Steelers Rework Alejando Villanueva’s Deal
The Steelers have created a bit of extra salary cap space by restructuring left tackle Alejandro Villanueva‘s contract, according to Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
Villanueva had been scheduled to collect a $3MM base salary and a $3MM roster bonus in 2018, but the majority of that money has now been converted into a signing bonus. Given that Villanueva’s roster bonus was due on Saturday, the third day of the 2018 league year, Pittsburgh had to act now to avoid that figure hitting their cap immediately. All told, the Steelers will create nearly $4MM in cap room, per Fowler.
Villanueva, who has been the Steelers’ left tackle for the better part of three seasons, inked a four-year, $24MM extension last summer, so he’s under contract through the 2020 campaign. Pittsburgh, meanwhile, had been projected to be over the cap in 2018, but they’ve since reworked Antonio Brown‘s deal and will release Mike Mitchell and William Gay in other cost-cutting measures.
RFA/ERFA Tender Decisions: 3/13/18
Here are today’s restricted free agent and exclusive-rights free agent tender decisions, with the list being updated throughout the day. All links go to Twitter unless otherwise noted:
RFAs
Tendered at original round level ($1.907MM):
- Cardinals: DL Xavier Williams
- Jets: S Rontez Miles (via Ralph Vacchiano of SNY)
- Saints: WR Willie Snead (story)
- Steelers: LB Anthony Chickillo (via Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette)
Non-tendered:
- Saints: CB Delvin Breaux (story)
ERFAs
Tendered:
- Bills: TE Nick O’Leary, DE Eddie Yarbrough, TE Logan Thomas, CB Lafayette Pitts (via Mike Rodak of ESPN.com)
- Browns: FB: Dan Vitale, C Austin Reiter (via Nate Ulrich of the Akron Beacon Journal)
- Buccaneers: RB Peyton Barber (story)
- Jaguars: WR Shane Wynn (story)
- Packers: QB Joe Callahan, T Adam Pankey (reports via Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com),
- Ravens: RB Alex Collins, TE Vince Mayle, CB Stanley Jean-Baptiste (via Jamison Hensley of ESPN.com, on Twitter)
Non-tendered:
- Bears: TE Daniel Brown, LB John Timu
Steelers Apply Second-Round Tender To K Chris Boswell
The Steelers are applying the second-round tender to kicker Chris Boswell, as Adam Caplan of SiriusXM tweets. By applying the tender to Boswell, the Steelers have placed a one-year, $2.914MM placeholder on him for 2018.
In theory, another team can sign the restricted free agent away, but that’s unlikely to occur. An unmatched offer sheet would mean surrendering a second-round pick to the Steelers. As good as Boswell is, no kicker is truly worth that amount.
It stands to reason that the Steelers will work to hammer out a lengthier deal with Boswell from here. Last year, Boswell earned his first ever Pro Bowl nod after connecting on 35 of 38 field goal attempts. He also made all but two of his extra point tries.
Steelers To Release CB Will Gay
The Steelers plan to release cornerback Will Gay on Wednesday, a source tells ESPN.com’s Jeremy Fowler (on Twitter). Gay has also confirmed the news via his own Instagram account.
By releasing Gay, the Steelers will save $1.75MM in cap space. The 33-year-old has never missed a game during his eleven years in the league, but the Steelers are opting to spend that money elsewhere rather than retaining the durable veteran. Gay was set to enter the final year of a three-year, $7.5MM deal.
The Steelers don’t have too many key contributors due to become free agents this offseason. But they still need to figure out if they’re going to extend running back Le’Veon Bell, who they placed their franchise tag on for the second straight season. The Steelers return Joe Haden and Artie Burns as their starting cornerbacks, with Keion Adams, Brian Allen, Cameron Sutton and Antonio Crawford on the roster as well.
Gay,33, is set to enter a cornerback free-agent class led by the likes of Trumaine Johnson, Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie, Prince Amukamara, Brent Grimes and Johnathan Joseph, among others. Richard Sherman became the first cornerback to agree to terms this offseason, agreeing to a three-year, $27.15MM deal with the 49ers, with $7MM guaranteed.
Gay was picked in the fifth round by the Steelers back in 2007. Outside of a year with the Cardinals in 2012, he’s spent his entire career in Pittsburgh, including their Super Bowl title run in 2008.
Latest On Le’Veon Bell, Steelers Negotiations
The Steelers officially placed the franchise tag on running back Le’Veon Bell earlier this week, but it sounds like the two sides are progressing towards a long-term deal. ESPN.com’s Jeremy Fowler reports that the Steelers increased their offer recently and are close to Bell’s requested number.
The running back is reportedly seeking a deal that will pay him around $14.5MM annually. That’s similar value to the $14.544MM franchise tag, although an extension would obviously come with long-term security. Devonta Freeman is currently the game’s highest-paid running back at $8.25MM per year, a mark that Bell is looking to surpass.
Earlier this week, we continued to hear that the Steelers and Bell weren’t close to a new deal, with the running back still threatening retirement if he didn’t receive his desired deal. The running back told Fowler that playing the running back position on one-year deals felt like “settling.” However, the running back also acknowledged that he’s thought about playing on the franchise tag for a second-straight season and hitting free agency in 2019. He admitted earlier this week that he doesn’t want to miss any games, and he’s willing to bet on himself in order to secure that big payday.
“For me to get hurt [again] will take a lot,” Bell said. “I know when I’m 30 or 31 years old, I know I’ll be productive because I don’t depend solely on my athletic ability to get open and get yards. It’s more my mind. The Steelers know that.”
