The Pittsburgh Steelers now have three weeks from today to get guard David DeCastro signed to a long-term extension and while I think that will ultimately happen, it doesn’t sound like a deal will get done prior to the team’s third preseason game against the New Orleans Saints Friday night.
On Monday, DeCastro was asked about how contract extension talks are going currently with the Steelers.
“No, no, nothing. Not at all,” DeCastro said, according to Chris Bradford of The Beaver County Times.
DeCastro, who is currently slated to earn $8.070 million in 2016 after having his fifth-year option picked up by the Steelers well over a year ago, is probably looking to become the league’s second-highest paid guard between now and the start of the regular-season. Currently, Oakland Raiders guard Kelechi Osemele leads the way when it comes to highest-paid interior linemen thanks to the five year, $58.5 million free agent contract he signed this past March.
DeCastro’s extension, should he ultimately get one over the course of the next three weeks, figures to have a new money yearly average of well more than $9 million. Should the two sides ultimately fail to come to some kind of an agreement before the start of the 2016 regular season, DeCastro would then become a candidate for the franchise tag next offseason.
An extension with DeCastro now would obviously help out the Steelers in 2016 from a salary cap perspective as it would figure to lower his charge this year by several million dollars. As of Monday, the NFLPA has the Steelers listed with $2,779,333 in available salary cap space. However, a portion of that will likely need to go towards two final roster spots in addition to a 10-man practice squad needing to be accommodated.
