Trim the fat

[Orion]

we have a thread on Free agent . so why not a thread on roster cuts. this team has some dead weight. players who are being paid too much for their level of play and players who contribute next to nothing.
lets see your cut list. this is a pretty good shopping year for free agents at some positions , and we haven't even seen the cap casualties yet. the more they got to spend the better. you can find the active contract list here.
https://www.spotrac.com/nfl/pittsbur...ers/contracts/

joe schobert - 9.7 cap hit.... save 8 million. joe schobert would be ok as a backup. i would be a buyer at maybe 2 million max

Derek watt - 4.7 million cap hit ....save 2.75 million . i was excited when they signed watt and for the amount they gave him i thought they might actually get him involved in the offense. what a waste. too much to pay a special teammer.

zach banner - 6.6 million ....save 5 million ... besides not being able to stay healthy , thats way to much to pay a guy that has proved nothing on the field.

joel haeg - 3.1 million...save 2.6 million ...any olinemen who couldnt win a starting position over the turds we had should not be on the roster period.

i would cut guys like justin layne and benny snell but i didnt add them because they are around 1 million cap hits and even if you replaced them with a league minimum salary , which i would, you are still only saving a few hundred K.

total savings - 18.35 million

.

[teegre]

100%

[Mojouw]

Let’s have a bunch of guys get a visit from the Turk. Giddy up on roster turnover. It’s time.

[Orion]

there's another 4 or 5 easily replaceable guys they could replace with minimum deals and save another million plus or so. plus they can give boswell an extention and lower his hit. if tuitt doesnt come back there's another 9 million. so they could free up about 60 million, the problem is they would have to fill about 30 roster spots with it.

[steelreserve]

i would cut guys like justin layne and benny snell but i didnt add them because they are around 1 million cap hits and even if you replaced them with a league minimum salary , which i would, you are still only saving a few hundred K.

It's still good to get rid of guys who you know are never going to do shit for you, because as long as they're sitting there taking up a roster spot, you're not getting a look at someone who might turn into a decent player.

Snell has had many chances to show us he's useless. I almost forgot Layne was still on the team. How bad do you have to be fucking up, as a semi-high draft pick, in order to not even get on the field for three years? At least a random minimum-salary player might be able to do that. It's not about the money, it's about getting rid of roster cloggers.

[Orion]

It's still good to get rid of guys who you know are never going to do shit for you, because as long as they're sitting there taking up a roster spot, you're not getting a look at someone who might turn into a decent player.

Snell has had many chances to show us he's useless. I almost forgot Layne was still on the team. How bad do you have to be fucking up, as a semi-high draft pick, in order to not even get on the field for three years? At least a random minimum-salary player might be able to do that. It's not about the money, it's about getting rid of roster cloggers.

my sentiments exactly. if your standing still your not moving forward. one of my many gripes about the steelers is they let bums hangout on the roster to long. Dan McCullers would be a good example. i had this discussion on another forum a while back and did a little research to support my opinion. i found an unacceptable amount of these bums the steelers let occupy the roster for longer than they should have never managed to make another teams roster after they were released. i think Dan McCullers did make it a year on and off of chicago's practice squad before he was bounced out of the league. tomlin kept him for 5 years. where's landry jones ? it took buggs and davis both getting hurt before they looked at adams. i dont think adams is starter material but he is certainly an upgrade over those two.
the practice squad should be a revolving door. new faces every week. i find it hard to believe out of the hundreds of guys on practice squads, that none of them are better than what we have as backups and maybe even starters. the search for upgrades should never stop.

[Born2Steel]

Probably not going to be the most popular take....

Not productive in 2021, and overpaid guys that have overstayed, are not necessarily the same thing. The example of Schobert for instance. New system and playing next to a broken Devin Bush. Granted, 112 tackles and 1 INT is maybe not worth $10M, but he only cost $1.6M in 2021. And I think the rest of his contract is voidable.

If you cut Banner and Haeg what does your OT room look like? Not necessarily against the cuts but let's get replacements in first. As far as OT money goes they make very little.

Agree with Watt however. If you're not using him other than ST. He's the offensive version of Dangerfield. Nearly $5M is being wasted here.