The 25-year-old had another productive season in 2017. He ultimately compiled 1,291 rushing yards and nine touchdowns on a career-high 321 carries. He also added another 85 receptions for 655 yards and two scores.
Steelers To Release Mike Mitchell
The Steelers are expected to release Mike Mitchell next week, a source tells Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). They remain open to bringing him back a reduced salary, however. 
Mitchell was slated to carry a $5MM salary in 2018 which was not workable for the Steelers given their limited room. His so-so season at free safety didn’t help matters either. Mitchell missed three games last season and ranked as just the No. 62 safety in the NFL, according to Pro Football Focus. At the same time, he was Pittsburgh’s highest-rated safety, per PFF, which underscores their need in the secondary.
Mitchell has been a starter for Pittsburgh over the last four years and, up until last year, he had never missed a game in black and yellow. He’ll attract interest from other teams, but his age (31 in June) and the depth of the free agent safety market may work against him.
Le’Veon Bell Won’t Sit Out 2018 Season
Recently, Le’Veon Bell has intimated that he could retire or potential sit out the 2018 season if he doesn’t get a multi-year extension to his liking. In an Instagram live video on Wednesday, Bell indicated that neither scenario is really in play. 
“Honestly, no, I’m not going to sit out. I’m going to be in the facility Week 1,” Bell said (via ESPN.com’s Jeremy Fowler). “It’s going to be a rerun of last year. I’m not going to [training] camp. I’m not doing nothing else extra, OTAs, none of that. … I’m going to strictly go to what I have to go to. I want to win every game. I want to have the best statistical career that I possibly can, so I want to play in every game that I can possibly play.”
Earlier in week, Bell indicated in an interview with Billboard.com that he might consider sitting out until Week 10 of the season. If Bell were to sit out beyond that point, he would not accrue the necessary year in order to reach free agency in 2019. However, his latest comments are a sign that he is fully intent on playing, despite past threats.
Without threats of retirement or a holdout that extends into the regular season, Bell doesn’t have a ton of leverage. The Steelers want to see Bell in training camp, particularly in light of his early season struggles when he held out in 2017, but that probably won’t give Bell enough juice to move the needle.
For now, the Steelers have Bell under a placeholder on Bell for 2018 at a cost of $14.544MM. The Steelers have the option of rescinding the tag late in the offseason if Bell stalls, which would leave him without a feasible market once most of the league’s cap room is dried up.
Steelers’ Antonio Brown Restructures Deal
Antonio Brown has agreed to restructure his contract with the Steelers, according to his latest Instagram story. The Drew Rosenhaus client will have his 2018 salary fully guaranteed in a move that will give him additional security while freeing up some additional cap room for the team. 
Pittsburgh has created $9.7MM in cap space by reworking Brown’s deal, tweets Tom Pelissero of NFL.com. That means the Steelers converted Browns’s entire $6MM roster bonus and all but $915K of his 2018 base salary into a signing bonus.
Brown, the league’s most talented wide receiver, inked an extension with Pittsburgh in February of 2017. The four-year, $68MM extension made him the highest-paid receiver of all-time on a yearly basis with an average annual value of $17MM. Brown’s signing bonus and reduced 2017 salaries made up the only guaranteed portions of the pact, so the 29-year-old (30 in July) was amenable to having his 2018 pay locked down.
Brown was as fearsome as ever in 2017 as he caught 101 passes for a league-leading 1,533 yards with nine touchdowns. After yet another spectacular season, Brown earned his sixth career Pro Bowl selection and fourth consecutive First-Team All-Pro nod. In his Instagram video, Rosenhaus does a celebratory toast with Brown to celebrate his future first ballot Hall of Fame induction. You won’t find anyone who will argue with that.
The Steelers have one of the tightest cap situations in the NFL this offseason, but Brown’s restructure should help them in their quest to extend Le’Veon Bell and address other needs in free agency.
Opinion: Steelers Must Plan For Life After Bell
- Given that Le’Veon Bell doesn’t seem amenable to a long-term contract that pays less than $15MM annually, the Steelers are now forced to plan for life after Bell, opines Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com. Bell was assigned the franchise tag for the second consecutive season, but Pittsburgh should look at running backs in the 2018 draft as a hedge against Bell returning to Pittsburgh in 2019. Of course, the Steelers did use a third-round pick on running back James Conner in last year’s draft, but he handled only 32 carries on the season before going down with a knee injury.
Steelers Apply Franchise Tag To Le’Veon Bell
As expected, the Steelers have hit Le’Veon Bell with the franchise tag. The move will prevent the running back from exploring unrestricted free agency while giving the two parties until July to hammer out a long-term deal. 
On Monday, Bell indicated that he was still far apart with the Steelers on contract negotiations. He also said that his threat of retirement from January was legitimate and still in play.
The Steelers, ostensibly, are willing to make Bell the league’s highest-paid running back with a deal that tops Devonta Freeman‘s $8.25MM average yearly salary. Bell, meanwhile, wants a contract that reflects his value not only as a rusher, but as a receiver.
Bell certainly has a case. In 2017, he had 85 catches and 655 yards with two receiving touchdowns. That didn’t detract much from his rushing totals, either. Bell racked up 1,291 yards and nine rushing TDs off of a league-high 321 carries in 2017.
The Steelers now find themselves in a very similar position as last season. They have cuffed Bell with a one-year placeholder, this time at a 20% increase, amounting to $14.544MM. Bell did not take kindly to the move last summer and waited until just before the season to ink his tender. The 26-year-old could do the same this year or even ramp up the retirement talk.
If Bell holds out, the Steelers will not be without leverage. If Bell plays games, the Steelers could threaten to relinquish the tag late in the offseason and leave him on the curb after most of the league’s cap room has already been spoken for.