The Pittsburgh Steelers are about to enter a new era—this will be the first offseason without Mike Tomlin's influence on shaping the roster in 19 years. Now it's the collection of new head coach Mike McCarthy, general manager Omar Khan, and assistant GM Andy Weidl calling the shots.
Thankfully, the Steelers have ample salary cap space to work with. According to Over The Cap, Pittsburgh currently has roughly $37.6 million in salary cap space with 61 spots currently filled on its 90-man summer roster.
Plenty more could be on the way, as the Steelers could elect to part ways with veterans on steep contracts like linebacker Patrick Queen and defensive back Jalen Ramsey.
But the Steelers could actually open up over $43 million without ditching anyone from their current roster.
The Pittsburgh Steelers could create $43 million in extra cap space with three simple moves
If McCarthy wants to keep some key veterans on his current roster intact while still having the flexibility and spending room to go after free agents, there's an alternative to making high-profile cuts this offseason. In fact, restructuring just three contracts can save the Steelers $43 million and increase their total cap space to nearly $80 million for the 2026 offseason, per Over The Cap.
The first is restructuring the contract of tight end Pat Freiermuth. This is an essentially risk-free move that would save the Steelers over $5.9 million in cap space for the 2026 season. With the restructure, the Steelers would be forced to have a bit more of Freiermuth's contract count against the cap for the
Instead of Freiermuth costing $12.1 million and $10.4 million against the cap in 2027 and 2028, respectively, his cap number in his final two seasons would jump to over $14.7 million and $13.1 million over the last two years of his deal. This is still a manageable number and would help the Steelers save more to build their 2026 roster.
The other two moves the Steelers could make to save $43 million offer much greater savings, but also come with bigger salary cap implications down the line.
Pittsburgh could restructure the contract of D.K. Metcalf. Instead of Metcalf costing $34 million against the cap this year, the Steelers could convert $23.7 million of his base salary into a signing bonus. This would lower his cap number in 2026 from $31 million all the way down to just $13.225 million, saving the team $17.775 million for 2026.
Of course, this move would significantly increase Metcalf's cap number over his final three seasons. In doing so, Metcalf would eventually have a cap number over $47 million in the final year of his contract in 2029, but the Steelers could choose to release him before the 2029 new league year and save $35.5 million.
The biggest potential savings could come from a T.J. Watt contract restructure. The Steelers' highest-paid player is on track to have a $42 million cap number in 2026. Unfortunately, Watt didn't live up to his billing in the first year of a record-setting contract in 2025.
With a restructure, the Steelers could convert $30.7 million of Watt's base salary to a signing bonus, reducing his 2026 cap number to $21.533 million.
The problem with doing this is that it would only kick the Steelers' financial dilemma with Watt another year down the road. In doing so, Watt's cap number would skyrocket to over $52.2 million for the 2027 season. Pittsburgh would either need to take a $10 million loss by getting out of his deal early or stomach the financial blow and wait until the 2028 offseason, when they can save over $36 million by cutting him loose.
Anytime a team is dealing with restructering contracts, there's always a risk-reward element. If Mike McCarthy is looking to be competitive in his first season, there are ways the Pittsburgh Steelers could open up plenty of cap space without parting with their veteran talent.