The NFL transaction report for Monday is now in and the Pittsburgh Steelers release of wide receiver Lance Moore is included on it. That means that defensive end Cam Thomas is still currently on the roster.
Nothing is stopping the Steelers from releasing Thomas at a later date, or as soon as Tuesday, but one would think that he would’ve been sent packing Monday along with Moore if the decision to part ways with him had already been made.
If you look back at the Steelers transactions from last year at this same point of the offseason, you will notice that linebacker Larry Foote, tackle Levi Brown and cornerback Curtis Brown were all released on the same day. They also released linebacker LaMarr Woodley six days later, but I suppose that was because he was needing to be designated as a post June 1 release.
The Steelers can save $2 million in salary cap space prior to displacement taking place in the Rule of 51 by releasing Thomas, but maybe they feel like holding on to him for a little while due to their lack of depth on the defensive line. The same goes for veteran defensive end Brett Keisel, who is scheduled to earn a $1.5 million base salary in 2015.
Like the rest of you, I am hoping that we don’t have to endure another season of Thomas on the 53 man roster, but as of Monday night, he’s yet to be released. If he hasn’t been cut by the end of this week, he might very well wind up being the roster for the rest of the offseason and the start of training camp. Yikes!
