We all understand that when it comes to NFL contracts, it is as much about what the market says as anything else. Players and teams keep a close eye on the contracts that players get in free agency, as a gauge for other new deals.

It’s a calculated risk for all parties involved. Jump the gun and miss out. Wait too long and miss out. If a team really wants to hold onto a player, they do their best to keep a player under contract and never have to contend with a bidding war, but the market is always out there.

The latest free-agency news is that former Baltimore Ravens guard Kelechi Osemele has signed a massive free-agent deal with the Oakland Raiders, that is the biggest in NFL history for a guard.

As I started to think about this deal, and what impact that this could have on the Pittsburgh Steelers with upcoming negotiations with free-agent guard Ramon Foster and how it will impact the pending extension for David DeCastro. And in my search, I find this piece from Ray Fittipaldo.

However, as I read it, and I thought about it, this Osemele signing isn’t going to make a difference at all. Why? Because for all their financial ineptitude, the Raiders couldn’t have signed Osemele to play guard at that price point. We won’t know for sure until training camp breaks, but logic dictates that you pay a tackle this kind of money, not a guard. Osemele is a former college tackle and understands his paychecks are bigger if he can slide outside.

If I’m the Steelers, this is exactly the angle I take with Foster and DeCastro. Throw Osemele’s contract out, because what he’s going to do in Oakland won’t apply. Foster and DeCastro are great guards, but there’s no move to tackle in their futures.