With free agency around the corner, and some cryptic answers from Kevin Colbert’s press conference last Thursday, there are some assumptions that can be made about a handful of impending Pittsburgh Steelers free agents.

We had previously mentioned some of those players whose deals could be done before free agency begins on March 9th. But it’s important to also note which deals might not get finalized until after that date.

Here’s a few of those deals that may not go as planned, at least not initially.

Lawrence Timmons

A lot of times the Steelers will restructure or extend contracts of their valued veterans in the last year of their current deal. However, this did not happen with Lawrence Timmons last season, as apparently the two sides disagreed about the linebacker’s use at this stage of his career.

The rumored breakdown in contract negotiations came as Pittsburgh didn’t see Timmons as a three-down backer any longer. To Timmons’ and his agent’s credit, they held their ground, and talks broke off, and officially terminated when the regular season started, as the Steelers maintain a long-standing policy of not talking money while in-season.

Timmons’ situation is tricky, as the 30-year-old linebacker is represented by one of the industry’s top sports agents, Drew Rosenhaus, who previously negotiated a 5-year, $48 million deal in 2011, which was then restructured three times (2011, 2014 and 2015). As such, Lawrence had the second-highest cap hit of any Steeler last season, only behind Ben Roethlisberger.

That doesn’t mean the Steelers don’t have interest, as mentioned by GM Kevin Colbert in a Thursday press conference:

Regarding impending FA Lawrence Timmons, Colbert said he's "love to see Lawrence finish his career" as a Steeler.

— Joe Rutter (@tribjoerutter) February 16, 2017

Since signing in 2011, Timmons has been one of the team’s top paid players, which will add to the issue of whether the team does a deal with him or not. Colbert had mentioned that they “need to see what the market is” for Timmons’ services, alluding to possibly allowing him to enter free agency and negotiate with other teams, before any ink would dry on a new deal in Pittsburgh.

With other major money deals expected this offseason, we may not see Timmons’ name in the headlines anytime soon.

Le’Veon Bell

Though Colbert mentioned he wanted Antonio Brown and Le’Veon Bell to retire as Steelers, the current contract climate looks like Bell will be offered a franchise tag, in order to retain the rights to him for this upcoming season.

Why does everything think tag instead of long-term deal?

Part of that has to do with Bell’s off-field issues, rather than his health. We all know he’s been injured in the past, but most of those issues were well out of his control (low hits) and other players have also had similar problems in the past (Maurkice Pouncey, for example) without that affecting their contract talks.

A franchise tag would keep Bell in Pittsburgh for another season, and satisfy the amount of money he’d like to make, without jeopardizing the team should another off-field occurrence happen. It would also allow more time for the Steelers to work on a longer term deal following the tag, as they had done in the past with LaMarr Woodley, and like other teams around the league do in order to protect their interests in a certain player (see: Denver Broncos and Von Miller, last season).

The period to start tagging players has already begun, but I wouldn’t expect any concrete until we get closer to free agency starting, and perhaps, no long-term deal until well after that, if not until 2018.

DeAngelo Williams

Williams has publicly said he would like to return to play another season, whether it’s with the Steelers or not.

Here's hoping @DeAngeloRB stays the oldest RB in the league for a few more seasons! pic.twitter.com/XyDD0DBi4M

— NFL Total Access (@NFLTotalAccess) January 30, 2017

Thanks @Terrell_Davis I need a ring to punctuate my career!! https://t.co/l3iWTFgAFk

— DeAngelo Williams (@DeAngeloRB) January 30, 2017

The reason I believe this deal might have to wait is that the Steelers will see what’s available on the market, and maybe even in the draft months later, before making a concrete decision on what to do with DeAngelo. The running back will turn 34 in April, almost a death knell to others at the same position. However, since Williams plays less in a backup capacity, he may have at least one more season left in him, to try and go after that ring.

It really all depends on how the Steelers feel about their backup running back position. Karlos Williams signed a two-year futures contract, but would also have to stay out of trouble (plus get back into game shape) to force their hand to pass on Williams. Considering the backs available in free agency, the true backup RB might not be found until the draft.

The question is, will the Steelers or Williams wait that long?