Don’t get used to having two capable TE’s in Steelers Nation

Watch out for tumbleweeds, as the Steelers top two tight ends may be fighting for one roster spot with the team next season.

2020 is shaping up to be a wild west style battle between the Steelers tight ends. In one corner stands Vance McDonald: a big physical mauler who has a stiff arm that still gives Chris Conte nightmares.

And in the other corner stands Eric Ebron, the athletic marvel that fans have been praying for ever since Ladarius Green up and stole about 6 million dollars from Kevin Colbert. Both players are under contract through the 2021 season, but more than likely only one will be on the roster after this season.

The details on Ebron’s 2-year 12-million-dollar deal recently surfaced and they are very team-friendly. With only a 5-million-dollar signing bonus, he is set to have a cap hit of 3.5 million this year and 8.5 million next year. If he were to be cut next offseason, the Steelers could save 6 million in cap space.

McDonald’s has a very similar 2021 deal after he restructured his contract. His new 2021 cap hit is set to be just under 8 million and, if cut, he would save 5.2 million in cap space. More than likely, the better of the two will remain with the team while the worse will either be cut or traded to clear cap space.

Now, the 2021 NFL cap is far from set, but rumors have it that it could be as high as 240 million, a significant jump from the 198.2 million it was set at this year. This jump comes as a part of the revenue sharing that was implemented with the new CBA that was recently ratified. On paper, the Steelers will have an abundant amount of cap space to retain both Ebron and McDonald.

The problem lies in the restructures the Steelers did this offseason. While they helped clear cap space this year to make the moves they did, they proverbially “kicked the can down the road”. If you take the combined cap hits of the top ten players on the team next offseason, they account for roughly 140 million in cap space, the highlight of it being Ben Roethlisberger’s 41.25-million-dollar cap hit. This number doesn’t include Cam Heyward right now, as he will likely sign a contract that will place him among the top ten cap hits for 2021.

Even with all of that space taken up, next year is going to be a big one for Steelers free agents, as names like JuJu Smith-Schuster, James Conner, Bud Dupree, Alejandro Villanueva, Mike Hilton, and Matt Feiler are all in the final years of their deal. As well, and most troubling, T.J. Watt will be entering his fifth-year option year and will likely want his blockbuster extension that he has rightfully earned. To be frank, the Steelers will be up against the cap again next year even if it spikes to 240 million.

With all that considered, the team won’t be likely to have 16.5 million dollars tied up to the tight end position. Depending on the stats from this upcoming season, the better of the two will be retained while the other will be off the team in order to save cap space. That means next year they could be in a very similar position to where they were before Ebron was signed (a lot of uncertainty at the future of the position).

This leaves a long-term TE as a need this offseason. While it doesn’t have to be addressed this year, it seems realistic the team could still target one of the top TE’s in this draft even if they would only be the number 3 this year. TE’s take a year or two to develop typically, so giving a rookie a year to learn will set them up to be the number 2 next year after one of the top two guys depart. Unless the team is fully confident with Zach Gentry to be a future starter, don’t discount taking a top TE early if the Steeler’s deem him a fit.

While speculating this far into the future is an uncertain science, it seems likely that the Steelers will only be able to carry either Ebron or McDonald past this season even with the salary cap spike set to happen. Because of this, don’t discount a TE early in the process as it will likely give them a learning year to set them up as the number 2 next year. Regardless though, enjoy having two decent TE options this year, because it seems like the Steelers won’t have that luxury next year.