John Harris at the Trib writes that with the NFL lockout in effect, coaches have that much more time to figure out which free agents they want to pursue. Also, once the lockout is over, teams will look to sign free agents quickly, because players won't have as much time as they normally would to acclimate to new teams.
↵↵↵"Because teams don't have to worry about working out players and putting practice plans together, their time will be spent evaluating free agents," said former Dallas Cowboys executive Gil Brandt, who works for NFL.com and Sirius radio. "The head coach will say, 'This is offensive line day; tomorrow is defensive line day.' Teams will do a great job of putting those guys in order for what they want for their team."
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The Steelers' key free agent obviously is cornerback Ike Taylor. Despite the additions of two cornerbacks in the NFL Draft in Curtis Brown and Cortez Allen, the Steelers don't have enough talent or depth at the position, and they need to get Taylor back. Once the lockout is over, expect there to be a bunch of player movement in a short period of time.
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