Pittsburgh Steelers: Updated Salary-Cap Situation Ahead of Free Agency

Salary-cap management is one of the underrated aspects of any NFL front office, and the Pittsburgh Steelers are no exception. Despite having one of the top franchises in the league, Kevin Colbert has his team tight up against the cap on a yearly basis.

With a roster that is devoid of talent on defense and lacking depth in several key areas, Colbert has plenty of work to accomplish before March 10—the official start of the 2015 league year. That is because the Steelers once again have one of the worst salary-cap situations in the league, per Joel Corry of CBSSports.com.

A significant increase over the 2014 salary cap of $133 million will go a long way in assisting the Steelers. According to Adam Schefter of ESPN, the salary cap “will be between $138.6 and $141.8 million,” while the NFLPA thinks that the increase will be even greater.

With a substantial increase on the horizon, Colbert will be in good position to upgrade a roster that is on the verge of competing for a deep playoff run.

This article will break down the Steelers’ current salary-cap situation and examine their free-agency plans.

Current Salary-Cap Situation

The Steelers’ front office will be under its normal operating procedure for the 2015 offseason, as it will play it close to the new cap total. The Steelers will have until March 10 to comply with the Rule of 51. In other words, their top 51 players—plus dead money—must be under the 2015 cap total by this date.

Top 51	$132,839,994
Dead Money	$9,424,243
Total Cap (Top 51)	$142,264,237
Estimated 2015 Salary Cap	$142,000,000
2014 Rollover Cap	$778,469
Estimated Cap Space (Top 51)	$514,232

According to Spotrac.com, the Steelers have $132,839,994 committed to their top 51 contracts and $9,424,243 in dead money for a total of $142,264,237. In addition to this total, the Steelers have a rollover from 2014 of $778,469, which would put them at $514,232 in space if the cap reaches at least $142 million.

A majority of Pittsburgh’s 2015 cap dollars are committed to the offense, which makes sense. The Steelers have invested numerous dollars in their young offensive players—Antonio Brown and Maurkice Pouncey—and are about to discuss a long-term deal with Ben Roethlisberger.

Credit: Spotrac.com

The Steelers invested over 12 percent of their 2015 cap at inside linebacker with another 11 percent at safety. However, with a large chunk of the money at safety invested in Troy Polamalu, this number could take a drastic hit.

Although it is difficult to part ways with an all-time great, it would free up a large chunk of cap space that the Steelers could use elsewhere to build their roster. That does not mean they will spend big on a free agent, but rather make several shrewd moves to plug holes on the roster.

As a team that expects to compete for a Super Bowl as early as next season, the Steelers cannot depend on rookies to contribute immediately. Instead, they need dependable veterans who can step in right away and provide an instant impact all while upgrading the roster.

Cap Casualties

Gene J. Puskar/Associated Press

Dick LeBeau was the first to go this offseason, and four of his best players could be soon to follow.

Troy Polamalu, James Harrison, Ike Taylor and Brett Keisel may have played their last downs in a Steelers uniform, according to Scott Brown of ESPN.com. In speaking with team president Art Rooney II, he reported that all four “face uncertain futures.”

Rooney elaborated on this topic:

"We'll be having conversations internally," Rooney said. "We'll have conversations with each of those players and others about what they want to do and whether they'll fit into the plans for next year. There's a lot of discussions to be had in terms of the next few weeks and months."

Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette suggested that the Steelers clean house. He advocates Harrison and Taylor should not be re-signed and that Pittsburgh should use a June 1 designation on Polamalu. This would provide the team with $6 million in cap relief. The release of Keisel would free up an additional $1.5 million.

Besides these veterans, the Steelers could save an additional $3.5 million by part ways with Cam Thomas and Lance Moore. The latter most certainly will happen, as he has already asked for his release, per ESPN's Adam Schefter.

Two names that are noticeably absent from the “cut list” are Cortez Allen and Mike Mitchell. Although both players had disappointing seasons, it does not make sense to release either player.

These two would combine for only $2,731,000 in savings while counting for $9.2 million in dead money. Besides, both players are young and have time to improve—and both would need replaced on the roster.

Even without releasing Allen and Mitchell, the Steelers will still create $11 million in the release of Polamalu—post June 1—Thomas, Keisel and Moore. Add in contract restructures, and Colbert will have plenty of cap room to work with during the offseason.

Free-Agency Plan

Alex Trautwig/Getty Images

Colbert got an early jump on 2015 by negotiating new deals with several young players last summer.

