Eagles release L.J. Fort, Steelers no longer eligible for 2020 compensatory pick
With Fort’s release, the Steelers no longer have a “net loss’ in the compensatory formula
On Friday, the Philadelphia Eagles released L.J. Fort, a move that will help them gain an extra compensatory pick while causing the Steelers to no longer enter into the formula.
As a reminder for everyone, the way the compensatory formula works is a team must lose more eligible free agents than what they sign in a given offseason. Two of players the Steeler signed in 2019 did not factor into the formula. Mark Barron did not count because he was released by the Los Angeles Rams therefore he was not lost due to free agency. Additionally, Johnny Holden was in the same situation as well as being signed after the deadline two weeks after the NFL draft.
For the 2019 off-season, the Steelers lost three eligible players (Bell, James, and Fort) while they signed CB Steven Nelson and WR Donte Moncrief. Once a team is determined to have a “net loss” in eligible players, the round of a compensatory draft pick is determined by canceling players based on their round of designation. At the moment, all of these designations are estimated based on the yearly averaged salary of the players new contract because the other factors of playing time and postseason awards cannot be determined until after the season.
The Steelers had been predicted to be in line for a third-round choice because the signing of Steven Nelson was not designated in a high enough round to cancel Le’Veon Bell. Therefore Nelson canceled the loss of Jesse James and Moncrief canceled the loss of L.J. Fort.
While some people’s first thought may be Fort being the bottom man should not really affect the formula. But remember, it all comes back to players lost versus players gained. The only way the NFL can award a compensatory pick when there was not a net loss was if they determined a team to have an excess loss in value compared to value gained. For example, if a team were to lose two third-round compensatory value players while only signing two seventh-round players, the league could award a compensatory pick of whatever value they determine. Unfortunately, even with Le’Veon Bell holding a third-round value it appears there is not enough of an imbalance for the league to step in.
So what can the Steelers do to continue to be in line for a third-round compensatory pick? There is really only one solution: release Steve Nelson or Donte Moncrief before week 10.
https://www.behindthesteelcurtain.c...lers-no-longer-eligible-for-compensatory-pick
