Pittsburgh Steelers 2019 positional spending: defense
By Tommy Jaggi
I recently broke down the Pittsburgh Steelers’ salary cap situation on the offensive side of the ball for 2019. The Steelers currently have a large portion of money tied up in Ben Roethlisberger and their offensive line, while their running backs and receivers are among the cheapest groups in the league. But what about there defense?
We know that the Steelers have missed on several high draft picks. Jarvis Jones never got a second contract, and unless something miraculous happens, Artie Burns won’t get his. Ryan Shazier also suffered his injury before the Steelers gave him a massive extension.
Here’s a look at the Steelers defensive cap situation by position for the 2019 season and how they compare to other NFL teams:
Defensive Line – 11th ($37.0M)
The Steelers may have the 11th most money tied into their defensive line for 2019, but they have a very solid grouping of defensive linemen. In fact, Pro Football Focus scored Cam Heyward, Stephon Tuitt, and Javon Hargrave each with a grade over 81.5 last season.
Though Pittsburgh may have overpaid Stephon Tuitt (who has a cap number of $13.6M each of the next three seasons), this is one of the strengths of the Steelers roster. There cap number in this department will rise to one of the top in the league when Hargrave gets his extension.
Linebacker/EDGE – 6th ($28.6M)
Thanks to Bud Dupree’s $9.2M 5th year option, the Steelers are currently paying out the 6th highest sum to their outside and inside linebacker in 2019. The Steelers haven’t had a lot of success drafting linebackers since Ryan Shazier, but Devin Bush should be money well spent.
The Steelers will likely save money next year in this area if they allow Bud Dupree to walk, but it won’t be long before T.J. Watt is one of the highest paid edge rushers in the league.
Cornerback – 16th ($22.1M)
The Steelers are currently in the middle of the pack when it comes to paying cornerbacks. Pittsburgh is set to spend a hair over $22M on the position this year.
The Steelers are currently paying Joe Haden $11.9M in 2019 – the last year of his contract. They also spent more money on Steven Nelson this offseason than they have ever dished out to a free agent before. With players like Haden, Nelson, Artie Burns, and Justin Layne, I’m surprised the Steelers aren’t spending more money on this position.
Safety – 28th ($6.9M)
Safety is easily the lowest paid position on the Steelers defense. Once a position dominated by the likes of Troy Polamalu and Ryan Clark, there was nowhere for Pittsburgh to go but down. The Steelers have a pair of young, raw players starting at safety that have been a bit underwhelming, but are trending in the right direction.
Sean Davis is in the last year of his rookie deal. I recently wrote an article about why the Steelers should let him walk next season, but a lack of depth at free safety could prevent him from doing that.
Being the cheapest at a position isn’t always a good thing. It typically means one of two things: they are either still on rookie deals, or they don’t have enough talent to get paid. With the Steelers defense as a whole paying out as the 10th most expensive unit in 2019, let’s hope that Pittsburgh could put that money to good use.