3 Steelers who should not be re-signed next season

Seemingly every year, there are players I want the Pittsburgh Steelers to retain and players I want them to let hit the free agent market. This year, there are three players the Steelers should not re-sign for 2020 and beyond.

There are several ways the NFL helps keep a balanced and competitive league. The NFL Draft offers a way for the worst  franchises to quickly bolster their roster with high draft choices and potential future NFL stars. However, an important variable that people don’t talk about as often is having a salary cap.

The Pittsburgh Steelers (like every other team in the league) only have so much money to spend. Teams have a ‘cap floor’ – meaning they must spend a certain amount of money. However, nobody is required to spend all of their cap space. Fortunately for the Steelers, the Rooney’s allow the front office to spend as much money as possible.

If this were Major League Baseball, Pittsburgh’s front office could keep anyone they wanted. But with a cap ceiling, there will always be players who are forced to hit the road. Here are three players the Steelers may not want to re-sign in 2020:

Bud Dupree, EDGE

Bud Dupree is on this list for a number of obvious reasons: He is in a contract year, he’s been inconsistent throughout his career, and will likely require a good bit of money. Dupree has never produced more than 6.0 sacks in a season, but that didn’t stop Pittsburgh from giving him the fully guaranteed $9.2M price tag this year with the 5th-year option.

Dupree has flashed at times for the Steelers, but has not shown a lot of improvement to his bend, technique, or hand usage as a pass rusher. Even if he finally broke out in 2019, would you feel comfortable paying top-dollar for a player with one year of production?

Sean Davis, FS

This is a tough one, because the Steelers elected to ignore adding safety depth this offseason. I recently wrote an article about how thin Pittsburgh is at the safety position. However, Sean Davis has not proven to be a special football player.

Though he improved in his 3rd NFL season in 2018, Davis still is just an average NFL safety. The biggest problem with Davis is that he hasn’t found ways to create turnovers – one of the most important thinks a safety can do for your team. Davis has just one interception is his last 17 NFL games.

Joe Haden, CB

I know there will be a lot of fans that disagree with me on this, but Joe Haden may not be worth paying when he becomes a free agent next season. Though Haden has been a solid for the Steelers, his steep price tag of over $11.9M this year indicates that he will probably want a hefty pay check again next offseason.

Haden will be 31 years old before next year’s NFL Draft. Do the Steelers really want to invest a lot in an older player who is good, but not great? Pittsburgh could take that money they would use on a Haden extension and put it towards a younger (and potentially cheaper) outside cornerback.

When it comes to the salary cap, my philosophy has always been to pay ‘great’ or ‘elite’ players. Bud Dupree, Sean Davis, and Joe Haden may all be very good in 2019, but they won’t fall under either of these categories. Unless something unforeseeable happens, I would consider letting them walk in 2020.