Tag: Steelers contracts

Report: Steelers agree to pay remainder of Mike Williams $10M contract

ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported on X that the Pittsburgh Steelers will take on the remainder of Mike Williams’ contract. 

The Pittsburgh Steelers’ months-long search for a wide receiver has finally ended with the acquisition of Mike Williams. The former New York Jet and Los Angeles Charger will don Black and Gold on Sunday in Washington.

ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported on X that the Steelers will take on the remainder of Williams’ contract.

According to Jeff Hathhorn, sports director at Pittsburgh’s 93.7 The Fan, the team will be responsible for just over $300,000, as most of the deal was already paid in bonuses.

In eight seasons since being selected by the Los Angeles Chargers at No. 7 overall, Williams has logged 4,972 yards and 31 touchdowns on 321 receptions.


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Loyalty to T.J. Watt could hurt the Steelers in free agency

The Steelers can’t let potential hurt feelings impact their contract decisions.

An interesting development in the failed trade for San Francisco 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk was the terms of the contract the Pittsburgh Steelers were offering to Aiyuk. It might seem like a non-issue at this point since the Niners ended up re-signing Aiyuk but this philosophy could be a detriment to the Steelers going forward in further trades and free agency.

According to NFL reporter Albert Breer, the contract offer the Steelers had on the table for Aiyuk set his annual salary just below that of outside linebacker T.J. Watt. This was by design to keep Watt the highest-paid player on the team.

The Steelers came closest to acquiring Aiyuk. They refused to give up a current player, but were willing to part with second- and third-round picks. The interesting thing is the money wasn’t as good with the Steelers, who didn’t want to go past what T.J. Watt makes ($28 million APY) and as such offered Aiyuk $27.7 million APY. 

If this is true, it’s the most ridiculous display of loyalty I’ve seen from a team that is notorious for blind loyalty. The market dictates you have to pay players what their value is, not almost what their value is so as not to upset your highest-paid player.

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Cameron Heyward will retire with Steelers after finalizing massive contract

The Pittsburgh Steelers and defensive tackle Cameron Heyward have agreed on a three-year $45 milion contact.

A deal has finally been agreed to between the Pittsburgh Steelers and star defensive tackle Cameron Heyward.

According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, Heyward receives a three-year $45 million deal, including $29 million in new money, $16 million fully guaranteed and a $15 million signing bonus.

Heyward, 35, was heading into the final year of a four-year $71.4 million contract signed in 2020.

Heyward has said he wanted to play three more seasons in the NFL and now gets his wish.

https://twitter.com/JFowlerESPN/status/1831071444790591869

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Steelers GM taking sweet time in contract negotiations with 2 key players

As the 2024 NFL season draws near, so does the Pittsburgh Steelers’ self-imposed deadline for contract extensions.

As the 2024 NFL season draws near, so does the Pittsburgh Steelers‘ self-imposed deadline for contract extensions. Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Gerry Dulac reported that the Steelers have only negotiated in-season with one player since 1995, safety Darren Perry.

While several key players are heading into the season in the final year of their contracts, General Manager Omar Khan has only entered into negotiations with two: Defensive tackle Cameron Heyward and tight end Pat Freiermuth.

With a total contract valued at $6.028 million ($1.507 million APY), Freiermuth is one of the lowest-paid at his position in the league. According to Spotrac, his contract ranks 39th, with several non-starters earning more. It’s still Freiermuth’s rookie deal, so the low number is not too surprising.

Freiermuth, 25, will get a hefty raise, estimated to be in the $10-$12 million range. He’s expected to be a significant part of offensive coordinator Arthur Smith’s game plan. Considering the Steelers are thin at receiver beyond George Pickens, Freiermuth will likely be the No. 2 target in the passing game.

Heyward’s situation is far more delicate, with the best years of his career in the rearview. The Steelers tend to treat aging players as expendable, as we witnessed with Troy Polamalu and Hines Ward. But as noted by Dulac, Khan being in talks with him indicates that he believes Heyward, 35, still has some gas left in the tank.

Entering the 14th year in the league, Heyward has stated he wants to play for a few more and retire with the Pittsburgh Steelers. If a deal cannot be reached, expect Heyward to wear different colors in 2025.

Should Freiermuth and Heyward reach deals with the Steelers, expect it to be announced this week.

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Report: Steelers restructure Cole Holcomb’s contract

The Steelers took the opportunity to renegotiate ILB Cole Holcomb’s contract, who remains on the active PUP list.

Cole Holcomb was off to a solid start in his first season with the Pittsburgh Steelers before succumbing to a severe knee injury that shut down a promising season.

The Steelers took the opportunity to restructure Holcomb’s contract, as he remains on the active Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list, rehabbing the Week 9, 2023 injury.

According to KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson, Pittsburgh “added $3.1 million in 2024 split and base guarantees for Cole Holcomb with renegotiation, in addition to $4.92 million total guaranteed from 2023 contract.”

It’s unclear from the tweet exactly what the adjustment means in financial terms. From a player perspective, Holcomb is unlikely to be ready for the start of the season and may have agreed to the tweak to stay with the Steelers.

Should Holcomb start 2024 on injured reserve, he’s eligible to return in four weeks. If the move is made before Week 1, that’ll be it for the veteran linebacker.

Holcomb sustained the injury when safety Keanu Neal clipped him in an attempt to bring down Tennessee Titans wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins following a 29-yard-reception.

The Steelers should reach out to Kwon Alexander’s agent. Alexander posted a hype video on socials last week showing he’s ready to go after suffering a torn Achilles the week after Holcomb.

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Steelers RB Najee Harris skips steps, reporters heading into training camp

Najee Harris wasn’t ready to talk to the media yet as he reported to training camp.

