12-26-2019, 11:44 PM
The Steelers had a terrible opening night of the 2019 season as they lost 33-3 in New England.It’s the kind of game that can make it feel like a team is on the wrong track https://www.thesteelerslockerroom.com/au...nds-jersey , but that’s not the approach quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is taking. Roethlisberger said he told his teammates that “the sky’s still blue” and that moving forward is a matter of fixing individual problems rather than going back to square one.“It’s not like all of a sudden we have to go back to the drawing board,” Roethlisberger said, via ESPN.com. “Doing this, just scratching everything, crossing everything out. . . . It’s just, we all need to, starting with myself, play better. It’s nothing drastic on anybody’s plate. It’s just little things here and little things there.”Roethlisberger said part of the process of fixing those little things is looking forward rather than assigning blame for what went wrong against the Patriots, although he did add that the “quarterback’s got to get better” for the Steelers to avoid more losses. With a jump to almost $5 million Womens Terrell Edmunds Jersey , the Steelers now have some salary cap room in order to make a move." Latest NewsCommentary5 ways the Steelers could spend their new $3.9 million in cap space, and 5 ways they won’tNew,32commentsWith a jump to almost $5 million, the Steelers now have some salary cap room in order to make a move.EDTWith the restructure of Stephon Tuitt’s contract for the 2019 season on Tuesday, the Steelers added $3.9 million to the nearly $1.1 million they had in salary cap space this year. In converting the majority of Tuitt’s 2019 salary to a signing bonus, the Steelers can spread the cap hit of his nearly $5.2 million bonus over the remaining four years of his contract. Just to be clear, Tuitt did not take a pay cut. His salary is now just being paid upfront to help manage the salary cap.But what will the Steelers do with this new cap space?<hr class="p-entry-hr" id="VSAw0l">What they won’t do:NothingThere is no benefit to restructuring a player’s contract to just have the salary cap savings sit and do nothing. The money the Steelers are saving in cap space now comes out equally over the following three years. If the Steelers aren’t going to use the savings now, they would have been better off not deferring the cap hit to a later date.Extend Joe HadenAlthough either an extension or new contract his very likely for Joe Haden before the start of the 2019 season, the savings the Steelers gained on Tuesday will not go toward Haden’s contract. The reason the money won’t be used for Haden is because a new deal would most likely lower his cap hit for 2019. The Steelers simply don’t need any cap space if Haden is getting re-signed.Extend Bud DupreeA new contract for Bud Dupree falls under the same category as Joe Haden in that a contract extension would likely lower his 2019 cap hit. Additionally Terrell Edmunds Jersey White , Dupree has stated he wants to play out the last year of his contract this season. There is really no deal that would benefit both the Steelers and Dupree at this point, so I don’t see anything getting done this year.Extend Mike HiltonThe chance to sign Mike Hilton to a long-term deal expired when he had to sign his ERFA (Exclusive Rights Free Agent) contract at the start of camp in order to participate in team activities. If the two sides want to work out a deal in the future, they must wait until the 2019 season is over.Uncharacteristically extend a current playerIt’s the Steelers policy that they don’t renegotiate a player’s contract until there is one year or less remaining, unless the player is a quarterback. Although both James Conner and JuJu Smith-Schuster will have one year left on their rookie deals next season, it’s too early for the Steelers to extend either one of them.<hr class="p-entry-hr" id="wljh6U">What they could do:Sign a current free agentThere are players still available at various positions who currently are not in any team’s training camp. With depth possibly needed at a variety of positions (tight end, safety, and outside linebacker to name a few), the Steelers could go looking for those answers now.Sign a player once they are released after final cutsThe other possibility for signing a new player is to wait until all roster cuts have been made on Saturday August 31 by 4 P.M. eastern.the Steelers could just be looking ahead to the end of the preseason.Extend Javon HargraveEntering the final year of his rookie contract Womens JuJu Smith-Schuster Jersey , Javon Hargrave had a fantastic 2018 season despite playing less than half of the snaps on defense. With 6.5 sacks, Hargrave was second on the team’s defensive line only behind Cam Heyward’s 8.0 in 2018. Showing improvement every season, Hargrave would be a great player for the Steelers to lock in long term.Extend Sean DavisMuch like Javon Hargrave, Sean Davis is entering his fourth season and is a player the Steelers could extend with one year remaining on his rookie deal. With quality depth at safety still in question, Davis could extend his contract if the two sides can come to an agreement.Something we don’t expectIt is not beyond the realm of possibilities for the Steelers to make a move we are not expecting. Perhaps the Steelers want to sign Artie Burns beyond 2019 even though they declined his fifth-year option. Maybe they are higher on Tyler Matakevich than what we believe and want to keep him around longer. Or maybe the the Steelers just wanted a little breathing room to sign practice squad players the first of September and are willing to pay more than the standard rate. These ideas are long shots, but you never know who the team may value when they are behind closed doors.<hr class="p-entry-hr" id="NdRspM">So what are the Steelers going to do with the cap space they just saved? Make sure you vote in the poll below and comment if there is another possibility which may have been overlooked.