(Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images)
Maurkice Pouncey announced his retirement last month and the Steelers were left with a void to fill at center. To no surprise, the Steelers signed a familiar face in offensive lineman B.J. Finney to a one-year deal today to help with depth at the position or as possibly a stopgap replacement for Pouncey.
Finney played with the Steelers from 2015-2019 and started 13 games. Finney had an 11-2 record as a starter with Pittsburgh.
Finney signed a two-year, $8 million deal with the Seahawks last March, but things ended up not working out in Seattle and he was traded to the Bengals in October.
According to Jeremy Fowler and Brady Henderson of ESPN, Finney struggled to properly train last offseason in fear of losing a $2 million signing bonus from the Seahawks due to COVID-19 restrictions on physicals. Finney never played an offensive down for the team and showed up to training camp out of shape, weighing above his normal playing weight of 315 pounds.
Finney only played one game in Cincinnati and was released last week. It was a tumultuous year for Finney and he'll be looking to rebound with the Steelers in 2021, a place where he's had success and is familiar with.