The Steelers are about to have a huge offseason ahead of them, and here are the easiest ways for them to clear cap space.
The Steelers need to be aggressive this offseason, as their window with a rookie contract quarterback shrinks every season. Kenny Pickett is the face of this team for the immediate future, and he needs some capable players added to this roster to help him out. While good draft capital will help, the team also needs to be buyers in free agency.
I’ve already highlighted some potential free agency fits for this team, but the Steelers have some work to get there before they can actively sign players. Thankfully, this team has quite a few outlets to free up money so they can be more aggressive in the offseason. Here is how the Steelers can open up 75 million in cap space before free agency.
Assessing the current Steelers cap space
Before the William Jackson trade (more on him soon), the Steelers would have entered into the offseason with well over 10 million dollars in cap space. That is no longer the case, as the team is currently sitting at just below 1.5 million total in cap space according to Over the Cap. That means some work needs to be done.
Thankfully, there are some obvious ways for this team to get more cap space before free agency opens. While I could, in theory, cut an excess of players and restructure most everyone else, I want this to be a realistic look as to what the team could do. Thus, we have obvious ways to create cap space (cuts for mediocre players) and other possible, but not guaranteed, ways to open up even more.
Steelers starting cap space: 1.5 million (rounded)
The Steelers can easily trim a lot of this roster
The Steelers have quite a few names that stick out as overpaid and not worth the cap hit for the 2023 season. Below is a breakdown of who is likely cut and how much cap relief they then provide.
Chukwuma Okorafor
While Okorafor isn’t a horrible player, he has seemingly peaked as a tackle, making him a very average and unspectacular player. While having a lineman like that isn’t the end of the world, paying him close to 9 million dollars next season is. I think he gets cut before the league’s new year, saving the team roughly 9 million in cap space.
William Jackson
As already mentioned earlier, Jackson was brought over via trade at the deadline, and injuries kept him off the field the entire year., While the Steelers would no doubt like to see what Jackson can provide, his 12-million-dollar cap hit can be saved entirely if he is cut. While I think there is a world where he is back on a much cheaper deal, the team should save the 12 million in space now by releasing him.
Mitch Trubisky
Mitch Trubisky didn’t have the season many expected the former first round pick to have with the Steelers. He struggled to show a lot of desirable traits and will likely be set to join another team in a similar situation to where Pittsburgh was last year (bridge quarterback for an eventual rookie). The Steelers save 8 million dollars by moving on from him.
Ahkello Witherspoon
I had admittingly high hopes for the Steelers when they got Ahkello Witherspoon back last offseason. He was arguably the best cornerback for the team at the end of 2021, and his deal was pretty cheap. Witherspoon failed to continue that impressive play, and the team will save an easy 4 million dollars by releasing him.
Gunner Olszewski
I initially liked the Gunner Olszewski deal last season, as he could wear multiple hats on special teams and was a good returner for the Patriots. Muffed punts led to him getting benched there, and the rest of his play was mediocre. He is an easy choice to get cut once the new league year rolls around and save this team 2 million dollars.
While there are other moves that I think could happen, these are the ones I would virtually lock in right now. The team will likely create more cap space with additional moves, but these cuts net the team a healthy 35 million dollars in cap space to work with.
Updated cap space: 36.5 million
Steelers can create even more cap space
While 36.5 million is healthy cap space, there are a lot of ways this team can creatively expand that number. There are a few more names that could be released and the team can always restructure some of their bigger contracts.
Diontae Johnson
It isn’t entirely clear what the future has in store for Diontae Johnson. If he were to be dealt, the team would save roughly 4.7 million dollars in cap space. That isn’t a huge deal, but if both sides want out, that would still be additional savings.
Myles Jack
Myles Jack is a hard one to gauge. His play in 2022 was average at best, and he was eventually replaced by Robert Spillane. That said, this group only has one player under contract right now, so they may feel the need to keep a familiar face. That said, Jack clears 8 million in cap space if released, so keeping the underperforming veteran is a costly choice.
Montravius Adams
The more I’ve thought about it, the more up in the air that it is that the Steelers cut Montravius Adams. Sure, he is getting overpaid, but his contract isn’t egregious, and the team will want a nose tackle on the roster ahead of the draft. If he is released though, he would save an additional 2.5 million in cap space.
T.J. Watt
No, the Steelers aren’t going to cut T.J. Watt, but they could easily clear 12.6 million dollars in cap space by doing a full contract restructure. This kicks the can down the road obviously, but it opens the door for more potential big-name free agents to potentially join this team.
Minkah Fitzpatrick
This is the name I would circle for a potential restructure, as Minkah Fitzpatrick just signed his new deal, and the team can spread his cap hit across more seasons. There is a real chance no one gets restructured this offseason, but if anyone does, Fitzpatrick makes the most sense and it would save 10 million in cap space.
Chris Boswell
Chris Boswell was off to another strong start for the Steelers before an injury seemed to mess up the rest of his season. While a restructuring here doesn’t save a lot, he would clear up an easy 2.1 million dollars in cap space if the team is expecting him to rebound.
Steelers potential cap space: 75.8 million dollars
What will the Steelers ultimately do?
We are in some uncharted territory this offseason as Omar Khan could create some changes for how this team treats contracts. We have already seen some new changes from Khan as the Steelers got new deals done earlier and utilized the one-year “prove it” deals, two things that Kevin Colbert never seemed to do.
Will the Steelers have almost 76 million in cap space ahead of free agency? Almost certainly not, as it would kick a pretty large can down the road as well as force a lot of bigger cuts for the team. That said, 36.5 million seems like almost a lock and I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Steelers have over 40 million in cap space ahead of free agency.
All of that money would be great for a team that needs to add some serious talent to this roster. No, they won’t land every big-name free agent, but bringing in a few new names will be a must. The team has some obvious outlets to create cap space, and they should utilize them for the 2023 offseason.