The Pittsburgh Steelers are in the market for getting a new tight-end in Pittsburgh alongside Eric Ebron heading into 2021. Jesse James played four seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers and left for a bigger contract with the Detroit Lions in 2019. James' contract was for four-years, $22.6 million dollars with $10.5 million guaranteed and $7.1 million signing bonus to not play.
Jesse James caught the ball in Pittsburgh, but he didn't do much in Detroit. He caught just 30 passes for 271 receiving yards over two seasons. Now the Lions are regretting him coming. During the 2021 offseason, James became a cap casualty in Detroit and he was eventually released. Recently he changed his Instagram profile picture back to him in a Steelers Uniform. Could the Steelers bring him back to Pittsburgh? Sure, but not at the price the Lions decided to pay him. He will need to take a significant pay cut to return back to Pittsburgh but could help Eric Ebron in 2021.
It would be a Pittsburgh Steeler move to bring Jesse James back. He knows the system and they can potentially bring him in cheap. With many holes needed to be filled in Pittsburgh, it could help the Steelers fill one of those holes before going into the 2021 NFL draft.
Although James would be great to bring back to Pittsburgh there are other tight-ends who the Steelers could look at in the draft. Pat Friermuth would be an incredible fit for the Steelers. He is also a Penn State guy who the Steelers typically love. It will be interesting to see how the Steelers decide to fill in their positions of need during the 2021 season and Jesse James could definitely help them fill their tight-end position that is needed in Pittsburgh. It looks like he wants to come back.
