The Steelers will have some extra cap space on hand as the season approaches. They agreed to a restructure with Cameron Heyward, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets.
Previously set to count $10.4MM against Pittsburgh’s 2017 cap, Heyward agreeing to rearrange his contract will create more than $3MM in cap space, Rapoport reports. While this will put more money on future Steelers payrolls, it frees up short-term funds. And the team wants to extend Heyward’s defensive line mate Stephon Tuitt.
The team’s targeted a Tuitt extension before the season, and the window to meet that goal is obviously closing. But after Heyward’s agreement and other moves, the Steelers firmly possess eight figures of cap space, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com notes.
The Steelers have authorized multiple key extensions this year — for Antonio Brown and Alejandro Villanueva — and despite not being able to reach a deal with Le’Veon Bell, a Tuitt re-up would continue a notable talent-retention offseason.
Heyward is signed through the 2020 season on a $52.81MM deal.
Good move. I’m sure that a few more restructuring are coming.