Free agency primer: Keeping secondary intact could be primary objective for Steelers
Share this post:
After releasing a veteran cornerback who never played a snap for them, the Pittsburgh Steelers will try this week to retain the one with the longest tenure in their secondary.
Cameron Sutton, who is entering his second foray into free agency, is one of the primary targets for the Steelers to re-sign before he can test the open market at 4 p.m. Wednesday.
Other teams can begin negotiating with Sutton, who completed his sixth season with the Steelers in 2022, when the legal tampering window opens at noon Monday.
Since signing a two-year, $9 million contract to stay with the Steelers in 2021, Sutton has started 31 of a possible 33 regular-season games and is adept at playing outside in the base defense and inside when the team deploys subpackages.
“We love and think very highly of Cam,” general manager Omar Khan said at the NFL Combine. “Conversations have commenced, and we’ll see where it goes, just like all of our other free agents. Everything’s on the table.”
The Steelers cleared money to be able to retain some of their free agents Friday when they released cornerback William Jackson. This transaction put the Steelers about $11 million under the cap, according to spotrac.com.
That savings likely will go toward the team’s own free agents before they explore adding players from the outside.
“We’re obviously in a lot better shape than we’ve been in the past, where we’ve had to get pretty — I don’t really like to use the word ‘creative’, but had to do some things,” Khan said at the combine. “We’re comfortable that if there’s the opportunity to improve our team with someone, we can make things happen and sign them.
“There’s nothing holding us back.”
The question is whether the feeling is mutual with Sutton, who figures to command a raise after proving himself as a starting cornerback the past two seasons.
The Steelers have several veterans under contract at cornerback in the event Sutton exits. Levi Wallace started nine games in his first season with the Steelers, including three of the final four. Wallace, however, is considered a complementary piece in the secondary.
Ahkello Witherspoon, like Wallace, carries a $5,482,500 cap hit for 2023 and didn’t see the field again after getting beaten for several long touchdowns in Week 8 at Philadelphia. He is a candidate to be released if the Steelers need to clear more cap room.
Slot corner Arthur Maulet also is under contract for one more season.
At safety, the Steelers also face the potential loss of a starter if they can’t re-sign former first-round pick Terrell Edmunds. At this juncture last year, Edmunds was preparing to hit free agency for the first time in his career.
Interest was minimal, and Edmunds re-signed with the Steelers in April on a one-year contract. Edmunds, though, had arguably the best season of his five-year career and is comfortable in his role playing alongside star free safety Minkah Fitzpatrick.
The Steelers likely will try to keep that duo intact, although it could take a multiyear contract this time to accomplish that objective.
Edmunds isn’t the only safety who will become an unrestricted free agent. Damontae Kazee missed the first half of the season because of injury, then returned and started four of the final nine games, providing depth at the position. Kazee was part of a three-safety package the Steelers used in the second half of the season.
“We have a few guys that we obviously would prioritize,” Khan said. “I’m not going to get into who’s who, but I feel good about where we are at.”
A positional look at the Steelers cornerback and safety situations heading into free agency:
Cornerback
Under contract: Levi Wallace ($5,482,500 cap hit for 2023); Ahkello Witherspoon ($5,482,500); Arthur Maulet ($2,290,000); Duke Dawson ($940,000); Madre Harper ($940,000); Chris Wilcox ($750,000)
Restricted free agents: James Pierre ($895,000 salary in 2022)
Unrestricted free agents: Cameron Sutton ($4.5 million salary in 2022); William Jackson ($2,777,778); Carlins Platel ($430,000)
Safety
Under contract: Minkah Fitzpatrick ($18 million cap hit for 2023); Miles Killebrew ($2,482,500); Elijah Riley ($1,010,000); Tre Norwood ($963,610); Kenny Robinson ($940,000); Scott Nelson ($750,000)
Restricted free agents: None
Unrestricted free agents: Terrell Edmunds ($2.537,500 salary in 2022); Damontae Kazee ($870,00); Karl Joseph ($530,000)