The Pittsburgh Steelers have gotten a lot done in the last few days as they prepare for the start of the 2020 NFL league year on Wednesday and it sounds like a few more restructures might be on the way.
Steelers team president Art Rooney II talked to members of the local media on Tuesday and in addition to saying that the team might be done releasing players for now, a few more contracts might have to be restructured, according to Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
The Steelers have already released three players, outside linebacker Anthony Chickillo, inside linebacker Mark Barron and wide receiver Johnny Holton, and they’re also reportedly in the process of getting at least five contract restructures finalized on quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, tight end Vance McDonald, cornerback Joe Haden, Steven Nelson and kicker Chris Boswell. Also, the retirement of guard Ramon Foster on Monday also cleared nearly $4 million in 2020 salary cap space after roster displacement.
If deemed necessary, the Steelers could also restructure the contracts of center Maurkice Pouncey, guard David DeCastro and defensive end Stephon Tuitt to free up even more bulk salary cap space for 2020.
Rooney also said on Tuesday that the Steelers are likely to participate some in free agency even if it means mostly re-signing a few of their own payers.
“Obviously we have our own players we’re still interested in,” Rooney said, according to Dulac. “We’ll be looking at a combination that if we can’t sign one of our players, then we’ll look outside. But I do think we’ll be in position to sign a few players, whether they’re ours or coming from another team.”
While the Steelers couldn’t re-sign defensive tackle Javon Hargrave or inside linebacker Tyler Matakevich, perhaps they’ll find a way to re-sign center/guard B.J. Finney and tight end Nick Vannett in the coming days. Additionally, the Steelers are expected to issue a few restricted free agent tenders in the next 24 hours. Tackle Matt Feiler, cornerback Mike Hilton and tackle Zach Banner are the three highest priority restricted free agents the Steelers have this offseason.
The next 48 hours on this site should be worth paying close attention to as there’s sure to be quite a bit more Steelers news to pass along.
