The Pittsburgh Steelers 2024-2025 season is officially over, and it ended with a defiant thud with the black-and-gold dropping five straight games with another early playoff exit.

Fans are frustrated, which might be putting it mildly, but they want to know what is next for the franchise?

Where do the Steelers go from here?

This is the start of a multi-article series which outlines what I think, not what I know will happen with the Steelers moving forward from this lowly state. Where did we start? Where else, the coaching staff and free agents. If you missed any of the previous articles, check the links below:

Part 1: The Coaching Staff

Part 2: Free Agents

This next part of the process is to start assessing the Steelers salary cap, and players who could be signed, and released, based on cap ramifications. Let’s get to the next phase of the Steelers offseason plan, and that’s talking about the minutiae associated with the salary cap.

To start, it should be noted the Steelers have roughly $52 million dollars in salary cap space heading into 2025, according to Over The Cap. And while some might feel as if that is a hefty amount, there are some easy ways to create even more cap space.

It’s time to trim the proverbial fat with players who are not meeting their current contract status. To be specific, I’ve identified four players who should be released for these reasons, as well as their salary cap savings.

• Preston Smith – Cap Savings: $13.4 Million
• Larry Ogunjobi – Cap Savings: $7 Million
• Cole Holcomb – Cap Savings: $6 Million
• Cordarrelle Patterson – Cap Savings: $2.8 Million

If you tally up the cap savings of those four players, you will save an extra $29.2 millions dollars. This added to the Steelers current cap situation, and now you have created roughly $82 million dollars in cap space. Now we have some money to spend.

But before we get to spending those dollars, let me say those four players listed above are not all bad players. I’d love to keep Preston Smith on the roster, but not at his current contract. As for Holcomb, who knows if he’ll ever fully be healthy from his knee injury which took his entire 2024 season. Ogunjobi is a great guy, and the Steelers Walter Payton Man of the Year nominee in 2024, but his play has leveled off and isn’t truly worth that price tag. Sadly, it seems Patterson’s best days are behind him, and as Chuck Noll would say, “It’s time to move on to your life’s work.”

So, what should the Steelers do with this newly found cap space? We’ll dive more into that in the next installment of the plan moving forward, talking about team need and how to address them, but I do want to talk about players I would like the Steelers to keep. More importantly, what those contracts would look like if they are to be retained.

Here are players I’d keep, and what those contracts might look like:

Justin Fields (2-year contract)

I have no problem moving forward with Fields as the quarterback. Give him a two-year contract which is easy to get out of after one year if he doesn’t play well. According to Spotrac, Fields’ projected annual average salary is $8.9 million dollars. I’m fine with that total, and would be fine giving Fields that per year on that two-year deal.

Jaylen Warren (3-year deal)

Warren doesn’t have a lot of tread on his tires, so I have no problem giving him a 3-year extension. If the Steelers want to get out of the contract before then, they absolutely can, but with Najee Harris likely gone you want some continuity at the position. Warren is a restricted free agent, but that shouldn’t stop him from signing a new deal with the Steelers.

Mike Williams (2-year deal)

Some players don’t want a multi-year deal, instead preferring a one-year contract. That was what kept Bud Dupree from returning a couple years ago. The Steelers wanted a two-year deal, but Dupree just wanted a one-year deal. If Williams is like Dupree, give him a one-year deal and let him prove his worth in 2025. However, I was intrigued enough by Williams production, in a limited role, that I think he could be a piece of the puzzle next season.

Elandon Roberts (1-year deal)

Roberts better days are behind him, but he is also a glue guy who is a team-first player. Roberts still provides value in his role, and I want him to return in 2025 to help fulfill that same role with the same trio of inside linebackers back in the fold.

Kyle Allen (1-year deal)

The signing of Skylar Thompson to a Reserve/Future contract threw a slight wrench into these plans, but I could see the Steelers trying to bring Allen back on a cheap one-year deal to keep some continuity within their quarterback room in 2025.

You might think that’s all for these moves, but there’s more. I’d also be fielding calls for a trade with two primary players on the roster. Those players would be George Pickens and Minkah Fitzpatrick.

If I have to keep them on the roster, it isn’t the end of the world, but if I can get rid of the headache that has become Pickens, and get out from underneath Fitzpatrick’s contract, I’m going to listen. If I can do those things and also get valuable draft assets in return, I’d call that a win-win.

When we dive into the team needs in the next article, we’ll talk more about these players and what their potential absences would do from a roster perspective.

What changes would you make? Let us know in the comment section below, and be sure to stay tuned to SCN for the latest news and notes surrounding the Steelers as they prepare for the offseason.