Trimming the FAT

so according to spotrac the steelers active contracts has them about 6.8 million over for 2024.
https://www.spotrac.com/nfl/pittsburgh-steelers/cap/

obviously some current players will be getting there walking players. who would you get rid off ?
and who would you attempt to resign ?
https://www.spotrac.com/nfl/free-agents/pittsburgh-steelers/

here is who is on my list

Allen Robinson - i refuse to believe he is useless as a receiver than what he was this year. i think it is another case of how tomlin fails to get the most out of his players. i'm still not paying himm 11.9 million. seeing the way his contract was structured the steelers intended on cutting him in 2024. dead cap will be 1.9 million.

Chuks - not much needs to be said other than WTF were they thinking when they gave him this contract ? Arthur moats said on his podcast that allegedly Chuks stated he regrets signing with the steelers. they could try to trade him for a 7th , but i dont see anyone willing to pay him 11.8 million. he has a roster bonus due on 3/17 of 4 million, so he needs cut before then.  eat the 3 million dead cap and save 8.7 million.

Patrick Peterson - he hasnt earned what they are paying him. save 6.8 million and eat the 2.9 million dead cap.

Mitch Trubisky - no need to say anything here other than they did a horrible job structuring his contract.he has a 1 million roster bonus in march.  save 5.2 million and eat 4.6 million dead cap.

Mason Cole - dude is just F'ing horrible. he has a 1.5 million roster bonus in march . cut him and save 4.7 million and eat the 1.5 million dead cap

thats about 14 million in dead cap money, but the alternative is way overpaying for turds. 35.5 million saved
there's a few more that can be sent packing like pressly harvin but they can be dumped later.

now...who do they try to resign ?

levi wallace - no
montravius adams- no
miles kilebrew- maybe
marcus golden- maybe
james pierre - no
armon watts- no
kwon alexander - yes
chandon sullivan - no
blake martiez - no
miles boykin - yes
mason rudolf - no (sorry guys. i know some of you think he has magically turned into starting material, but i'm not buying it. i'm not willing to pay him 8-10 million to find out he still isnt very good.)

Mason can't even win the starting job in training camp. If it would have been KP that threw an int in the endzone, the pitchforks would be out.

I largely agree with your list of cuts. I wouldn't cut Peterson though, he played way better the second half of the season and I believe he has more value as safety in the future. I would cut Damontae Kazee instead.

I would also try to resign Alexander and both Kilebrew (he's first team all-pro for a reason) and Golden. Golden had quietly a great season, his numbers were even better than Herbig's and together they are nice depth for Watt and Highsmith. Maybe also Boykin. The others no thanks.

And it's a shame that Ogunjobi's dead cap is so high, otherwise I would've certainly cut him too.

Oh, and I would be fine if they would resign Mason but I would try to get Baker Mayfield first.

I agree with your assessments. With a few minor tweaks. I would bring back the following on vet minimum or near vet minimum contracts.

Watts - he did well as a backup DL he got some pressures a few sacks and caused a fumble and recovered one. He had limited play time but he did well in that roll.

I would bring back Rudolph if he was willing to take 5 million a year. With a real shot at taking the starting job.

Montravius Adam's on a vet min deal.

Golden on a vet minimum deal.

Stella Nation wrote:

I largely agree with your list of cuts. I wouldn't cut Peterson though, he played way better the second half of the season and I believe he has more value as safety in the future. I would cut Damontae Kazee instead.

pat p is scheduled to make 11.9 million in 2024. his play this year didnt come close to justifying that number. as far as him a safety...safeties need to be reliable tacklers. Pat P does not fit that description. Kazee's 3.9 million salary isnt that unreasonable for his level of play. at least he is a willing tackler.

Quote :

I would also try to resign Alexander and both Kilebrew (he's first team all-pro for a reason) and Golden. Golden had quietly a great season, his numbers were even better than Herbig's and together they are nice depth for Watt and Highsmith. Maybe also Boykin. The others no thanks.

how much would you be willing to pay for Kilebrew ? he'll be 31 yrs old next season. thats why i put him down as a maybe. with accolades comes big demands. i wouldnt invest too much in a 31 yr old safety who doesnt have a track record as a top safety.

Quote :

And it's a shame that Ogunjobi's dead cap is so high, otherwise I would've certainly cut him too.

i had him on the list until i saw his dead cap.

