What do you think about the offseason job that the Pittsburgh Steelers have done so far with their roster since early February? It’s quite noticeable, especially when it comes to their entire quarterback room, which now includes three players who weren’t with the team last season. Regardless of how you feel about what has or hasn’t been accomplished by the Steelers so far this offseason, I think many of you might be surprised by the cash rearrangement and redistribution the team has had so far this offseason. Would you believe me if I told you that the Steelers have actually trimmed 2024 projected cash spending since early February?
Below is a graphic that shows the top 53 projected cash costs for the Steelers on February 2 and April 9. As you can see, the Steelers have actually trimmed $6,437,952 off of that original February 2 amount of $195,594,120. That’s quite a surprising development, in my honest opinion. Let’s look at how they have gone about doing that.
For starters, you might be wondering why February 2 is used as a starting point. Well, by that date, the Steelers had built out their initial top 53, and then some, with the signings of several players to Reserve/Future contracts. Prior to then, they only had 43 players under contract for the 2024 season.
Beginning on February 12, an overhaul of the Steelers 2024 roster got underway. That overhaul included several players being either cut or traded. In fact, nine players who were under contract for 2024 on February 2 are now gone and that list included WR Diontae Johnson (traded), WR Allen Robinson II (cut), OT Chukwuma Okorafor (cut), CB Patrick Peterson (cut), QB Mitch Trubisky (cut), OC Mason Cole (cut), S Keanu Neal (cut), QB Kenny Pickett (traded), and P Pressley Harvin III (cut).
Sure, those nine players had salary cap implications in addition to cash implications, but we are focusing on the latter here. In total, the 2024 cash saved by the Steelers by jettisoning those nine players throughout the earlier part of the offseason was $50,888,900, 26% of the top 53 cash costs on February 2. That’s a ton of cash that was cut.
Now, the Steelers have obviously gone about reshaping their offseason roster this spring, with a lot of that revolving around the signings or re-signings of several free agents and the acquisitions of two other players via trades. The list of new or re-signed players that have hit the rebuilt top 53 in cash costs include ILB Patrick Queen, CB Donte Jackson, QB Justin Fields, DT Montravius Adams, S Miles Killebrew, KR/RB Cordarrelle Patterson, S Deshon Elliott, P Cameron Johnston, QB Russell Wilson, LS Christian Kuntz, DL Dean Lowry, TE MyCole Pruitt, QB Kyle Allen, WR Quez Watkins, WR Van Jefferson, and DT Breiden Fehoko. 16 players in all.
So, what are the total 2024 cash costs of those 16 players who weren’t on the 2024 roster on February 2, but are on it now? Would you believe that it’s $50,855,948? That’s just $32,952 less than the cash saved amount that I posted above, which was a result of the jettisoning of nine players earlier in the offseason.
Now, that $32,952 doesn’t match the $6,437,952 difference noted earlier in this post. That’s because there is offset in the top 53 because 16 players came in with just nine players going out. That should hopefully explain the different totals.
On March 10, I predicted that the Steelers will ultimately spend 92 percent of the league’s 2024 cap number of $255.4 million in cash, and that equates to roughly $235 million in total. With the Steelers top 53 cash total currently sitting at $189,156,168, that leaves a difference of $45,843,832. Roughly $20 million more in 2024 cash spending is essentially spoken for due to the rookie class and practice squad signings that will happen. Another $12 million or so in cash is likely to be spent on TE Pat Freiermuth if he ultimately signs a contract extension later this summer. That leaves roughly another $13 million in cash, or more if my $235 million spend projection is off that the Steelers might spend this offseason.
How might the Steelers spend another $13 million or so in cash moving forward past Freiermuth, the rookie class and offseason workout bonuses? Well, maybe we see contract extensions for either RB Najee Harris or RB Jaylen Warren. Maybe even both. That’s certainly plausible especially if the team plans on spending at least $235 million in total cash in 2024.
Personally, I think the Steelers might be done spending big on unrestricted free agents this offseason. Sure, you might see more signings, but even so, most of those deals are likely to be close to minimum salaries. That has been the case with the last several players signed these past few weeks. Offset will also happen in the top 53 and that’s another important thing to keep in the back of your mind.
In closing, I hope you have enjoyed this recap of how the Steelers reshaped their offseason roster to date from a cash perspective and how they have even managed to trim the total down a little since February. It has been fun to track and we’ll see if this process has trend-worthiness moving forward into future offseasons.
