Three Steelers Named Potential Cap Casualties

The Pittsburgh Steelers have entered the least fun part of the NFL calendar. The front office must make contract decisions for a slew of players. There's a long list of pending free agents whose contracts the Steelers must consider. But before that, the front office has to decide which players are expendable to save precious cap space.

Even though the Steelers have cap room to work with, some players are likely not worth their effect on the team's salary cap. Over the Cap Nick Korte compiled a list of the top 100 players candidates to be cut in 2025, but it is better described as a list of likely bad contracts. Korte writes, "It is stressed that most players on this list will likely not be cut." Korte compiled a top 100 for last year and 38 were officially cut. To end up on this season's list the player must be due a minimum of $3.75 million in cash for 2024, have a negative contract fate greater than 50%, and be within the top 100 in players with the worst OTC valuation above the median starter.

Three Steelers made Korte's list--defensive tackle Larry Ogunjobi, linebacker Cole Holcomb, and offensive lineman Isaac Seumalo. According to Over the Cap's 'contract fate' metric, Ogunjobi and Seumalo have a 62.5% chance of either receiving a pay cut or getting cut and Holcomb has a 76.5% chance.

Holcomb's contract fate sounds about right. He suffers from the Steelers' heavy investment in the linebacker position. He signed a three-year, $18 million contract ahead of the 2023 season. That November, Holcomb suffered a tragic injury that forced him to miss the rest of the 2023-24 season and almost all of the 2024-25 season. Holcomb returned but was not activated for this season's final two weeks.

Holcomb was likely worth his contract before his injury. He played well and was in the Steelers' plans to be a starting linebacker. But after his injury, the Steelers invested heavily in his position. They traded for Patrick Queen, drafted Payton Wilson, and will likely resign Elandon Roberts. Holcomb has a $2 million bonus due next season and 2025 happens to be the year with the biggest cap hit of his contract. The Steelers would save $6 million in cap space if they cut him.

Ogunjobi is another likely cut for the Steelers. The former third-round pick is entering the final year of a three-year $28.75 million contract he signed before the 2023 season. Ogunjobi has had impactful moments, but 2024 was an unproductive season especially compared to the other Steelers in his position.

In his 15 games, Ogunjobi recorded only 1.5 sacks, five tackles-for-loss, and seven QB hits. Keanu Benton, who just finished his second season with the Steelers, had one sack, two tackles-for-loss, eight QB hits, and six passes batted at the line of scrimmage while playing on a rookie contract. Ogunjobi is owed a $3 million roster bonus sometime next year. If the Steelers cut him, they'd save $7 million in cap space.

Although Seumalo's contract fate is identical to Ogunjobi's, his fate with the Steelers may not be the same. The difference is in the depth of the position. The Steelers dealt with several injuries on their offensive line and Seumalo played a key role. In the 13 games Seumalo played and started he was on the field for 97% of the snaps. Considering Dan Moore is a free agent and may not return to the Steelers, cutting Seumalo could leave too big of a hole for the Steelers to effectively fill on their offensive line. Seumalo is certainly expensive for his level of play and the median pay for an offensive lineman. But, Seumalo has a reasonable base salary of just under $7 million and the Steelers need to fill his position.

It's unknown what the Steelers will decide for Holcomb, Ogunjobi, and Seumalo. Last season might provide some context. Five Steelers were in Karte's top 100 for last season. Allen Robinson and Mason Cole were cut. Diontae Johnson was traded. Nate Herbig, who had a negative contract fate of 70.3%, was not cut but was placed on injury reserve for the entirety of the 2024 season. Thankfully the Steelers didn't fully follow the list as Cameron Heyward, who had a negative contract fate of 63.6% on last year's list, had a first-team All-Pro season.

Discussing the validity of a person's contract and pay is the most difficult thing for front offices to do on a human level. Unfortunately, football is often cruel. With the playoffs still underway, the offseason is still young for the Steelers. Only time will tell what decision they will make.

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