Stella Nation wrote:

Oh, and I would be fine if they would resign Mason but I would try to get Baker Mayfield first.

Baker has played himself into tier 2 territory which means he will be looking for 30 million a year neighborhood. noway do i want shackled to baker for 4 or 5 years.

SteelerFreak58 wrote:

I agree with your assessments. With a few minor tweaks. I would bring back the following on vet minimum or near vet minimum contracts.

Watts - he did well as a backup DL he got some pressures a few sacks and caused a fumble and recovered one. He had limited play time but he did well in that roll.

I would bring back Rudolph if he was willing to take 5 million a year. With a real shot at taking the starting job.

Montravius Adam's on a vet min deal.

Golden on a vet minimum deal.

the problem with watts and adams is we have seen their ceiling and it isnt very high. they were part of the run defense failure not the solution. as long as they occupy roster spots the solutions will never materialize. standing pat on mediocre players means never getting good players. they are stop gap players. there is a reason they were on practice squads.

i agree about golden. thats why i gave him a maybe, depends on his asking price.

Mach1 wrote:

Mason can't even win the starting job in training camp. If it would have been KP that threw an int in the endzone, the pitchforks would be out.

everybody loves the backup until you have to rely on them because the starter sucks. it is going to take more than 3 "ok" games and one "meh" game to convince me that rudolf is not the same guy that i would have cut a few months ago if i were the coach. i dont believe running the scout team has all the sudden made him "the guy". i would offer him an incentive based contract with vet minimum base salary , with next to nothing guaranteed. the incentive would be win x amount of games...x completion % ....x amount of tds. ....x amount of yards. they could layer the incentive to give him the opportunity to make 15 million for the year. win 10 games earn a million..win 11 games get another 500k...etc,etc,

what do you all think about Cam heyward and the 22 million he is in position to collect this year ? Cam still has some value but he is not the player he was when he signed that extension.
Arthur moats said Cam is not playing for anything less than his contract.  
the steelers can cut him for 6 million. if he isnt willing to reduce his 16 million base salary by at least 50% , i say    adios.

Master_Of_Puppets wrote:

what do you all think about Cam heyward and the 22 million he is in position to collect this year ? Cam still has some value but he is not the player he was when he signed that extension.
Arthur moats said Cam is not playing for anything less than his contract.  
the steelers can cut him for 6 million. if he isnt willing to reduce his 16 million base salary by at least 50% , i say    adios.

He needs to adjust his salary or bye bye. He was not as productive this year and is getting up there in age.

He is a fan favorite and it sounds like he is going to push for the money. Steelers need to not feel they are held hostage and let him know he has to adjust or get cut.

Father time wins every time.

I love Cam. He is a true Steeler top to bottom but like you said SF father time wins. He's way smart enough to know his market value and even if it's more elsewhere does he want to uproot his family?

and so it begins



spotrac now has them 4.3 million over the cap. don't know why they are splitting up the release of cuts. obviously robinson is getting the axe.

Thank God Harvin is gone. Even if we get a shitty punter he'll still be better than Harvin.

Mach1 wrote:

Mason can't even win the starting job in training camp. If it would have been KP that threw an int in the endzone, the pitchforks would be out.

Let's be fair here. When Tomlin had that "competition" in a camp when Pickett was a rookie, Mason was the best QB in camp. He was statistically the best and played better than both Pickett and Trubisky. In spite of that, Trubisky won the job like everyone knew he would because they had already paid the guy with the expectation of him coming in and being the starter so they wouldn't have to throw Pickett into the fire. Trubisky sucked and then they went to Pickett because of his 1st Round draft billing. Rudolph finally gets the best shot he's had so far in his career and goes out and gets us into the playoffs. He had one bad throw, but was easily the most explosive player we've seen at QB since Ben retired. Pickett struggles to get to 200yds passing in a game and he's allergic to throwing TDs. Rudolph had a 1/3 of Pickett's season stats as far as yardage and threw half of KP's seasonal TDs in only three games.

