Cap Reality

I agree about McCullers and I am not sure how many nude pics he has on someone above cause I don't understand why he is on this team cause he can't play. I am assuming we sign Digger or someone in that range. With that said we are gonna have 35+ mil locked up in just 3 players all on the dline. We don't have the luxury to have a back up at 3.6 mil. Heck QB the most important position we don't spend that on a back up. Come to think of it we don't have 3.6 mil in both our back up QB's..........COMBINED.

Again this is not a knock on Alualu it is just a numbers game. We can't sign everyone right?

 

I don’t think they sign Hargrave when they are prioritizing Dupree. Once they sign Dupree they won’t be able to sign a DL in Hargraves range. That would mean they are now forced to look at 2nd or maybe 3rd tier FAs to fill the loss of Hargrave. Isn’t Alualu in the class of 2nd and 3rd tier guys? I would say his play is on par with what you would expect from a 2-3 guy. For 3.6 million I don’t know what you think you’re gonna get. Maybe I’m misunderstanding your point?
I’m not sure you can compare our QB situation to what we are spending on the DL. They moved up to draft MR they claimed they had a 1st round grade on him. They’re not gonna bury him on the depth chart and invest 8 mil. on a back up QB. They are trying to strike a balance between being competitive now and also the future. They’re not gonna sell out for a miracle season when Ben’s future is a huge question mark.

 

What you are missing is Digger has nothing to do with Alualu and what I mean by that is no matter if the Steelers sign Digger or another Alualu is still a back up. Alualu is not playing inside so we still need a starting DT/NT. Throw into that Buggs is a lot like Digger where he can play inside and out but is not stepping in for Digger so now we have 2 back up for DE.

I feel you can compare QB to this because of the season that we just had. You know I was on the Mason train but just don't trust him. With QB being such a major part of the team a thing we seen first hand I am willing to go with a guy like Buggs ove a guy like Alualu and spend a little more on QB. jmo

 

As much a priority is the offensive line so is the defensive line. Alualu is a proven commodity. Again does anyone trust Tuitt to stay healthy? What if Heyward goes down. You keep Alualu at 3.6. Not going to kill the cap as others are or will.

 

Why can't alualu play inside? We don't play bass that often. He did in tampa. All of our 4 guys have played DT before. Not ideal but capable. Digger slowly started getting bigger. He wasn't any bigger then buggs or alualu when he first started at the nose. Mondeaux is a guy I want to see year two. He pushed into the backfield very well last preseason. If he got a little bigger this year he just may be a guy we could use. Of course mccullers is still under contract.

 

The reality of our cap hell is when we get excited to save a little of 2mil on the cap when the total cap will be over 200mil!!!

If we could which we can’t tag both Dupree & Hargrave it’ll cost 28mil which is 5.5mil LESS than Bens cap hit !!!

I get what you’re saying, but Alualu play vs Salary makes him untouchable right now. Buggs is NOT ready, sadly, wish he was.

The WorkHorse Heyward had 873 snaps... Hargrave played 680 and Alualu had 432 snaps! Buggs played 75 snaps!! In those 75 snaps he had 2 solo tkls and 1asst tkl.!!
No Sacks, no QB pressure or hits, No Tkl for loss.

Alualu had another 65 ST snaps, Buggs zero!!

This has to be Buggs yr! He has to actually show he can make plays and be dependable. Hargrave Will be gone so Buggs will be in a fight with Alualu to start...


Cajun
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We rank 31 in cap space, 1 of only 3 teams with a 200 mill plus payroll. what a mess they put thenselves in:

https://www.spotrac.com/nfl/cap/2020/

 

I guess he can but has he, I mean what I have seen with him here he has played mostly at DE in our system so that is why I am saying what I have. Like you even say it isn't ideal so why spend 3.6 on not ideal? Even if we don't bring back Digger I have to think we are going to replace him in FA with another cheaper guy no? With that said how many guys we want to have on the dline. Cam, Tuitt, Buggs, McCullers(yuck), Mondeaux and Digger or his replacement that is a crowed and expensive house, right?

You and I don't agree on much but holy cow I am right with you and many others on McCullers...........

 

Our OLine..... AV, Foster, Pouncey, DD, Feiler with Finney and Banner & Chuks as primary Backups......

AV is in his final year and should be extended.... Foster is in his final year and isn’t playing worth his contract plus we need cap space so He’a Most likely cut. Pouncey is locked in with Ben. DD is locked in next couple years as well. Feiler is a Restricted FA..... we cannot afford to low tender him, he’s a known commodity in the NFL and will be wanted. Finney is UFA and will get offers, seriously doubt we can match so he is Most likely Gone.

