. The franchise tag would have cost $11.455 million.
Worilds had value after registering 8.0 sacks last year, but his side and the Steelers couldn’t agree on what it was.
Now, he can go to the market, and the Steelers have the opportunity to match any deal he finds, though there’s no compensation if they don’t.
The transition tag effectively dares the agent to find a contract. If the Steelers don’t elect to match, they’ll just return their gaze to 2013 first-rounder Jarvis Jones, whose rookie year went in fits and starts.