Everything we know about BJ Finney, of Steelers

by

What was once old is new again. That saying could belong to the free agent firm of Steelers Street, BJ Finney.

One week after the Cincinnati Bengals released Finney, the Steelers snatched their former guard / center. Everyone and their mom said yes, as Pittsburgh is a team the boys like to go back to (more recently, Sean Davis, quarterback Josh Dobbs).

And why not? Maurkice Pouncey retired and JC Hassenaur is not really a starting material unless they are in a bit like last season when Pouncey was on the reserve list / COVID-19.

Pittsburgh is Finney’s third team in less than a year, not calling Pro Bowler. It’s an improvement over Hassenaur, but far from Pouncey.

Finney’s one-year deal lends itself to being just a transfer to the center as the Steelers explore long-term options. They’re likely to take a steering wheel in a half-draft offensive draft and develop it during the season.

An unrecruited free agent, Finney’s career began in the Pittsburgh training squad in 2015. He spent five seasons, 59 appearances and 13 starts with the Steelers.

Like the story of goalie Kevin Dotson signing with his favorite team, Finney and his family are big fans of the Steelers. His relatives exploded when he announced that the Steelers had signed him to a contract. You may remember Finney’s story from Steelers Wire in May 2015. Okay, probably not. So here it is.

After his contract with Pittsburgh expired last March, the Seattle Seahawks hired Finney on a two-year, $ 8 million deal, but traded him to the Cincinnati Bengals mid-season, where he appeared in a single game.

What Finney can offer the Steelers is familiarity and versatility: he played 409 snapshots in the center, 456 on the left, and 155 on the right. According to Pro Football Focus, Finney has higher levels of pass blocking (83.2 on average) than race blocking (59.8 on average). In 591 passing plays, Finney allowed just two sacks, two hits and nine rushes.

Finney will, which isn’t really what you mean when you try to protect your quarterback in what are likely to be the last games of his career at the Hall of Fame.

.Source