We already knew the Pittsburgh Steelers inked DL Larry Ogunjobi to a one-year deal. Now, we know how much it’s worth. According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, Ogunjobi’s deal is worth up-to $8 million, a contract comprised of currently unknown incentives.
As Rapoport notes, Ogunjobi nearly signed a $40.5 million deal worth over $10 million per season with the Chicago Bears earlier this offseason. But he failed his physical due to a foot injury suffered during the postseason and the deal fell through. Now healthy, he’s taking less money, but will look to rebuild his value and hit the market in 2023 to reclaim that big payday.
It’s still not clear exactly how Ogunjobi’s contract is structured, but Rapoport’s tweet offers important framework. It seems Omar Khan might be more willing to hand out one-year deals and use incentives in contracts than his predecessor Kevin Colbert, another subtle shift of how the Steelers do business.
Ogunjobi posted a career-high seven sacks last season for the Bengals. He’ll add important defensive line depth to the Steelers’ room, especially following Stephon Tuitt’s retirement. Pittsburgh will first look to fix its run defense, a unit that finished 32nd in the league a year ago, its worst mark in team history.