I'm not sold on KP. If Rudolph could come in and be that productive ice cold off of the bench late in the season, what's KP's excuse? I think they either need to bring in a Veteran like Tannehill to compete and push Pickett or address QB through the draft again and have a true competition for the starting gig come training camp but I think if Rudolph stays on this roster he should be given a true shot at competing for the job.

aaaand mason cole gets the boot.

 that leaves robinson and Pat P from my list. robinson will definitely get his walking papers. i suspect they might be trying to work a more appropriate deal with him. like a 90% pay cut. he is by far the best blocking wr on the roster. kind of important if you plan to run the ball a lot.

pat p IMO hasnt come close to earning his checks. maybe they are hanging on until they identify a better prospect. he has a 3 million roster bonus due march 16.

they appear to still be 1.8 mill over the cap.

Master_Of_Puppets wrote:

aaaand mason cole gets the boot.

 that leaves robinson and Pat P from my list. robinson will definitely get his walking papers. i suspect they might be trying to work a more appropriate deal with him. like a 90% pay cut. he is by far the best blocking wr on the roster. kind of important if you plan to run the ball a lot.

pat p IMO hasnt come close to earning his checks. maybe they are hanging on until they identify a better prospect. he has a 3 million roster bonus due march 16.

they appear to still be 1.8 mill over the cap.

Cole getting the boot made my day.

SteelerFreak58 wrote:

Master_Of_Puppets wrote:

aaaand mason cole gets the boot.

 that leaves robinson and Pat P from my list. robinson will definitely get his walking papers. i suspect they might be trying to work a more appropriate deal with him. like a 90% pay cut. he is by far the best blocking wr on the roster. kind of important if you plan to run the ball a lot.

pat p IMO hasnt come close to earning his checks. maybe they are hanging on until they identify a better prospect. he has a 3 million roster bonus due march 16.

they appear to still be 1.8 mill over the cap.

Cole getting the boot made my day.

Hey, if you can't perform at a varsity level, doesn't matter whether you are starting or not, ya gots to go. Same for Harvin.

Makes me wonder if they will draft Jackson Powers-Johnson in round one. Originally I thought they'd go OT first round and Center 2nd. But now I'm not as sure about that.

Great Randino wrote:

Makes me wonder if they will draft Jackson Powers-Johnson in round one.  Originally I thought they'd go OT first round and Center 2nd.  But now I'm not as sure about that.

Hope they go OT first then Center in the 2nd. They can get a good Center in round 2 one of the top 3 for sure.

SteelerFreak58 wrote:

Great Randino wrote:

Makes me wonder if they will draft Jackson Powers-Johnson in round one.  Originally I thought they'd go OT first round and Center 2nd.  But now I'm not as sure about that.

Hope they go OT first then Center in the 2nd. They can get a good Center in round 2 one of the top 3 for sure.

Yeah. That was my initial thought too. How big is the gap between Powers-Johnson and the other centers?

The cap for 2024 is 255.4 million.
https://www.nfl.com/news/nfl-salary-cap-set-at-255-4m-per-team-for-2024-regular-season

A pretty sizable jump from last year.

solardave wrote:

The cap for 2024 is 255.4 million.
https://www.nfl.com/news/nfl-salary-cap-set-at-255-4m-per-team-for-2024-regular-season

A pretty sizable jump from last year.

sweeet... time to go shopping. as of right now according to spotrac , the active contracts total 246 million.  cutting allen robinson will free up another 10 million.
so roughly 19 million minus 8-9 million to sign rookies, and that leaves just enough to sign a shitty vet QB and a shitty center ...
they need to do something about cam heywards 22 million cap hit. they could also restructure minkahs contract to lower his 21.3 million cap hit.

I was reading an article somewhere that they allegedly want to keep Allen Robinson but at a lesser salary. I don't see why they'd want to keep that dude. He sucks. He's well past his prime, and he offers nothing in the passing game. I can't even think of one single play from last season that he made. We need a younger slot guy that can actually compliment what Johnson/Pickens bring to the table not an old vet that gets paid too much money to do little to nothing for us.

IowaSteeler927 wrote:

I was reading an article somewhere that they allegedly want to keep Allen Robinson but at a lesser salary. I don't see why they'd want to keep that dude. He sucks. He's well past his prime, and he offers nothing in the passing game. I can't even think of one single play from last season that he made. We need a younger slot guy that can actually compliment what Johnson/Pickens bring to the table not an old vet that gets paid too much money to do little to nothing for us.

one word. blocking.