The Pittsburgh Steelers officially re-signed tight end Zach Gentry to a one-year contract a few days ago and the details related to that deal have now surfaced. Gentry was an unrestricted free agent at the start of the 2023 NFL year on March 15.
Gentry’s deal, according to Aaron Wilson of KPRC2-TV, has a base salary of $1.2475 million. He also receives a signing bonus of $152,500. This is a benefit deal so Gentry’s cap number for 2023 will be $1.2325 million.
What we do not know yet is if Gentry will receive another $1.35 million as part of a four-year player benefit contract as I outlined a few weeks ago. If he did receive that benefit up to $1.35 million will not count against the salary cap. The main takeaways here is that Gentry’s cap number, regardless of the kind of deal, should be just $1.2325 million.
Gentry, a former fifth-round draft pick out of Michigan, logged a career-high 577 offensive snaps in 2022 in addition to 72 more on special teams. He caught 19 passes for 132 yards and no touchdowns in 2022. He had one drop in 23 total targets. Gentry’s run blocking in 2022 wasn’t great and that’s a bit concerning. If it can be termed as being average, that might be on the generous side.
With Gentry’s deal including only $152,500 in guaranteed money, he should not be considered a lock to make the 53-man roster this year. It will now be interesting to see if the Steelers address the tight end position at some point during the 2023 NFL Draft.
