Steelers starting running back Willie Parker is in the final year of his contract, and all signs point to the Steelers letting him walk after the season. To date, there haven't been any serious discussions of extending Parker's contract before the start of the regular season, and the Steelers drafted tailback Rashard Mendenhall in the first round in 2008 to be his eventual replacement. Source: ESPN.com
Moore is still there. I think they signed him for three years. So if they did let Willie walk, they'd at least have Moore and Mendenhall for 2010...
i have always liked willie despite his short comings, he has a good story and hes been pretty productive. it will be weird to see him in another uniform, especially since hes still pretty young but mendenhalls future excites me
Ditto, Willie's a gamer. A real football player. But he is replaceable, and if Mendenhall balls like he should, easily.....with a 4th round pick.... replaceable. In this day and age when teams are getting 500-600 quality yards from #2 HB's pulling them off the street, It doesnt make since to pay someone a vet contract AND another guy a 1st round contract
the biggest knocks on willie are his vision and his hands....but i love his toughness, he rarely runs out of bounds, and god damnit i love it when he gets to the sideline and cuts back in to get more yards.....if he was on denver a few years ago before it was a clusterheck he would have a 2000 yard season, hes the perfect hit the hole and go kind of runner with his solid power and incredible straight line speed
I think if the Steelers let Parker go it might come it bite them in the butt. but then again they have 2 other running backs so maybe it wont matter
parker isnt, has never, and never will be a full time RB and hes hit his ceiling potential wise, hes not getting any better....what you see with willie is what you get. one more good year out of him and he can go cash in elsewhere, we got his prime out of him
As we saw times during this past season. Mewelde Moore wasn't too shabby. I like Willie a lot but like I said, I want to see Mendenhall a little more and decide on Willie towards the end of the season. I love the fact that he could break one long at anytime. He's got a lot of mileage left on his tires too...
If I am the Steelers I wait til at least week 8 before I even think about resigning Parker. Get a good look at Mendenhaul and see if he could be the star back many think he is capable of being. To many times we see running backs get big deals only to tank the next year. Not saying Parker will tank but it just seems like a position you can sign out of college let them play intial contract then draft a new one.
I dont think he will tank. I think he will be a productive starting rb for next 4 years or so. Once again this is something only time will tell
