Happy “legal tampering day” to all those who celebrate. By noon, teams will be allowed to contact pending free agents and negotiate contracts, though they won’t become official until the start of the new league year on Wednesday. For the Pittsburgh Steelers, expect it to be a busy free agency.
And let’s put aside the Russell Wilson news. In part because this article was written before that story broke and in part because Wilson’s minimum salary won’t move the cap needle. The Steelers are dealing with the same money.
GM Omar Khan created a ton of cap space in the lead-up to the new year. Several players who had pending roster bonuses and decisions to be made were released. Friday sent two more to the scrap heap in WR Allen Robinson II and CB Patrick Peterson. Robinson was a no-brainer to have something happen with him, but Peterson was more questionable. Franky, it’s surprising that the Steelers waited so long to dump him. Perhaps they tried to re-work his deal and Peterson declined to reduce his salary.
Regardless, as Dave Bryan pointed out, the Steelers have over $25 million in cap space heading into free agency. Some money must be earmarked for future expenses but with a Cam Heyward extension and Alex Highsmith restructure on the table, they can clear even more space. With Dave projecting the team spend $40 million in cash in free agency, it means there is going to be lots of moving and shaking in Pittsburgh.
While the Steelers cutting a slew of players was justifiable, dumping Mason Cole, Robinson, Peterson, and others, it creates a huge number of snaps to replace. Over 4,000 snaps from the players released, not even counting the list of pending free agents who will hit the open market.
All of that is to say this: expect a busy next five days. This offseason could be more active than last year’s, a bustling one that brought in Peterson, OGs Isaac Seumalo and Nate Herbig, and LBs Cole Holcomb and Elandon Roberts among others. I’ll stick with last week’s prediction that the team will sign its highest-paid outside free agent in franchise history, surpassing OG James Daniels’ mark of $8.83 million average yearly value back in 2022. Where and who, hard to say. Defense should get more focus than offense with inside linebacker, outside and slot corner, and safety logical places for the team to improve. Getting younger and faster is key.
Quarterback is now largely out of the discussion, though they might sign another veteran at some point. An Easton Stick-type given his connection to QBs Coach Tom Arth, the two together in Los Angeles a year ago. Elsewhere, a veteran center will be added and there are options, but it’s hard to say if it’ll be a starter-level contract and player. Ideally, a more mid-tier add, someone like the recently released Bradley Bozeman, could be a fit in the $3-4 million per year range.
From our outsider view, there will always be a surprise. Something happening we didn’t expect or couldn’t predict. That’s the fun of it. Buckle up. It’s going to be a wild week.
