Quote Originally Posted by LukeDaniel View Post
The Steelers might be the worst team in the NFL next year. Their cap situation is so awful that they can't even make a viable offer to Mike Wallace.

Keep in mind that the cap is going to be roughly $121 million. They have $101.6 million tied up into ten players for next year (Roethlisberger, Polamalu, Woodley, Timmons, Keisel, Colon, Clark, Ike Taylor, Miller, Harrison) Eight of those 10 players will be in their 30s next year.

Here's the funny part. They were cash strapped against the 2012 cap to the point that they restructured a couple of contracts. Now, just in those 10 players above, they are looking at $39.8 million in salary increases from '12 to '13. That's not counting all their 1st-3rd year players who will all be getting raises next year as well. They also don't have that many contracts coming off the books to offset those increases. Wallace ($2.7 in 2012), Foote ($3.6 in 2012), and Hampton ($4.9 in 2012) are the only help they get in that department.

Know what is even more painful? They have just shy of $39 million tied up in dead money to those nine players just for 2013. That's not even true dead money, because, if they wanted to cut someone, they'd have to pay future dead money as well.

So their dead money amount for their 1-10 highest paid players is roughly comparable to what we are paying in full salary/bonuses to our 3-12 players (excluding Ngata and Suggs).

Cutting Harrison (age 35 in 2013) would save $6.57 but would also cost them $4.93 in dead money.

Cutting Ike Taylor would save $6 million in 2013 salary, but they would also be saddled with nearly $7 million in dead money from his final two years.

Cutting Willie Colon would save $5.5 million , but he is due roughly $6.4 in dead money over the final 3 years of his contract.

These aging Steelers weren't particularly good last year, aren't getting any younger or healthier, and are too backloaded with their contracts to be able to make any sense in actually cutting them.

What the Steelers could do is either:

a) cut the heck out of their roster, eat all that dead money, and try to use whatever is left to find a free agent or two. However, not too many of those contracts are cut friendly. Woodley, Timmons, and Roethlisberger each have over $10 million in future dead money. These might be the 3 worth saving out of those ten. Ryan Clark's contract isn't too bad either. They would part ways with everyone else, keep a few pivotal veterans, and load up on young players. That's a tall task though, because Pouncey and Antonio Brown are really the only two recent draft picks who have done much for them.

b) restructure to work on clearing that $30-$40 million off the books and pushing it into 2014, when the cap is much larger. This is the route I hope they go because it would keep these aging, past-their-prime players around for even longer to the point that it might diminish their chances of success for even longer.


Either route they opt to take leaves them as the 4th best team in the AFC North for probably at least the next two seasons. I like it.
you are delusional, as long as they have Ben and Lebeau they will always be tough.