How the salary cap will affect the offseason
Smith-Schuster, Tuitt, Big Ben to free up space
Ben Roethlisberger, JuJu Smith-Schuster and Stephon Tuitt are no longer with the Steelers, but they are still managing to affect the team.
They will continue to influence the team next season, too, but in a more positive way.
All three players — Roethlisberger and Tuitt who retired, Smith-Schuster who left in free agency — affected the team’s 2022 salary cap because they combined to account for nearly $21 million in dead money.
Dead money refers to guaranteed money, usually a signing or roster bonus, that has been prorated over future years to lessen the hit on the salary cap.
Roethlisberger had the biggest cap hit of the three this season ($10.3 million) because the $12.9 million signing bonus he received last year on a one-year deal had four voidable years added to the contract. The $10.3 million represents the total from the voidable years.
Voidable years are used to ease the impact on the salary cap by spreading the value of a bonus over an extended period. However, the remaining total comes due when a player is gone from the team.
If Roethlisberger’s cap hit seems like a lot, it is not, at least not compared to the $40.5 million cap hit the Atlanta Falcons had to absorb this year for quarterback Matt Ryan; or the $26 million the Seattle Seahawks had to count for quarterback Russell Wilson.
In addition to the $21 million for Roethlisberger, Tuitt and SmithSchuster, there is another $9.5 million in dead money for Eric Ebron, Melvin Ingram, Joe Schobert and Zach Banner. All that will be wiped off the books after the season. That’s more than $30 million the Steelers will have cleared in 2023, theoretically providing them with more money to spend in free agency.
But it’s not that simple.
The Steelers will also have bigger cap hits from their three toppaid players: linebacker T.J. Watt, safety Minkah Fitzpatrick and defensive end Cam Heyward. They will combine for slightly more than $69 million against the salary cap in 2023, an increase of $20 million from this season.
It is way too early to determine how the Steelers might attack free agency and which positions they might want to address. Also, no decisions have been made about which players will get a contract extension before the start of the 2023 season — though among the more likely is outside linebacker Alex Highsmith, who is having a breakout year and will be an unrestricted free agent after the 2023 season.
But maybe the most important position that will need to be addressed is safety, where Terrell Edmunds and backup Damontae Kazee will become unrestricted free agents.
Two of the best and understated moves made by the Steelers in 2022 were the decisions to bring back Edmunds, who has started 68 of 72 games since being a first-round draft choice in 2018; and adding Kazee, who started 50 NFL games in five years, the day after the draft. Both were given oneyear contracts, essentially “show me” deals.
Well, both have shown their value. Edmunds has developed into a solid strong safety and has been one of the most consistent players on defense, actually going back to the middle of last season. Kazee reinforced in his first game back from injured reserve what the coaches saw in the preseason — he is quality backup for Fitzpatrick and a player who can adeptly play in their sub-package defenses.
The Steelers did not have to spend a lot of money to sign either player — Edmunds $2.385 million, Kazee $1.03 million. Because they were not in high demand in free agency this year, it is reasonable to expect neither will receive an eye-opening offer the Steelers would not be inclined to match next year.
By re-signing both players, the Steelers can accomplish two goals: They will not have to worry about using a high pick in the draft on a safety or signing one in free agency that will cost more money but, in all likelihood, not be any better than what they have.
Hey, they could have a few extra dollars sitting around to do so.