5 Cuts That Could Create Cap Space for the Pittsburgh Steelers

Well, it’s officially the offseason for the entire NFL. The New England Patriots are Super Bowl XLIX champions, and the other 31 teams are all trying to figure out how to get there next year. One spot the Pittsburgh Steelers have always played it tight is with the salary cap. There’s never a lot of extra money to spend, and that means sometimes hard decisions have to be made.

According to Spotrac.com, the Steelers are sitting on a lowly $514,232 in cap space as of now. This number is always hard to get exact, especially since we don’t know the exact 2015 cap number. Of all the calculations I have seen this one seems the most conservative, so that’s what we are going with.

If this is accurate, some of the veterans on this roster need to give serious thought to taking a pay cut, or they could find themselves out of work in a hurry. Here are five salary cap cuts the Steelers could use to free up a nice chunk of space.

Troy Polamalu, Safety

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Ideally, the Steelers front office and safety Troy Polamalu get together in the next few weeks and negotiate a mutual split, and the future Hall of Fame safety retires. If that doesn’t happen, the next best thing is Polamalu stays, but re-works his contract to significantly lower his cap hit.

If neither of those things end up happening, Polamalu could find himself on the wrong end of a release. If the Steelers chose to release Polamalu after June 1, there would be a $6 million cap savings. The downside is there would end up being $2.25 million in dead money the team would just have to eat.

Is that plausible? Of course it is. Anyone who says the Steelers wouldn’t release Polamalu because of loyalty or financial implications need to look no further than last season. Pittsburgh cut linebacker LaMarr Woodley late in the offseason after his skills had diminished. And they did so knowing they’d have to absorb $8.58 million in dead money.

Mike Mitchell, Safety

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When the Steelers signed safety Mike Mitchell as a free agent, the hope was that Mitchell would be the deep safety that this team has been missing for several years. Mitchell parlayed his one season as a starter for the Carolina Panthers into a big contract.

Unfortunately, Mitchell’s 2014 was forgettable. It seemed like every week it was another missed assignment or tackle that led to a long play by a Steelers opponent. Mitchell isn’t a lost cause, but his signing has to be looked at with significant scrutiny after 2014.

Does this mean Mitchell is gone? Probably not, but if the Steelers do upgrade the safety position, they do have an out. If Mitchell is released after June 1, his dead money is only $950,000 and the savings to the salary cap would amount to $4 million.

Cam Thomas, Defensive Line

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Akin to Mitchell, defensive lineman Cam Thomas was brought in to help bolster the Steelers defense, but that never materialized. Thomas never showed enough strength to be an effective nose tackle, and he wasn’t athletic enough to win a consistent starting spot at defensive end.

The Steelers have a really nice young group of defensive linemen on the roster. At defensive end, Cameron Hayward and Stephon Tuitt look to be the starting tandem for 2015. And on the inside defensive tackle Daniel McCullers could be the future at nose tackle.

This means Thomas and his big cap number could be out to make room for a younger, more productive and cheaper replacement. The Steelers can release Thomas at any point in this offseason and get a $2 million cap savings with only $500,000 in dead money.

Cortez Allen, Cornerback

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Pittsburgh went out on a limb when they gave cornerback Cortez Allen a big fat contract extension at the start of the 2014 season. His resume really didn’t warrant a considerable raise, but the Steelers front office chose to hedge their bets. Had they not signed Allen, and he had a huge 2014, the cost to keep him would have gone up exponentially.

So instead the Steelers did sign the contract, and Allen’s season imploded almost from the very beginning of the year. Allen ended up being a non-factor as a cornerback and finished the season on injured reserve. With cornerbacks William Gay, Antwon Blake and Brice McCain in the mix, his future lies in doubt.

If the Steelers want to cut Allen, they’d have to wait until after June 1, when his cap savings would be much better. At that point, Allen’s dead money hit is $1.35 million and his cap savings would be a generous $5.631 million. This is a move that would not shock me in the least.

Steve McLendon, Defensive Tackle

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Much like Thomas, defensive tackle Steve McLendon could be on the way out to make room for the youth movement along the defensive line. McLendon took the reins of the nose tackle spot after Casey Hampton left, but he has never been an adequate replacement.

As with Thomas, the Steelers have some really exciting pieces in place, and McLendon’s contract is prohibitive for the moves this team wants to make. Cutting McLendon loose would save the Steelers $2.25 million against the cap with only $558,334 in dead money.

Another factor that hurts McLendon’s value and could force this move is that he is 29 years old. That’s pretty much 65 in football years, so his combination of age and cap hit make his move very realistic at this point. McLendon might be the safest of the guys on this list, but when money gets tight, anything is possible.