The Pittsburgh Steelers players reported to training camp on Wednesday. One player everyone was waiting anxiously to see was running back Najee Harris. Most players who arrive at Latrobe take it as their first opportunity in weeks to talk to the media and share their excitement for the start of training camp.

But not for running back Najee Harris. Harris showed up at camp and instead of taking the stairs past the media, Harris navigated the grass with his luggage in tow and opted not to speak to any reporters as he hustled into the dorms like some sort of walk of shame.

Harris is avoiding the press so he doesn’t have to address the rumors that he asked the team not to give him his fifth-year option so he could instead play out the season and then leave the team in free agency. There’s been no denial of this from Harris or the team, but it’s something he will eventually have to answer to.

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Steelers running out of time to make decision on quarterbacks

The Steelers cannot afford to go into the season with no quarterback signed beyond 2024.

In two weeks, Pittsburgh Steelers training camp gets started and with that, the clock starts. The front office has a firm policy about negotiations and contract extensions.

As a rule, the Steelers are willing to work on new deals for players throughout training camp and the preseason. But once the season starts, negotiations end and the players move forward on the final year of their respective contracts.

This puts some serious pressure on the Steelers front office when it comes to the quarterback position. Pittsburgh went to great lengths to completely rebuild the quarterback room this offseason but they are just rentals.

Russell Wilson, Justin Fields and even Kyle Allen are all working on one-year contracts and there’s no rookie waiting in the wings if the Steelers can’t keep one or more.

What this could mean for Pittsburgh is they lean heavily on training camp and preseason games to decide if Wilson or Fields are worth an extension now and if so, how much.

It seems unlikely Pittsburgh would give both guys an extension so it might be first come, first served. The player who gets the extension might not be this season’s starter but the contract is a vote of confidence for the future.

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Steelers GM hints at future deal with RB Najee Harris

No fifth-year option for Najee Harris doesn’t mean the Steelers won’t offer him a long-term deal.

Not exercising Najee Harris’ option was not indicative of Omar Khan‘s feelings for—or even the future of—the Pittsburgh Steelers star running back.

Khan said the decision not to extend Harris was purely business.

“It was a business decision that we had to make… but Najee’s awesome to have around here,” Khan said last week on 93.7 The Fan. “Love Najee as a player and a person.”

Khan then hinted that something could still be on the horizon for the fourth-year back. “And just because we didn’t pick it up, that doesn’t exclude us from doing something with Najee for the long term.”

Entering the final year of his rookie deal with an unclear future, all eyes will be on Harris as he works in Arthur Smith‘s new offense.

While players now have one game more to put up numbers that will inevitably be compared to players of the past, running backs are also not utilized like they once were. Would it be beneficial if Harris was consistently churning out four-plus yards per attempt? Sure, but that’s not what the Steelers have required of him.

Harris has played through a nagging Lisfranc injury — and other issues fans aren’t privy to — at a level that produced three consecutive 1,000-yard seasons. All behind one of the NFL’s worst offensive lines. It’ll be exciting to see how Harris executes Smith’s game plan with the help of some new faces in the trenches.

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What could an extension for Steelers QB Justin Fields look like?

Steelers QB Justin Fields is in the final year of rookie contract.

The Pittsburgh Steelers are far better off in their quarterback situation than they were at this time last year. Still, the two are in the final year of their contracts, so something will have to be done with one of them unless they intend to start all over again in the 2025 offseason.

It’s too soon to tell whether that’ll be Russell Wilson or Justin Fields. Given that Fields is young, if he shows the Steelers brass that he has what it takes to lead the team for the next decade, they’d be silly not to extend him. It’s not as simple as it sounds, though, since — barring injury — Fields is not expected to be the starter in 2024.

Only the Steelers know whether they have plans to keep Fields around and at what price, but The Athletic’s Mark Kaboly believes it’ll require Omar Khan to get creative.

“I don’t know if it would be as lucrative as [Jordan] Love’s extension of $13 million guaranteed, but maybe it’s something in that neighborhood,” Kaboly wrote in a recent mailbag.

“The Steelers have to ensure they have Fields around for another year but at a price that makes sense. General manager Omar Khan will have to be creative, and to be honest, Fields is going to have to want to come back to make it happen.”

Quarterbacks are always something to watch in the offseason, but especially so for the Steelers. It’ll be interesting to see how Wilson and Fields fare once training camp gets underway and how it all unfolds in-season.

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Steelers GM Omar Khan has ‘no regrets’ not releasing Cameron Heyward

Steelers GM Omar Khan doesn’t regret not releasing Cam Heyward.

Omar Khan had choices with veteran defensive end Cam Heyward. The Pittsburgh Steelers general manager could’ve released him and saved $16 million in salary cap ($6.4 in dead money), but he chose to let things play out.

For Heyward, that meant skipping most organized team activities (OTAs) while seeking a contract extension. There’s been communication, according to Heyward, but he hasn’t gotten one (yet). Still, he opted to show up at the practice field on Wednesday with two sessions remaining.

Does Khan regret not releasing the 35-year-old? According to Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Gerry Dulac, not one iota.

“He has no regrets at all,” Dulac answered in a June 5 chat transcript. “The Steelers intended to honor the final year of his contract and they still do. That’s what made Cam’s threat to skip OTAs for a contract extension seem so curious.”

Whether Heyward will practice when mandatory minicamp begins on Tuesday is a different story. He could be a hold-in, but we’ll see next week.

Another option Khan had was to ask Heyward to take a pay cut, as they’ve done with Ben Roethlisberger, Jerome Bettis, James Harrison and others in the past.

According to Over the Cap, the Steelers have just north of $16 million in salary cap space, so there’s really no need to ask him to — unless that is, they finally grab a top-tier receiver.

Yeah, it’s a touchy subject.

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