Mike Mitchell brought bluster and a physical if occasionally volatile presence to the Pittsburgh secondary. William Gay was a steady hand and contributed a decade of consistency to the Steelers. Robert Golden had the hard-to-quantify intangibles that made him a special teams ace and reliable backup.

And now they’re gone.

The two-time defending AFC North champions released all three players Wednesday Trai Turner Jersey , signaling a shift in direction in a defensive backfield that faltered in key moments last season.

The Steelers won 13 games but also allowed Tom Brady to light them up late in a mid-December loss that determined home-field advantage throughout the AFC playoffs. They couldn’t stop Jacksonville’s Blake Bortles from orchestrating a playoff upset at Heinz Field that brought a season filled with Super Bowl expectations to an emphatic and sudden halt.

The moves freed up about $7 million in cap space, money Pittsburgh can now use in part to retool around veteran cornerback Joe Haden, promising if erratic cornerback Artie Burns, and safety Sean Davis.

Mitchell spent four uneven seasons with the Steelers, who made a rare splurge in free agency when they brought him in from Carolina in 2014, signing him to a five-year, $25 million deal. Mitchell picked off four passes and recovered four fumbles in Pittsburgh. He also reined in the questionable hits that cost him tens of thousands of dollars in fines earlier in his career.

He also served as a firebrand for a secondary in transition following the retirement of stars Troy Polamalu and Ike Taylor. Yet he would occasionally go for the big hit when a routine tackle would have sufficed, an issue that popped up at inopportune times.

Gay’s departure leaves quarterback Ben Roethlisberger as the only player from Pittsburgh’s last Super Bowl victory nearly a decade ago. Gay carved out a niche as a reliable and versatile defensive back. He has played in 176 consecutive games while spending 10 of his 11 seasons with the Steelers. Gay’s playing time decreased last season as rookie Mike Hilton took over his spot as the nickel back.

Golden filled in at various spots in the secondary Jarrad Davis Jersey , though his real impact was on special teams, a unit he served as the captain from 2014-16.

The moves came a month after Tom Bradley replaced Carnell Lake as defensive backs coach. Lake stepped down shortly after the playoff loss to Jacksonville to spend more time in California to watch his son play high school football.

Pittsburgh, as has long been its custom, stayed quiet on the first day of the league’s new year. The Steelers have focused most of their work over the last six weeks trying to get under the 2018 salary cap, something they’ve done largely through restructuring existing contracts.

While Pittsburgh has depth concerns at safety and inside linebacker, it’s likely the Steelers will rely heavily on the draft to address those needs. Davis and J.J. Wilcox are the only safeties on the current roster with serious NFL experience. Pro Bowl linebacker Ryan Shazier has already been ruled out for 2018 as he recovers from spinal surgery in December.

—


MILWAUKEE — Jorge Polanco is expected to make his season debut Monday night when the Minnesota Twins open a two-game interleague series against the Milwaukee Brewers at Miller Park.

Polanco will be reinstated Monday from his 80-game suspension for use of performance-enhancing drugs after going 6-for-13 in four games with Triple-A Rochester.

He batted .256 with 13 home runs, 30 doubles in 133 games last year and was especially strong in the second half, slashing .293/.359/.511 with 10 homers and 43 RBIs.

That performance moved him into the No. 3 spot in the Twins’ lineup Boomer Esiason Jersey , but manager Paul Molitor said he probably won’t bat that high right away upon his return.

“We know what he did last year when he had a chance to move up into a pretty important role,” Molitor told reporters Sunday in Chicago. “I don’t know we’ll jump him up there that fast. For us to see him is going to be different than hearing about him and reading about him and texting him and all those kinds of things.

“We’ll see how it is. To be honest, coming up here and playing, even though he’s doing really well, it’s going to be a little different than what he’s been doing.”

Right-hander Kyle Gibson (2-6) starts for Minnesota. He posted a 2.45 ERA through his first four June starts but saw that number grow to 3.35 after allowing five runs in seven innings to the Chicago White Sox his last time out.

Gibson struck out seven in the game and walked just one but gave up a season-high 11 hits.

“I went back and looked at some of the hits I gave up,” Gibson said. “I don’t know if I just picked the wrong pitch at the wrong time or what. I executed quite a few pitches there, and they found holes.”

The Twins dropped a three-game weekend series to the Chicago Cubs at Wrigley Field and have lost eight of their last 10 overall.

Milwaukee struggled during the weekend, too D'Onta Foreman Jersey , dropping the last two of a four-game series at Cincinnati. The Brewers managed just five total runs in those losses while allowing 20, including a grand slam in each one.

“Two runs, three runs … You’re going to need more to win most games,” Brewers manager Craig Counsell said.

Despite that showing, the Brewers will return home still leading the National League Central by a half-game over the Cubs, who will be idle Monday.

Brent Suter (8-5) gets the nod in the series opener. He’ll be looking to get back on track after his three-game winning streak was snapped last week by the Kansas City Royals.

Suter overcame a somewhat slow start to the season and has turned into a solid starter in the last two months. He’s 6-2 with a 3.50 ERA in his last eight starts. Before his outing against Kansas City, he hadn’t allowed more than three runs in his previous seven games.

Part of Suter’s success can be attributed to his pace, which is among the game’s fastest. That makes it difficult for hitters to settle in between pitches and Eric Dickerson Jersey , Suter admits, there can be a slight advantage to working quickly.

“I don’t want to quick-pitch people; I don’t do that,” he said. “But I want to keep the tempo up and let my fielders get back in and hit as quickly as possible. That’s how I operate. If that gets them uncomfortable, that’s fine, but I’m just in attack mode and up-tempo.”

Suter is 1-0 with a 3.72 ERA in two career starts against the Twins, both of which came at Target Field. He held them to a run and five hits while striking out six in 5 2/3 innings on May 18.

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