FanHouse FernandoBryant

Because the NFL season never ends, we present our 2009 Offseason Roadmaps for front offices to navigate through the summer.

For the second time in four years, the Steelers hoisted the Lombardi Trophy, which means no matter what happens this offseason, Steelers fans have plenty of reasons to be happy. But with an easier 2009 schedule on the horizon and few big names hitting free agency, Steelers fans are ready to start thinking repeat, even if Mike Tomlin won't use that word.

After losing starting cornerback Bryant McFadden to a broken arm and fill-in starter Deshea Townsend to a pulled hamstring, the Steelers are understandably desperate for a cornerback, which explains why they are signing a cornerback who was waived in the preseason by the cornerback-poor New England Patriots.

Fernando Bryant, a first-round pick of the Jaguars in 1999, was once a pretty good cornerback, but he does seem to have aged poorly. But with William Gay likely stepping into a starting role (shudder), and Anthony Madison becoming the nickel back, Bryant could play a lot of Sunday.

It also probably wouldn't hurt for the Steelers to bring in the now released Justin Miller for a look as well. Miller was a Pro Bowl returner for the Jets in 2006, but he missed almost all of 2007 and had played sparingly in 2008 as he recovered from a knee injury. He never was a great corner, but if he's gotten most of his blazing speed back, he could fit as a No. 5 corner/kick returner--filling a need the Steelers haven't come close to filling all year.

Way back in April, I wrote that the Patriots might've found a viable replacement for Asante Samuel, who had recently inked a big-money contract to play for the Eagles, when they signed Lions castoff Fernando Bryant.

I based that not on the fact that head coach Bill Belichick must know something the rest of us don't because HE'S A FREAKING GENIUS (New England signs a boatload of defensive backs every spring, and inevitably, most of them aren't around by the start of the season), but because Detroit head coach Rod Marinelli spoke in glowing terms about Bryant, and stressed that the decision to release him was strictly a financial one.

Maybe that's true, and maybe Marinelli really does think Bryant is "very physical" and "a tough tackler," but I'm guessing Belichick disagrees.

The Patriots signed a free agent cornerback today, but it wasn't the guy Rodney Harrison was asking for. According to Mike Reiss of the Boston Globe, the Patriots announced the signing of free agent Deltha O'Neal this morning just two days after he was released by the Bengals.

After veterans Fernando Bryant and Jason Webster failed to make the final 53-man roster, the Patriots were looking as if they were going to head into the regular season with only Ellis Hobbs, Lewis Sanders and a pair of rookies (11 career interceptions for the group) holding down the cornerback spots on the roster. Not exactly the deepest unit in the league.

O'Neal has played in a pair of Pro Bowls in his career, and was tied for the NFL lead in interceptions just three years ago (with Ty Law!) when he set a Bengals franchise record with ten picks during the 2005 season. Obviously, he has pretty good hands and can come away with his fair share of interceptions, but he's quite the gambler and never met a pump-fake he didn't like.

The Detroit Lions have released cornerback Fernando Bryant, leaving them without any corners as the NFL free agency period approaches.

The decision to release Bryant came because he had a roster bonus coming and a high base salary for 2008, and it wasn't a bad move to release him. But cornerbacks Travis Fisher and Keith Smith are unrestricted free agents and Stanley Wilson is a restricted free agent, meaning the Lions are out of cornerbacks.

And you just know what that means: Either Lions president Matt Millen devotes big money to the cornerback position and ignores the Lions' needs elsewhere, or the Lions go into the 2008 season with a patchwork pass defense that opposing quarterbacks will pick apart.

For Bryant's part, though, he has nothing but positive things to say about the team:

"I wish the Lions the best," Bryant said Monday. "I think Matt Millen has everything going in the right direction. I don't have anything negative, other than it was just time to part ways."

Not many players have had good things to say as they've left the Lions in recent years. Bryant is an exception, but he's also glad to be on the way out.