To say that the 2012 season was disappointing for the Steelers would be an understatement. One of the worst seasons in the Mike Tomlin era concluded with division rival Baltimore hoisting the Lombardi Trophy. Adding insult to injury, the Steelers will look to 2013 without some big names as a result of being $20 million over the NFL Salary Cap mark.
While solid contributors like Mike Wallace, Rashard Mendenhall, and Casey Hampton are likely on the way out, other big names are restructuring contracts to avoid the dreaded “rebuilding year.”
Earlier this week, NFL Network broke the report that Inside Linebacker Lawrence Timmons restructured his contract for the second year. The restructured contract is said to actually pay Timmons his money upfront rather than spreading it out over the course of his contract, a move that will save a little more than $5 million in cap space.
Antonio Brown, who signed a big contract last off-season, has also re-tooled his salary for this season. Per Pro Football Talk, “Brown reduced his $4.5 million base salary to a minimum salary of $650,000.The remaining $3.85 million was converted to a signing bonus, which will be spread over the five remaining years of Brown’s contract. It results in a cap savings of $3.08 million to the Steelers.”
With more than $8 million having been cleared in a short period of time, look for the Steelers to be more aggressive getting under the cap. Ben Roethlisberger, Troy Polamalu, LaMarr Woodley, and James Harrison are some of the veteran the team is looking at restructuring. There is even speculation that Harrison, and possibly Polamalu, could be released as a result of their injury issues and under-performing in recent seasons. Roethlisberger would be adjusting his contract for the third time as a Steeler to help the team and could reduce his cap hit by a maximum of $7.1 million.
If enough cap space is created, the Steelers are looking at signing free-agent wide receiver Steve Breaston as a potential replacement to Brown. While Breaston is nowhere near as talented as Wallace, the move would be inexpensive and fill a need on the roster. Assuming the team brings back Emmanuel Sanders, which is expected, Breaston would play the slot and Sanders would return as an outside receiving threat alongside Brown. Plaxico Burress may also be re-signed and partnered with Jerricho Cotchery to add depth.
Though Breaston is an affordable solution, Pittsburgh has to take care of a few in-house matters. Defensive standout Keenan Lewis, an un-restricted free-agent, is the team’s biggest priority this off-season. With the defense aging, Lewis played a valuable role en route to becoming the team’s top defensive back. Veteran Linebacker Larry Foote is also a must-sign for a position that is lacking depth. Foote has told reporters that he would consider a “hometown discount” to help with salary cap issues.
The Steelers have started the most important task that will determine the makeup of the 2013 roster on a good note and fans should look for the team to be closer to even by the end of this week. Expect a few cuts and other contracts to be adjusted as a way to get this done. Another source close to the Pittsburgh Steelers is reporting that the salary cap could be bumped to $123 million, up from the previous figure of $121 million.
Once all major contracts have been fine-tuned, the team can look at getting younger and healthier on both sides of the ball via free agency and the draft. The biggest concern for the team is getting healthy, the most likely cause as to why the 2012 campaign was so disastrous. Some much needed rest and a change in personnel will give them just that.
