Getty ESPN predicted the Pittsburgh Steelers and head coach Mike Tomlin to make several cuts in order to re-sign one of the team's free agent defensive backs.
Cornerback Cam Sutton is widely regarded as the Pittsburgh Steelers top pending free agent this offseason. ESPN’s Bill Barnwell didn’t disagree.
But Barnwell predicted on February 27 that the Steelers will release “several” players in order to re-sign Sutton to a multi-year contract.
“With Pittsburgh essentially at the salary cap, it can create space by moving on from cornerbacks William Jackson III and Ahkello Witherspoon, along with quarterback Mitch Trubisky,” Barnwell wrote. “Those three cuts would create a little more than $24 million in space.
“I’d like to see the Steelers use those savings to bring back Sutton, their top cornerback from a year ago.”
Barnwell also proposed linebacker Myles Jack and offensive tackle Chukwuma Okorafor as potential players the Steelers could negotiate with to re-work their contracts and create more salary cap space.
Sutton Became Steelers Top Cornerback
It’s not hard to understand why the Steelers would want to bring back Sutton.
As Barnwell explained, he was the team’s top cornerback in 2022. He posted career-bests of 3 interceptions and 15 pass defenses last season.
In 2020 and 2021 combined, Sutton had 3 interceptions and 14 pass defenses.
He fared well in analytical statistics as well.
“[Sutton] allowed a 56.7 passer rating as the nearest defender in coverage at cornerback, per NFL Next Gen Stats, which ranked as the fifth-best mark for corners with at least 250 coverage snaps,” Barnwell wrote. “The Steelers almost always played sides at corner, so Sutton wasn’t chasing around opposing top wideouts, but the 28-year-old more than held his own on the right side of the defense.”
Pro Football Focus ranked Sutton the 22nd-best cornerback among the 72 players at the position who played at least half of his team’s defensive snaps in 2022. Sutton also finished best among Steelers cornerbacks according to PFF.
Potential Contract Offer for Steelers to Re-sign Sutton
To re-sign Sutton, Barnwell projected the Steelers needing to make him a three-year offer that pays him about $14 million per season. An offer like that would be in line with cornerback D.J. Reed received from the New York Jets in free agency last offseason.
Steelers writer Dave Bryan of Steelersdepot.com predicted Sutton’s value this offseason to sit somewhere between $8-13 million, with the higher end the more likely payout.
If the Steelers make the cuts Barnwell proposed, they would be able to fit Sutton’s new deal under the salary cap.
But Kaboly questioned whether the Steelers would be willing to offer Sutton a contract with an average annual salary of much more than $10 million per season.
“The Steelers will have a market value for Sutton and not move off of that very much,” Kaboly wrote. “It’s difficult to envision that being $10 million per year, but it should be within range of that number.
“I’d pay him $30 million over three years but wouldn’t go much past that.”
Steelers Desire to Keep Trubisky
The biggest issue with Barnwell’s proposal, though, is the idea of releasing Trubisky. While speaking to reporters on February 28, Steelers general manager Omar Khan expressed that he wants the backup signal caller to return in 2023.
“Mitch has been awesome since the day he got here,” Khan said. “How he’s been with Kenny has been great.
“I look forward to having him around here for a long time.”
If Trubisky remains on the Steelers roster for 2023, the team will pay him $10.625 million to be the team’s backup quarterback.
Interestingly, Khan mentioned Trubisky staying in Pittsburgh even beyond 2023. The quarterback’s contract is set to expire next offseason.
In light of those comments, it’s worth wondering if the Steelers will offer Trubisky a contract extension. That could both lower his 2023 cap hit and keep the veteran in Pittsburgh for more than just this fall.
Of course, Trubisky would have to be interested in a signing an extension as well. He would be committing to being a backup for the length of the extension. Trubisky also might not be interested in helping an organization that benched him in October save money against the salary cap.
Regardless, the Steelers will have to make other cuts to create cap space for Sutton if they are set on keeping Trubisky.