Maurkice Pouncey, Marcus Gilbert and Cortez Allen all signed new deals in 2014 as well as Shaun Suisham. That leaves the Steelers with only two major deals to take care of this offseason: Ben Roethlisberger and Jason Worilds.

Roethlisberger recently told 93.7 The Fan (via Scott Brown) that he hopes a new deal will get done soon. Based on what Rooney told Ed Bouchette, it will not be long before the two sides reach an agreement:

“We’d like to get it done this offseason; I think it’s fair to say the sooner the better, but I am not going to put any particular time frame on these things,” Rooney said. “It takes two to tango when it comes to contract negotiations.”

Bouchette predicted the deal that Roethlisberger may sign, which would free up additional cap space:

"

Roethlisberger counts $18.4 million against their cap, including a salary of $11.6 million. The salary is where they can produce some savings for this year. If they sign him to, say, a six-year, $120 million contract, they could put $30 million of that into a signing bonus and that would count $5 million annually on the cap over the next six years. Give him a $3 million salary this season, and his cap would be reduced in 2015 by $3.6 million.

"

With this deal all but a certainty, the focus will shift toward Jason Worilds.

Worilds is one of the top edge-rushers on the free-agent market, per Pro Football Focus. At just 26 years old, he has 25.5 sacks in five seasons, including 15.5 over the past two seasons. Despite this production, it is not a lock that the Steelers will re-sign their top left outside linebacker.

Worilds has an extensive injury history and has had bouts with inconsistent play. However, with pass-rushers in demand, multiple teams could still throw a large sum of money at him that the Steelers will not match. Last year, Adam Caplan of ESPN.com reported that Worilds would have signed with the Philadelphia Eagles if not for the transition tag.

If Worilds moves beyond Pittsburgh’s price range, other options could include Pernell McPhee, Brandon Graham or Jabaal Sheard. Of course, Arthur Moats could be re-signed as a temporary stopgap while a young pass-rusher is developed.

This may actually be the best option, as Moats played well in a backup role last season and would be very affordable. On the other hand, he would not upgrade the Steelers pass rush.

As a result, they may be forced to re-sign the soon-to-be 37-year-old James Harrison. He was arguably their best outside linebacker last season but is no longer capable of being a full-time starter. Instead, he would need to continue his role as a situational player who can step in for Jarvis Jones on the right side.

Besides outside linebacker, the Steelers will need to explore options at cornerback. Although they could simply re-sign Brice McCain and Antwon Blake to pair with Cortez Allen and William Gay, there would still be a need to find a cornerback capable of starting immediately in the draft.

Name	Position	2014 Starts	2014 Cap Hit	Age
Jason Worilds	OLB	16	$9,754,000	26
Ike Taylor	CB	5	$7,692,403	34
Arthur Moats	OLB	9	$635,000	26
Brice McCain	CB	9	$635,000	28
Darrius Heyward-Bey	WR	1	$635,000	27
Matt Spaeth	TE	8	$1,037,500	31
Will Allen	S	4	$635,000	32
Greg Warren	LS	0	$635,000	33

However, after last year’s disappointing free-agent class—Mike Mitchell may be the only one to return in 2015—Colbert may take it easy on outside free agents and instead focus on his own.

Outside of Roethlisberger, several starters are free agents after the 2015 seasons, including Steve McLendon, Ramon Foster, William Gay, Cameron Heyward, Kelvin Beachum and David DeCastro.

Let us start with the older veterans.

McLendon, Foster and Gay will all likely play out their contracts. None of these players will be in demand on the open market, and the front office can afford to wait on all three players.

When it comes to DeCastro, the Steelers can exercise the fifth-year option as they did with Heyward last season. That will allow them to wait until 2016 to handle his contract, meaning that they can spend this summer focusing on Heyward and Beachum.

An extension for these two would continue a tradition where the Steelers lock up their young players before they become unrestricted free agents. Given Colbert’s aggressive approach last summer, a similar approach should be taken this year.

None of this is possible unless Colbert and the rest of Pittsburgh’s front office are able to free up cap space. Combined with a potentially significant increase in the NFL salary cap, the Steelers will have enough room to be active in free agency.

Note: Unless otherwise noted, all stats are courtesy of ESPN.com, all salary information is courtesy of Spotrac.com and all roster information is courtesy of Steelers.com.  

Follow @ChrisG_BR