DANA POINT, Calif. No conspiracy theory here, folks.
And for those who wondered otherwise, the Steelers did not get jobbed when the NFL only gave them a fifth-round compensatory draft pick even though they lost perennial Pro Bowl guard Alan Faneca to free agency last year.
At the end of a seven-page booklet that details how compensatory picks are awarded and that so much space is needed to explain how the complicated formula works is another blog item for another day is the explanation for why the Steelers did not get a higher compensatory pick in April's draft.
Teams that lose a free agent with 10 or more seasons of NFL experience can get no better than a fifth-round compensatory pick for that player.
What happened in the case of the Steelers: the addition of running back Mewelde Moore and the loss of outside linebacker Clark Haggans essentially canceled each other out. The left Faneca, who suited up for the Steelers from 1998-2007, as the only player in the formula the NFL uses to determine compensatory picks.
Ultimately, the Steelers got the most they could have for losing of Faneca as they have the first compensatory pick in the fifth round.
