The Pittsburgh Steelers are still in the red for cap space, and with that, multiple moves need to be made to become cap-compliant and have enough room by the time the season starts to sign their rookie class and an entire practice squad full of players. One of the obvious moves that has not been made just yet is what the team will do with wide receiver Allen Robinson II.
As it stands, Steelers Now analysis has the team at $5.4 million over the salary cap at a league figure of $242.5 million. However, it’s possible that an upward move of that number could have the Steelers fully compliant before the start of the new league year in mid-March without having to make any additional moves. But they will have to make some roster cuts to get some flexibility. And Robinson is at the top of that list.
Pro Football Focus named Robinson as their top cut candidate for the Steelers this offseason.
“The Steelers may still want the veteran presence Robinson brings to a young wide receiver group, but they did not alter his 2024 compensation following his trade from the Los Angeles Rams before the 2023 campaign kicked off, and odds are the Pennsylvania native won’t earn his scheduled $10 million salary whether or not he’s back,” they wrote.
Robinson had minimal production but became an integral blocker in their run game as the season went along. He fits the Arthur Smith system well, but his cap hit is too large to justify keeping him at that tag. Maybe they negotiate a new contract to keep him in Pittsburgh, but that seems like one that will happen at some point soon. With his release, they save $10 million on the cap while incurring less than $2 million in dead money. It’s always possible that Robinson could return on a reduced salary, but he is not coming back at his current tag.
More must-reads: