Even though the Steelers have found ways to win more games than lose them, there are still a bunch of issues on this roster. They were active last offseason, and a ton of praise was thrown at Omar Khan during his first full offseason in the General manager chair. Some of those moves have not panned out and it seems like a mess he will have to clean up.
Plenty of starters and other players on the roster have not been playing to the standard this team needs. Their contracts have become overvalued at this point in time, and it could cause their spots on the team to become expendable by this offseason. Khan has a lot of work once this season concludes and there are plenty of holes to fill again just like last year.
Levi Wallace can not get extended by the Steelers this year
Many players in the secondary for Pittsburgh have come under fire this season. They have been slow and have not been able to defend the pass well despite having an incredible pass rush led by T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith. No matter that positive, this defense has failed in many other aspects and the bad play of cornerbacks has led to constant gains by opposing offenses.
Levi Wallace has been one of the worst starting cornerbacks in the NFL this season. Fans have been calling for him to lose that job since week one, but for one reason or another, the coaches refused. In recent weeks, Joey Porter Jr. has taken over one of the starting roles, but Wallace is forced to play meaningful snaps for the Steelers' defense.
Right now, Wallace is scheduled to hit free agency once this season wraps up. He is too slow and cannot play the brand of football that Pittsburgh likes on defense. Free agency might be a light market for him, but it is time to move in another direction. Wallace will have another shot elsewhere, but he seems to be a backup guy at best.
Mason Cole should be in consideration as a cap casualty this offseason
One of the unspoken developments in this campaign thus far has been how poorly Mason Cole has played to this point. Now, it is not all of his fault as most of the interior of the offensive line has had its fair share of struggles. It is hard to look past Cole's performances though and it is starting to make his contract seem unpopular to keep around.
There could be a lot of money saved by cutting Cole and there are better options in the coming draft. Perhaps the Steelers will take the same approach with the center position as they did this year with their tackle dilemma. One would imagine that even if Pittsburgh takes a center high in the draft, they will make them work for a starting job as they have done with Broderick Jones.
It would infuriate many as they know Cole would be better off as a backup, but that is up to the coaching staff. Again, a lot of this rides on the player's performance the rest of the season, but Cole will need to step up in the remaining weeks ahead. His score this season has been worse than last year, and it has shocked some.
Many thought he would be able to build off of last season and become a solid center for the Steelers moving forward. He has only regressed, and it seems like his name could be cut with nearly five million dollars of cap savings if they would release him after June 1. He is a leader in the locker room, but leaders can't play if they are not doing well in their profession.
Allen Robinson II has not worked out in Pittsburgh and his cap savings is high
It might not be entirely Allen Robinson II's fault, but things have not worked out in Pittsburgh thus far. He might just be at the point where he might consider retirement right now. He got traded for pennies on the dollar out of LA and it seemed like a solid move for the Steelers at the time. Instead, the offense has been terrible, and Robinson does not get much attention.
Again, not everything is his fault because he does not get many targets throughout a game. But he also struggles to create separation on his routes, which is a problem when he is the top slot receiver for the club. His contract has always been an issue for Robinson, and it might be too much for Pittsburgh to keep around.
According to Over the Cap's website, releasing Robinson with a post-June first designation would free up ten million dollars. That is a lot of spending cash to free up for a club that would love some more money to spend come free agency. The Steelers are known for drafting and developing receivers so it's likely they would cut Robinson and draft a replacement.
Otherwise, they could have Calvin Austin III fill that void if Robinson gets cut. He has cap casualty written all over him. He would be a nice option if he cost far less than what he commands right now. Perhaps a pay cut could resolve some things, or maybe they will just have to go their separate ways. Hard to totally evaluate Robinson right now with how stale the offense is.
Patrick Peterson has not been a good free agent addition for the Steelers
Most thought that the addition of Patrick Peterson this past free agency session would solve a lot of issues for the Steelers secondary. Wallace was coming off a solid season at corner and the addition of Peterson was seen as filling the last void open. It took the pressure off the draft to reach for a cornerback, but Joey Porter Jr. fell to them anyway.
It was teased that Peterson might take on different roles in the secondary, but all those thoughts have gone out the window. Peterson has clearly lost a step and cannot thrive in the NFL anymore. It might be time for him to call it a career. It will be tough to find reasons to get him back with the club other than his leadership of the team.
One of the main factors he needs to go is his performance based on pay and he is getting paid too much right now. Pittsburgh could save almost seven million bucks by cutting Peterson with a post-June-first designation. That is some quality savings that could help you land an upgrade at corner with a younger player who has speed.
Father Time is undefeated and it looks like he has finally caught up to Peterson with how poorly he has played this year. Mike Tomlin will find this move difficult, even though it seems obvious when you look at his film this year. Maybe they will find a way to keep him around and try something at safety, but Peterson either needs to adapt to somewhere else or he will be off the team.
Chuks Okorafor could become the odd-man out in the trenches
Tackle is one of the hot topics for the black and gold this season. They have struggled to commit to starting rookie Broderick Jones for most of the campaign even though they traded up to draft him. They have stuck to starting Dan Moore Jr. and Chuks Okorafor at both tackle spots when both were happy until week nine of competition.
Week nine was different as Okorafor was benched for an unknown reason heading into the game and Jones had another solid outing as a starter. He has now posted two solid games at both left and right tackle as a rookie. One would have to imagine that this will open the door for Jones to potentially play more games down the stretch.
Depending on how that goes and which side he starts on, that could spell disaster for Okorafor's future with the team. He costs the Steelers a lot of money to keep around and they could save a lot of spending change by cutting post-June 1. They could save a little under nine million dollars by sending Okorafor looking for a job elsewhere. Maybe they could even trade him away.
By cutting the likes of those mentioned in the article and not re-signing Wallace, the Steelers could have a little over 38 million dollars to spend to re-sign some of their own and add free agents. The draft will be another big piece for their talent acquisitions this offseason, but they could have a lot of spending cash by cutting some cap casualties.