As much as teams try and play coy when it comes to their draft an overall roster moves, there is usually a cause for every effect.
And with the Pittsburgh Steelers freeing up an additional $7 million in cap space on the eve of the draft, it's safe to assume they didn't do it just for fun.
In fact, it points to one scenario in particular...
A trade:
Steelers Restructure Highsmith to save $7 million
The Steelers have done a simple restructure of the salary of pass-rusher Alex Highsmith to create more than $7M in salary cap space, source said. A little breathing room.
-Ian Rapoport, NFL Media
Not only does the move come the day before the draft, but it stems off a report form ESPN's Jeremy Fowler that stated the following regarding a potential trade target for Pittsburgh:
Denver has received several trade calls on him [WR Courtland Sutton] but haven’t planned to trade him. Pittsburgh could be a team to watch here.
-Jeremy Fowler ESPN
There's also the white whale of 49ers WR Brandon Aiyuk who has been tied to trade talks, especially with Pittsburgh for the majority of the offseason. And while it may have been coincidental, he certainly seemed happy just hours after the Steelers restructured Highsmith's deal:
Sutton is not the player that Aiyuk is and he's a little older though both are in their prime and proven producers, something that a rookie WR would not be.
And from a financial perspective, Pittsburgh had around $12 million in cap space prior to the Highsmith restructure. That is more than enough to sign rookies, undrafted free agents, and even a few veteran free agents still looking for a job.
But by adding an extra $7 million, that allows the team to trade for either Sutton or Aiyuk with no worry seeing as they have $17.395 million and $14.1 million cap hits respectively.
Now if you're wondering why Pittsburgh would choose Sutton over Aiyuk in this scenario, it simply comes down to financials.
Yes, Aiyuk is 26 to Sutton's 28, and has shown a higher ceiling than Sutton as a second-team All-Pro, (even though Sutton is a Pro Bowler in his own right) but part of the reason he is even in trade rumors is a contract impasse with SF.
Searching for a deal somewhere in the ~$25M-$30m range APY, the deal coming up for Aiyuk will cost more in terms of cap space and draft capital for Pittsburgh when comparing it to a Sutton acquisition.
It's largely believed that the San Francisco 49ers won't part with Aiyuk for anything less than a first-round pick, while Denver has been listening to calls on Sutton for over a year, and would potentially give him up for a third-round selection and some extra compensation.
In my opinion, you really can't go wrong either way if you Pittsburgh. You won't find a WR in the third round that's going to be as effective as Sutton from day one.
And if you trade for Aiyuk and pay him, now you lock up a fringe top 10 WR to go alongside a budding star in George Pickens for the next half decade, minimum.
Now, there's an option that none of this happens and Pittsburgh just saves the money to acquire some more veterans after the draft to patch their remaining holes.
But for a team whose actions continuously point to being in a win-now mode, it feels like something is coming, setting up draft weekend to be even more exciting.
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