We’ve got aplenty 2021 FAs on the roster right now, JuJu, Bud, Feiler, Conner, Banner, Hilton, Sutton are the prime players (4-5 starters!)
It’s hard to handicap what kind of room, cap wise, Pitt will have with all the uncertainty regarding COVID. But, What are your prognostications and why?
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Let's assume that next season's cap gets readjusted to 200M, with that premise the Steelers are currently about 2,6M above it already without said free agents.
About 9,6M from this season rolls over to the next and the team truly is 7M below the new cap. Now comes the negotiation time with current contracts:
- Ben has a 44M cap hit, yeap, you read that correctly. So he gets extended one or two seasons and the money rolls to future seasons, let's say it frees up 10M.
- pouncey has a 14,5M cap hit, if Ben stays he stays so rinse and repeat and you get 5M in cap space approx
- Stephon Tuitt has almost a 15M cap hit, he becomes an UFA after 2022 and 30 years old, if he produces this season I can see an extension that lowers next season hit, again let's say it saves 5M
-DeCastro: look Tuitt above, but a couple years older, extend and save 5M
Now comes the tough choices:
- Haden has a cap hit of 15,5M and a dead cap of 2,9M do cutting him would save 12,6M. Given his age either he signs a friendly extension or he gets cut. With 32 years old next season the Steelers have good leverage to work an extension and lower his cap hit 5M, cutting him opens another big hole that won't be addresed with little money and is a bet that won't be made in Ben's final run years.
- vince is playing lights out but next season is his last on his current contract, 7M cap hit, 3M dead cap and he will be 32 years old in 2022. He either resigns a friendly contract that lowers the cap a couple of millions or he might be gone. I bet he stays and lowers his cap hit by 2M.
- McDonald has a cap hit of 7,9M and a dead cap of 2,75M. He gets cut saving a little over 5M. The team needs to draft a TE early next draft to complement Ebron.
So after all this ifs and assumptions the team saves 37M, add 7M from this years roll over and that's almost 45M available to go free agent shopping.
- Juju has to be kept, DJ is fragile and Washington might be a decent #2 but I don't see a high ceiling (he might be trade bait for a late 2nd rounder or early 3rd) , 15M avg might work for both sides.
- Feiler, I'm not in love with what I have seen from him at LG, it might be that a readjustment period is needed but with Dotson showing his worth so early maybe the writing is in the wall for him. If he can be kept cheap and I mean 6M tops as he might compete with Banner for the RT spot as Chuks gets moved to LT and that takes us to...
- Villanueva, I think his best years are past him and the team won't be able to keep him at a high price tag, he either stays as backup vet or he might be gone
- James Conner, who doesn't root for the kid? He might be kept for 4M avg and be part of a RB rotation.
- Mike Hilton has earned every cent that goes his way next season and I hope they come from the Steelers, might 7M avg do it?
- Cam Sutton, jack of all trades. Would he accept a 4M avg contract? He'd be the main backup in all CB spots
- Banner was affected by injury unfortunately and he has to earn his payday next season, 4M to resign him.
That's already 40M and Bud Dupree hasn't been addressed yet so I don't see how can he be kept without severely killing all depth in the roster. There's a reason the team invested a 3rd rounder on a OLB and the good thing is that the kid is already showing some talent so the possibility to have an in house transition without losing too much talent on the field is possible. I just don't see the team able to draft a CB worth a sweat so better keep who you already have.
The Steelers would still need to go heavy early on on OLine and TE in the draft to complete the roster
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