2025 cap space for every team

No sense arguing it. I believe it was a mistake not signing Najee....I'm a fan of his, but we don't know what the future holds on this subject. He could sign a contract with us in the off season

 

Moore is going to be super affordable if we want him. Despite a few highly graded PFF games to start the year, I doubt he is viewed as anything more than a low-end starting caliber LT/back up caliber player across the league. Even if he is considered a starter, he would be essentially keeping the position locked down in the short term until they draft someone to replace him. He will be a 5-6 million or less a year player. We will have to determine whether or not we want to re-sign him as insurance for Broderick not panning out. Fautanu is highly regarded by the team, but we won't know what we have in him until next year. The interior of the line is pretty set with Seumalo, Frazier, and McCormick though. I'd imagine Herbig is an easy re-sign as our top interior back up for a few million a year.

And why would we be more likely to draft another WR? We just drafted one in the third... I'd rather see us spend a bit of money at the position to lock up a great 1-2 punch at the position, as we need more experience and proven talent at the position (not to get younger). We need to get younger at DL, and will likely need to draft a RB in the first 2-3 rounds. Even if Pickens is a 25 million dollar player, we could spend another 15-20 pretty easy and solidify that group.

QB - Wilson or Fields (or both, really). Depends on how the year pans out.
RB - Draft
WR - FA
OT - Moore could be a re-sign to compete with Jones. Fautanu other side.
OG - set with Seumalo and McCormick starting, Herbig re-signed as top interior backup
C - Set with Frazier
TE - Set with Muth and Washington

DL - Need to get younger here. Benton and Heyward are set. Adams is a great back up. Could use a draft pick here
ILB - Pretty set here. Might keep Roberts as a rotational, set otherwise with Queen and Wilson
OLB - Set, Watt/Highsmith/Herbig the best room in the league
CB - Set with JPJ and Jackson. Re-sign Sutton for slot, Bishop insurance policy at slot. Trice back up
S - Set with Minkah and Elliott. Could figure out back ups, but starters are set.

 

if Harris keeps doing good, I hope they resign him. He WILL be worth it

 

the NFL revolves, while it is now and likely will be a passing league and RB's value went down, this year there is a type of resurgence in the running game. While RB's may be more available, the elite are not a dime a dozen and can provide immense value to a team. Will they ever reach mega CAP value, doubtful, but the cost and value of a really good back should never be underestimated.

 

Its interesting how quickly things change, many were calling for Moore to be traded (before all the injuries), now several podcasts are saying we must re-sign him, lol. When Jones was drafted he was very raw, and even this year has seemed to regress. I do not think the team is ready to call him a bust, but it's also hard to imagine much confidence going into camp next year designating him as LT starter. I have no idea what Moore could command on the market, but with that many career starts he will get some interest.

Your list is fairly decent, I do see a shift into more money being spent on the O side, it was just a matter of time. How much depends on how some guys perform this year and how much the market drives the value for them and for their positions. WIll Wr's hit a 35 million standard? I would not think so, but that market exploded last year.

 

Well, the idea behind Moore being traded was that we drafted two first round OT's and Moore's play had been not good. I think some people warmed to Moore because he had a couple good games to start the year and Broderick Jones is not playing well for whatever reason. I still think that Moore's play has been not very good outside of those first two games and likely isn't viewed around the league as a starting caliber guy. So IF we wanted Moore back as insurance that Jones doesn't progress, he will be affordable. A few million a year and a shot to start will be better than what he gets offered elsewhere.

WR's will definitely get up there, but they have to be a high end guy. Pickens could push 30 maybe, I don't see any others on the FA market getting that kind of bank though. Godwin, Higgins, Cooper and Diggs being the biggest names out there. Higgins being the youngest.

 

It's laughable that you think Moore is going to sign for 5-6 million, he's still young and will get overpaid in free agency by some desperate team. Because next year the returning WR room will be Pickens, Wilson, and Austin, that's why you draft another guy because Pickens could price himself out of town.

 

Well Rodgers is getting paid by the Jets next year even when he gets cut and I think I saw Tomlin winking at him the other night.

