Going into the offseason, the Pittsburgh Steelers are going to have a new coaching staff, $37 million in salary cap space and very few priority free agents. This means whoever comes in will have plenty of freedom to shuffle the roster how they see fit. This is especially important given this team is in dire need of a starting quarterback.
We poured over the current roster, and here are the four guys the Steelers could cut, all before June 1, and save an additional $42.8 million with right at $9 million in dead money.
S Jalen Ramsey – $19.5 million in cap savings, no dead money
With DeShon Elliott coming back and some tremendous young safeties set to hit free agency, this one feels like a no-brainer no matter how good Ramsey played after moving to safety last season.
LB Patrick Queen – $13.3 million in cap savings, $3.86 million in dead money
Queen had a strong season and we hope instead of a release he’s willing to do a restructure to save some cap but if not, the team would have to re-sign Cole Holcomb for depth behind Malik Harrison and Payton Wilson.
CB Brandin Echols – $3 million in cap savings, $915,000 in dead money
Echols did a nice job as the team’s nickel cornerback last season but the team has options at cornerback and cutting him lose would save $3 million.
TE Jonnu Smith – $7 million in cap savings, $3.87 million in dead money
Even though the net savings of releasing Smith are just over $3 million, Smith’s disappointing season after the trade makes this move fairly straightforward.
This article originally appeared on Steelers Wire: 4 Steelers who could end up cap cuts in a rebuild