[Mojouw]

I have long been frustrated by the continuity at the bottom of the Steelers 53 man roster and practice squad. BUT...I will give them that if you think you are making a SB run each year...that can be valuable. The whole "next man up" works better when that man knows your system and other players extremely well. And the coaches know how to use that player as an injury replacement. Fair enough.

However, the team is not making a SB run next year (unless some wholly unexpected developments take place). That means, you need to find talent at all levels. This off-season and likely into next, is the time to run a bunch of guys through your roster and see who can play some football. Find the next Ramon Foster. Find the next James Harrison.

Justin Layne is great on special teams and can play some highly limited defensive snaps. That is likely pretty valuable compared to his salary cap hit on a team that has AFCG or higher aspirations. That isn't the Steelers right now -- so cut him loose and find a DB that can play.

[steelreserve]

Probably not going to be the most popular take....

Not productive in 2021, and overpaid guys that have overstayed, are not necessarily the same thing. The example of Schobert for instance. New system and playing next to a broken Devin Bush. Granted, 112 tackles and 1 INT is maybe not worth $10M, but he only cost $1.6M in 2021. And I think the rest of his contract is voidable.

If you cut Banner and Haeg what does your OT room look like? Not necessarily against the cuts but let's get replacements in first. As far as OT money goes they make very little.

Agree with Watt however. If you're not using him other than ST. He's the offensive version of Dangerfield. Nearly $5M is being wasted here.

I was shocked to see how much Banner is getting paid. $6 million and change is way too much for a BACKUP offensive lineman. I think we gave him that deal hoping he'd turn into a starter and we could bail out if he didn't. Well, he didn't, so time to bail out. I don't think he's a bad player per se, but at this point he's a depth guy and it's bad business to pay him like a starter. Haeg is a stopgap player at best, but his cap hit isn't as bad if we're just talking about filling out the roster and really can't find anyone.

I have no clue why we don't use Watt more. When he's played, he's been effective. Our linemen struggle to open holes in run blocking. Where is the fullback? Oh that's right, sitting on the bench while we insist on only ever using a one-back set. Meanwhile, we go with one RB, one WR ... gee, wonder what's coming. Stuffed for no gain anf we argue over whether Najee isn't as good as advertised or it's the line's fault. Stupid.

[Born2Steel]

I was shocked to see how much Banner is getting paid. $6 million and change is way too much for a BACKUP offensive lineman. I think we gave him that deal hoping he'd turn into a starter and we could bail out if he didn't. Well, he didn't, so time to bail out. I don't think he's a bad player per se, but at this point he's a depth guy and it's bad business to pay him like a starter. Haeg is a stopgap player at best, but his cap hit isn't as bad if we're just talking about filling out the roster and really can't find anyone.

I have no clue why we don't use Watt more. When he's played, he's been effective. Our linemen struggle to open holes in run blocking. Where is the fullback? Oh that's right, sitting on the bench while we insist on only ever using a one-back set. Meanwhile, we go with one RB, one WR ... gee, wonder what's coming. Stuffed for no gain anf we argue over whether Najee isn't as good as advertised or it's the line's fault. Stupid.

The OT room is Dan Moore Jr sitting by himself in the dark if the Steelers just cut Banner and Haeg without finding replacements first. In the draft forums I have been pushing for OT over OC as a bigger immediate need for quality upgrade. I know not many agree but there it is. Is that too much for a backup RT? You bet. Is it too much for your ONLY RT? No, not at all. I think LeGlue can play OT as well but he was holding down the LG spot for Dotson. I guess what I'm saying is get me an upgrade at RT and I would be more on board with cutting Banner loose and maybe grabbing a swing OT from FA.

[Orion]

The OT room is Dan Moore Jr sitting by himself in the dark if the Steelers just cut Banner and Haeg without finding replacements first. In the draft forums I have been pushing for OT over OC as a bigger immediate need for quality upgrade. I know not many agree but there it is. Is that too much for a backup RT? You bet. Is it too much for your ONLY RT? No, not at all. I think LeGlue can play OT as well but he was holding down the LG spot for Dotson. I guess what I'm saying is get me an upgrade at RT and I would be more on board with cutting Banner loose and maybe grabbing a swing OT from FA.

they can cut banner and haeg in march and they will probably still be available in august after they get bounced off 2 or 3 other teams rosters. . then they can sign them for a more appropriate league minimum deal if they cant find anyone better. remember these guys were plucked off the scrap heap to begin with.

here are a few guys they could sign to keep dan moore company while he waits for some fellow linemen.

