The Pittsburgh Steelers started the process of cutting cap space on Monday by releasing of outside linebacker Anthony Chickillo.
Chickillo, who was originally selected by the Steelers in the sixth-round of the 2015 NFL draft out of Miami, was scheduled to earn a base salary of $4.5 million in 2020 along with a $500,000 roster bonus. The Steelers cleared $4.39 million in 2020 salary cap space by cutting Chickillo after Rule of 51 roster displacement takes place.
In his five seasons with the Steelers, Chickillo registered 97 total tackles and 7,.5 sacks and made nine total starts. He was primarily used as a backup rotational player and as a core special teamer during his time in Pittsburgh.
After he was arrested last season for domestic violence on October 20, 2019, Chickillo was placed on the exempt/commissioner’s permission list by the team three days later. The domestic violence charges were ultimately withdrawn on October 30, and Chickillo was activated back to the active roster on October 31.
The Steelers signed Chickillo to a two-year, $8 million contract just ahead of the start of the 2019 new league year.
The Steelers incur a 2020 dead money charge of $1,097,500 with the release of Chickillo.