We can and maybe should move Feiler to LG where he has played and has played well. J.C. Hassenauer plays center and is an ERFA so he’ll replace Finney but the unknown is can he play to Finneys level or better?

RT??? Banner or Chuks??? Who’s the better swing OT???

Cajun
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Difficult to say who is better. Let them battle it out in camp.

What might they offer AV? He was getting destroyed at times last season. A big multi year deal would make me nervous. I’d nearly be looking towards the draft and moving on from him tbh.

 

The early chatter is exactly that. Cut Foster,move Feiler to LG and a battle between Chuks and Banner. Finney is a proven back up at C and G. I don’t see how they can let that go....They’re talking 5 mil. to bring Finney back.

 

I wish Ben would have taken less, I knew he wouldn't though... He's made SO much money in his career, I know it's a pride thing, gotta make more than the next guy but...

And like I said Ben isn't the only one but I would like to see 1 time a guy say " I've made so much money I'll take X amount... So we can sign him and him, and possibly win Titles"?

 

The day of the team friendly deal is gone it seems.

Its crazy looking at those cap figures how much space some teams have. I’m not really that familiar with other teams rosters but it just seems incomprehensible to have $60m - $70m cap space when you are a Steelers fan. I know a lot of them probably have free agents they’ll be locking up. Dallas for example have nearly $80m space but if they want to keep Prescott, Cooper and Jones they’ll be broke. That table will look very different in a few months I guess.

 

Just wondering, besides the obvious Foster,McDonald, Chicko, and Barron, who else do you think might get cap cut?

I think the surprise cut might be AV... he is in final year of contract, he probably wants to get paid. He is too old for us to resign. Saves 5 million, can we find cheaper stop gap and have Chuck and a rookie to compete.

 

.....and having them protect our surgically repaired QBs blindside? I wouldn’t advise it and I’m sure Ben wouldn’t either

 

I don’t see it tbh. He might not get re-signed after this season but I doubt the cut him with Ben coming back and Foster also probably leaving. The entire left side of the line would need to be replaced in one go.

I floated the idea of moving on from him myself a few posts up. I’m not sure I would extend him beyond this upcoming season.

 

Valid points. I don't think it will happen either. I was just thinking who would be the surprise cap cuts...

BEN? ( Holy Sh@t) nah it only save 8M... dead cap 25 ( i don't think we can break that up either with new union contract)

 

I believe I read they can save about 20 mil. next season by cutting Ben. This should be a make or break year for Ben as our future QB. It’s doubtful he’s any better in 2021 if he isn’t pretty good this year. Question is will they be willing to make that call. After all it’s a business....

 

I wish the Rooneys had taken less. They've made SO much money over the decades, maybe they can say, "I've made so much, I don't need to fleece the city and county taxpayers for more"

If you're Ben (or any other player) why should you take less to help out your boss, who never takes less either? Especially since you're the own taking the beating in this business.

 

Retain Gray our draft pick from last year and chuks our 3rd rd. pick from 2 years ago. Both these guys should make some roads forward. Banner would need signed so I don't see that. Feiler and finney need signed. that center guard capability is essential. Chuks and gray and feiler can play guard and tackle. Best case would be a center guard type guy in the draft and drop pouncey and foster.

 

Ben = Pouncey . Not gonna change...

 

Really, he’s not helping his “boss”... his Boss is going to spend X amount of money regardless, he is helping his teammates and himself by taking a little less so they can get or get key players and win more Titles.....

And it’s not like he is hurting, at the end of 2019 Eli was the highest paid player at 235 mil and Ben is right there at 231mil..... he’ll be around 271mil after this lady 2yr contract is paid......

Brady wanted titles, Brees wanted titles, Ben just wants to get paid

Cajun

 

Brady is an outlier. Not many QBs have a spouse making a lot more money than they could.

During the time that Brees was with the Saints, they have made the playoffs the same number of times as the Steelers, won the same number of SBs, and had more seasons with 8-8 or worse. Whatever money from Brees that was used for the rest of team hasn't made a difference.

 

Maybe a Capologist could explain the breakdown on the Cap. I thought every team HAD to account (and spend) the cap amount, guess I am wrong. I just chose Cleveland because they always seem to have a huge money to spend. This year they have 50 mill, yet rolled over 32 mill from last year. How can a team roll over over 20% of last years Cap?

 

We pay our players market price. There are no hometown discounts on this roster.