[Orion]

there are 39 UFA tackles and will be even more when teams start cutting. then there are dozens more on practice squads and dozens more coming in the draft. if they cant find a few upgrades over what we have then we have a problem.
if they wanna seriously dive in to the FA market beyond the scrap heap they need to start making calls the first week of march. waiting till the last week of march gets you guys like haeg.

[Born2Steel]

there are 39 UFA tackles and will be even more when teams start cutting. then there are dozens more on practice squads and dozens more coming in the draft. if they cant find a few upgrades over what we have then we have a problem.
if they wanna seriously dive in to the FA market beyond the scrap heap they need to start making calls the first week of march. waiting till the last week of march gets you guys like haeg.

True. BUT I (that's me personally) don't like to get rid of any players for a return of needing to replace that player. Get me a new RT and then cut Banner and his $6M.

This OL of Moore-LeGlue-Green-Turner-Chuks beat the Titans, Browns, and Ravens at the end of the season. Just a bit better than traffic cones. As I said I am all for upgrades. Just get me a replacement before cutting down to nothing. BECAUSE NOW....you will pay premium for whoever you get because you have nothing but need. Even if it is bottom of the barrel scraps or traffic cones.

[Orion]

True. BUT I (that's me personally) don't like to get rid of any players for a return of needing to replace that player. Get me a new RT and then cut Banner and his $6M.

This OL of Moore-LeGlue-Green-Turner-Chuks beat the Titans, Browns, and Ravens at the end of the season. Just a bit better than traffic cones. As I said I am all for upgrades. Just get me a replacement before cutting down to nothing. BECAUSE NOW....you will pay premium for whoever you get because you have nothing but need. Even if it is bottom of the barrel scraps or traffic cones.

and that combination of linemen doesnt include haeg and banner. that group was fighting for the title of worst Oline in the league. anyone who couldnt take a starting spot from one of them i dont see it as a big deal if they are not around to resign at a later date if desperation calls for it. yes banner was injured...again...but he told art moats on his podcast that he will be ready to go whenever they call his number. so he was available down the stretch. i guess tomlin didnt see him as a better option despite tagging him as the starter back in march when they gave him a big pay raise.
i understand where you are coming from.. a bird in hand an all that .. but when you have cheaper birds all around your feet you can grab at any time that may be equivalent or even better than the bird you have in your hand, then you might as well focus on getting the 2 in the bush.
i just like the idea of liquidating to get a better idea of what you have to work with going into free agency.

[polamalubeast]

For the CUT,the steelers can wait after the free agency start since they are way under the salary cap,so they are in a good situation for that.

[Born2Steel]

and that combination of linemen doesnt include haeg and banner. that group was fighting for the title of worst Oline in the league. anyone who couldnt take a starting spot from one of them i dont see it as a big deal if they are not around to resign at a later date if desperation calls for it. yes banner was injured...again...but he told art moats on his podcast that he will be ready to go whenever they call his number. so he was available down the stretch. i guess tomlin didnt see him as a better option despite tagging him as the starter back in march when they gave him a big pay raise.
i understand where you are coming from.. a bird in hand an all that .. but when you have cheaper birds all around your feet you can grab at any time that may be equivalent or even better than the bird you have in your hand, then you might as well focus on getting the 2 in the bush.
i just like the idea of liquidating to get a better idea of what you have to work with going into free agency.

Just sign a 'cheaper bird' and then cut. Don't try to sign when you have nothing because now that 'cheaper bird' isn't so cheap. Demand raises the price.

[DesertSteel]

How we kept Derek Watt and let Mike Hilton walk is beyond me!

[Orion]

How we kept Derek Watt and let Mike Hilton walk is beyond me!

right ? watt averaged 5.5 offensive snaps per game. you can literally throw anyone in at fullback to be a lead blocker (except devon bush who is afraid of contact ) . hell most the time they didnt even run behind watts block. he was just a decoy.

[Fire Goodell]

Banner hasn't even played a snap in the last 2 years, do we really lose much if we let him go?

[Mojouw]

There’s likely a TJ Watt sized reason why Derek is on the team.

[Born2Steel]

There’s likely a TJ Watt sized reason why Derek is on the team.

And he's a FB. You need one? Here he is. Bada-bing Bada-boom.