And maybe Khan can throw Carolina a bone for Bryce Young.

 

It's really not. He's not a very good player. He has a lot of starting experience, which is a plus... but a ton of that experience is him playing poorly on the field. He also can't be a true swing tackle either because of his inability to play RT, so idk where that puts him. Most teams that need a LT badly would believe that they can get a better player than Moore in the draft. I just don't see how he gets a 10 million dollar or more deal.... Pay Moore like a top 15 LT? Come on. I understand that sometimes bad deals get made by desperate teams, but it is hardly a lock that some team is going to panic and make Dan Moore a top 10 paid guy.

5 million bucks would make him the 23rd highest paid LT in the league, and I would say its a stretch that he is a top 25 LT in the league. Ronnie Stanley is a much better player than Moore and he's making 7.5 million. I understand that injury history comes into play with him, but still. Maybe he can get a Joe Noteboom contract at 6.7 million? Back ups make 3-4-ish million a year if they are decent. Good starters make 12+. He will fall somewhere inbetween since he is neither a good starter nor a career back up. The only way he gets than that 6ish million is if someone opts give him a higher amount with little guarantees that makes him easily cuttable if he doesn't perform.

As for the WR position, why would your scenario make it more likely to invest in the draft than in FA? I'd argue that it would make it even more likely to spend money at the position in FA to make sure we have a workable WR room. We have 0 proven talent outside of Pickens and he isn't under contract after 2025. Spending a high draft pick makes it a lateral move at best and really only works for us if we hit big on the draft pick AND sign Pickens long term.

We could draft AND sign a FA then let Pickens walk after the season... Which is an option of course. But I think there is a pretty slim chance that we don't go the FA/trade route with the WR position. I'd expect us to go after Higgins or Cooper as a WR2 or just straight up try to pry a Deebo Samuel, Tyreek Hill, or DK Metcalf away via trade. Miami and Seattle have very little cap space and both would probably welcome draft picks as neither team is a real contender at the moment. 49ers will have to consider paying Purdy after the season too an might need to dump some salary. They paid Aiyuk already and drafted a guy in the first round last season (Pearsall). There's a potential opportunity there as well. Only time will tell.

 

You don't understand free agency guys get overpaid every year, Moore has been a starter for four years he's not signing for 5 million a year . Maybe they don't have plans to re-sign Pickens, those free agent WRs will cost 25 million or more a year that's why you draft a WR.

 

Yes, guys get overpaid every year... but not every guy gets massively overpaid. Just because a bad player hits the FA market, doesn't mean that he is going to get overpaid. There are a few better names in FA at LT that will be available ahead of Dan Moore, so its not like he's the only LT on the market. Maybe someone gives him a high AAV with very little guarantees, but just because he is in FA doesn't mean he will get overpaid.

Who cares if they cost 25 million a year if their play is worth it? We have the cap space for it. We have nearly 74 million available in cap space as its stands and will get another 6 million bucks available if we end up cutting Cole Holcomb (which is possible/probable). A 25 million dollar AAV doesn't mean 25 million cost on the cap on the first year. Justin Jefferson signed a 35 million AAV deal and his cap hit year one is 8.5 million and year two is 15.3 million. It goes to 35 and 43 in years 3 and 4.... So there is an avenue to sign a 25 million dollar contract and have it cost us like 6-7 million against the cap in 2025. Obviously it has to be the right player and we have to space our cap out properly (Khan is good at this), but don't shy away at making the team better because we're too cheap to pay a WR 25 million. If we want a good WR on our team, that is what it is going to cost (Pickens or FA). Otherwise we can keep trotting bad WR's out there.

 

If you have a good offensive system and good offensive line and receivers to stretch the field you do not need an elite back to be above average in the running game. Would it be nice to have an elite back sure, but there is only so much to go around cap wise for each and every team. Position wise you can certainly be a Super Bowl caliber team with average running backs. I would not say the same for other positions like CB, Edge, WR, QB and OT.

 

I would agree, to have elite you are talking about a very few, above average the lost grows longer, but to say that RB's are a dime a dozen is stretching it. Seems like every year we see good backs from the 4th round and even below, but if they were a dime a dozen every team would have average or better RB's, it's just not the case.

