Today’s free agent analysis for 2024 focuses on Pittsburgh Steelers OLB Chapelle Russell. The three-year veteran is set to be a restricted free agent after accruing a season on the Reserve/Injured List. He has been with the team since September 2022 but has not played an NFL snap since 2021.
Player: Chapelle Russell
Position: Outside Linebacker
Experience: Three Years
Free Agent Status: Restricted
2023 Salary Cap Hit: $500,000 (Split salary on the Reserve/Injured List from a base of $940,000)
2023 Season Breakdown:
Much like our last conversation about DL Renell Wren, there isn’t much to say here about OLB Chapelle Russell. Both veterans initially signed with the Steelers’ practice squad in 2022. They each suffered season-ending injuries prior to the start of the 2023 regular season.
Wren tore his Achilles early in the offseason. Russell injured his knee in the preseason. The Steelers waived him with an injured designation, and he reverted to their Reserve/Injured List after he cleared waivers.
It’s a shame because Russell always intrigued me. He has a bit of a bigger build and is willing to hit, and he flashed in the preseason. He had a chance of making the 53-man roster as a fifth outside linebacker behind Markus Golden and Nick Herbig.
Originally a seventh-round pick by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2020, Russell still has under 100 snaps to his name. He played 92 snaps for the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2021. They waived him at the end of the preseason in 2022, and the Steelers signed him to their practice squad days later.
Russell remained on the practice squad throughout the 2022 season and seemed to have a nice offseason in 2023. He was always a long shot, but his background on special teams (almost 300 snaps in 2021) gave him a fighting chance.
Free Agency Outlook:
The Steelers may re-sign Russell, or they may not. I really have no idea, and chances are whatever move they make won’t move any needles. If they re-sign him, he could compete for a special teams role as the fifth edge rusher. That is essentially his ceiling.
Of note, he is a restricted free agent. Like the other restricted free agents we’ve discussed, he has a zero-percent chance of getting a tender. The lowest tender is worth close to $3 million. At best, the Steelers will offer him a Veteran Salary Benefit contract with no signing bonus.
I certainly have no problem if they decide to do that. They are going to need depth for the offseason at some point anyway, and they have experience with Russell. He may not be fully healthy yet, however. I don’t believe we actually know the nature of his knee injury, nor its severity. A fringe player doesn’t need to suffer a dramatic injury for a team to waive him. They simply need roster spots.
