When the Pittsburgh Steelers saw that veteran Pro Bowl free safety Ryan Clark, an integral part of their defense, was beyond his abilities, the front office let him leave in free agency and brought in Mike Mitchell through free agency, inking him with a $25 million deal over five seasons, averaging $5 million per season.
While that is not exactly breaking the bank, that is a major splash for the Steelers in free agency, which is a strong indication of the level of importance that they placed not only in bringing in Mitchell, but in specifically replacing a piece of the defense such as Clark.