4 Steelers who could be cap casualties after the 2020 season

Spending big has finally caught up to the Steelers. Here are four players who could be cap casualties after the 2020 season.

How can anyone fault the way the Pittsburgh Steelers do business? Though I’m guilty of complaining from time to time about some of the decisions they make, the Rooney family has a terrific thing going as the Steelers haven’t had a losing season since 2003. They know as well as anyone that in order to have a routinely competitive team, you need to spend money – and lots of it.

Nearly every year, the Steelers spend close to the top of the salary cap ceiling, and it’s not hard to see why. By doing so, they are almost always able to retain their best players while still managing to bring in free agents who can come in and help them succeed. Unfortunately, it looks like all of the contract back-loading has finally caught up to them.

Nobody could have predicted that a pandemic was going to sweep through in 2020, but as a result, the NFL cap stands to be much lower in 2021. As a result, the Steelers will have to cut some players in order to get under the cap. Here are four players who could be cap[ casualties this coming offseason:

TE Vance McDonald

This one seems like an obvious candidate. Despite playing sparingly for the Steelers in 2020, McDonald’s cap hit is among the top ten on the team for 2021 and he is scheduled to make roughly $8 million next season. By cutting him lose in the coming offseason, Pittsburgh would save $5.2 million while absorbing just $2.7 million in dead cap space, according to Over the Cap.

McDonald had his time in the spotlight with the Steelers in 2018. However, he will be 31 years old next season and his value to the team has become increasingly small. Don’t be surprised if he gets the ax when the season is over.