 

I probably phrased it wrong. I think in today’s NFL you can get elite level talent in the mid rounds at rb. That’s what I should have said. So much of it friends in system fit and the team they are going too. Look at SF. They got there system down. They lose McAffrey and they have log and unknown in and he is second in the league at rb. I’m all for having a high pedigree rb but not at the expense of some other position. Sure up the rest of the team then go get your rb. If you don’t have tge line and system in place your just wasting your rb’s talents otherwise.

 

Just because the Steelers will have over 70 million in cap space, it doesn't mean they will spend 25 million on a WR. FYI Moore isn't a bad player; he has been their most reliable and best OL this season.

 

That part is true, we don't HAVE to spend on WR's, but based on how the FO is acting... they feel like we need to upgrade our WR room (and they are right). It would be highly surprising to not see an add to that room via FA/trade.

And yes, he is not a very good player. He had a couple nice games to start the season, but the past few weeks his level of play has dropped to normal Dan Moore level. Just because Broderick Jones has played poorly, doesn't mean that Moore is magically good. As for calling him the most reliable and best OL we've had this season, this is factually false. Frazier and Daniels have been considerably better than Moore this season. Seumalo is a better player than Moore as well, but just hasn't played much due to injury, his level of play will be better than Moore's. Fautanu being out really hurts too. Injuries have been the only reason why Moore's looked better than anybody. I would certainly hope he looks better than our 4th string C and our 3rd string G and our back up RT.... Outside of the unknown with Fautanu, Moore would be the worst OL on our starting line up if we were healthy. That is the truth of it. Moore - Seumalo - Frazier - Daniels - Fautanu

 

Daniels and Frazier aren't available right now, so that makes Moore reliable.

 

Being most reliable when every other position has been hit by injury isn’t setting a really high bar

 

The best ability is availability

 

Ah yes, good bc not injured. Easy.

 

This past offseason, Henry signed a two-year, $20 million deal with the Ravens, while Barkley landed a three-year contract with the Eagles that could be worth up to $46.75 million.

NFL Exec 'Thinks' Elite RBs 'Still Worth' Contracts as Derrick Henry, Saquon Succeed | News, Scores, Highlights, Stats, and Rumors | Bleacher Report

And the Steelers said no to Najee's $7 million. Can't wait to see him in Cincinnati next year.

 

Well, the deal for Henry is 2 years and 16 million and Saquon's is 3 years and 37.75 million (according to Spotrac). So 8 per year for Henry and 12.5ish for Saquon. Barkley's deal is a big one, but he's currently the best RB in the NFL, so it is paying off right now. Henry is second best and his 8 million dollar deal is looking like a steal.

The Steelers obviously believed that they could do better at the position, or at the very least get the same production on a smaller price tag. I don't think that is an unreasonable thing to have thought going into the 2024 season. I know Harris having really good games back to back certainly gives everyone recency bias to think that it is a mistake, but you have to remember that Harris has played 60 career games and has had the last 2 weeks make up 25% of his career 100 yard games. Derrick Henry has had more 100 yard games in a singular season than Harris has had in his career. Najee has also touched the ball more than any other back in the NFL since he has been in the league. There are a lot of things that the team is, and should be, wary of for a guy that will hit Free Agency at age 27 with well over 1,300 NFL touches.

Paying him 7 million bucks and running his wheels off in 2025 would've been an ok plan for sure, but I honestly think that the team just wants, and more highly values, guys that are more explosive than Najee. I think it really just boils down to that. Let Jerry Jones throw more money than he's worth at him and move on. The NFL is littered with quality backs and they are fairly attainable in the draft as well. We have 2 other good backs on the roster in Warren and Patterson too, so it's not like we'd be betting it all on a rookie like we did with Harris. I don't see us having much of a problem replacing Harris. We can't sign everyone and RB is just a position that you should only pay the most elite players at the position and Najee isn't that.

 

Some people just really don't understand this very easy component?

 

No better ability than availability.

 

I just said the same. I didn't see You already did so.