Steely McBeam
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- Mar 20, 2019
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Cornerback Mike Hilton is participating in the Steelers’ offseason workouts, but he hasn’t signed a contract for the 2019 season yet.
Hilton was tendered as an exclusive rights free agent early in the offseason and that meant his choices for the coming year were to sign the tender, not play for anyone or convince the team to give him something more than the $645,000 he’s set to make. Hilton opted for the third option, but isn’t skipping workouts in hopes of spurring action.
Hilton is practicing in the slot corner role he’s played on more than half of the team’s defensive snaps over the last two seasons. He told the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review that he’s relying on agent Drew Rosenhaus to talk to the team about a deal while he works on getting stronger on the field.
“I’ve got to just find ways to fight through the hands against wideouts and be more aggressive when the ball comes around and try to make plays on the ball,” Hilton said. “Get some more turnovers [because] that’s something we as a whole could use on the defensive end.”
Steelers left tackle Alejandro Villanueva got a new deal in 2017 as an exclusive rights free agent after practicing with the team throughout the offseason. We’ll see in the next few months if Hilton can convince the team to do the same thing.