Scunge wrote:
Honestly? There really are no free agents on defense that I am interested in. ILBs and Safeties are very, very average. This year to me is really one of the worst free agency offseasons that I can remember. People always say there is gold in them there hills, but I don't see it, not this year, all I see is plenty of fool's gold.
In terms of the cap:
They could extend Haden and free up $6-7 million.
They could extend McDonald and free up $2 million.
Big Al signed that contract last year and has a $3 million roster bonus, they could restructure that 3 plus 2 of his base and and free up $3.33 million.
We will lose Hubbard and Gilbert is only under contract for two more years. They could give him an extension and free up perhaps $2-3 million.
Antonio Brown has a roster bonus of $6 million, they could restructure that, spread it out over 4 years but that gives us $4.5 million of relief this year.
Ben can sign a one year extension, they can take his $5 million roster bonus this year and say $5 million of his base and spread that out over 3 years, result, $6.67 million.
Add all of that up and that is $26-27 million, not counting that Decastro and Tuitt restructures. Adding them means we are up to $35 million if the Steelers followed my directions.
Then yeah, you throw in the cuts, Wilcox is due $3.125 million, even with a rookie draft pick or UDFA with displacement, you subtract that but it still comes out to $2.6 million saved.
Mitchell only saves us $5 million by cutting his base salary, he restructured twice and we have to account for those prorated portions left. But even if we draft a first round pick at safety at the end of the round, he would only have a cap hit of some $1 million. So cutting Mitchell and drafting a first round safety saves us $4 million, if we draft a safety in round 2 that savings would be $4.25 million.
So, cutting Mitchell and Wilcox and replacing them with a high round draft pick and lowly draft pick or UDFA saves you $6.85 million.
I am now up around $42 million.
Cut Willie Gay and his $1.75 million, subtracting $555,000 for the player that replaces him, still is a savings of $1.2 million.
Cut Coty Sensabaugh and his $1.4 million, subtracting $555,000 for the player that replaces him, still a savings of $850,000.
Cut Hayward-Bey and his $1.2 million, subtracting $555,000 for the, etc, a savings of $650,000.
That is another $2.7 million. Hey, I am almost up to $45 million!!!
The Steelers even with having to absorb Bell and Shazier's numbers are still going to be in decent shape this year. I see them signing their own, like Rosie Nix and maybe Boz and then holding tight until the 2nd and 3rd waves of free agency. People get too stoked for the opening days of free agency in March and forget that it happens in waves.
Players become available after the draft, after cuts. How did we get Joe Haden and Vance McDonald last season? We didn't sign them in early March did we? No, we picked them up in August.
What about the player escalators at least 2 players will receive in 2018? James and Bryant both receive them. Increasing their combined cap hit to $2.5Mil...
Do you try and offer C2's or do you absorb the cap hit and play them out?
