In the end, Terrell Edmunds ended up going with the familiar option. But, according to the fifth-year safety, the opportunity to play somewhere other than Pittsburgh was there.
“It was just a waiting process,” said Edmunds, who signed a one-year deal with the Steelers this offseason following four seasons in Pittsburgh.
“We were in communication with a lot of different teams. I had a few offers out there, but it was just like finding the best situation. At one point it was going to take a two or three-year deal, then (we) started doing one-year deals, and then it was all about the best situation.”
As it turned out, the ‘best situation’ for Edmunds was to stay put, try to have a strong season, and hit free agency again in 2023 — that is, unless the Steelers sign him long-term.
“(I’m) back with my guys,” he said. “I don’t have to meet a lot of new faces, don’t have to learn a new defense. I can go out there, play my game, feel comfortable.”
The free agent market was not particularly kind to safeties this offseason, and that may have played a role in Edmunds not getting what he felt like he could have or what he might in the future.
“It is what it is,” he said. “Right now, I’m not so much worried about how the market was. Just trying to figure out how we can make the market good next year.”
The Steelers, despite bringing back the former first-round pick out of Virginia Tech, also signed an insurance option in former Falcons and Cowboys safety Damontae Kazee.
Edmunds, who has only five career interceptions but has made 64 starts in four seasons and has been a very durable safety, doesn’t appear overly threatened by Kazee, who co-led the NFL in interceptions in 2018 and made 15 starts with the Cowboys last season.
“Oh, nah, I feel like I’m the starter,” Edmunds said. “It’s just like going out there and competing. He’s going to help us out the best way he can. Definitely no doubt in my mind about the starter position.
“I feel like it’s locked down. I’m going to be competing every day. That’s just a part of football.”
Edmunds was respectable last year, despite playing in the NFL’s worst run defense. Now, with a few more reinforcements and with a potential tweak to the scheme following the promotion of Teryl Austin to defensive coordinator, he could be better situated to make plays.
“(Austin), that’s my dog,” Edmunds said. “He’s still the same guy. Super smart. He’s going to put us in the best positions. He’s going to help us out. He’s going to have that voice. He was a leader last year, and now, being in that dominant role, you can definitely tell.
Another reason Edmunds could flourish more is the addition of Brian Flores, the former Dolphins head coach who is in his first season as a senior defensive assistant and linebackers coach.
To say Edmunds is a fan of Flores may be an understatement.
“He’s a bulldog,” Edmunds said of Flores. “Just the way he talks, you can tell that he’s got the military mentality. He wants everything to be on point. He’s not letting anybody slack off. We need that.”
The Steelers secondary is another group that is going through somewhat of a transition, as Joe Haden’s contract expired.
Edmunds, despite coming off his rookie deal, is now one of the veterans of that group, and is embracing a leadership role, even if the Steelers have put some pressure on him to perform.
“We’re talking, we’re having a good time,” he said. “These are my guys. We’re all humble in the room. We’ve got a selfless room.
“No matter where you come from, no matter your status or whatever, we’re trying to help you out, trying to get you on point with the defense the best way we can.”