The Steelers have been highly active in free agency the past two years, bringing in players such as James Daniels, Mitch Trubisky, Isaac Seulamo, Cole Holcomb, Patrick Peterson, Elandon Roberts, Myles Jack and others in the opening week or so of free agency.
But given the salary cap increasing by $30.6 million this year, the Steelers might actually be less active early in the free agency period in 2024 than they have been.
The cap didn’t just go up for the Steelers. It went up for all 32 teams.
“It applies to all of us,” said Steelers general manager Omar Khan. “Whatever impact it has on us, it also has on the other 31 teams.”
So, when the legal tampering period of free agency begins Monday, followed by the start of free agency on Wednesday, some teams might feel they have a lot more money to throw around. But the Steelers could be inclined to wait things out and see where the bargains might crop up after the big spenders are finished.
That doesn’t mean they won’t be active. If there’s a player they like, they can still get something done quickly. And they’ll move to sign their own free agents if they feel the moves are prudent.
But the cap going up 13.61 percent – the fourth-biggest jump since the league implemented a cap in 1993 – typically means that money will burn a hole in the pocket of the teams that have plenty to spend. And those teams will wind up getting into bidding wars with each other, or worse yet, themselves, and wind up overpaying on big-name players early.
That could leave some bargains to be found for teams that are patient.
“It’s relative. It applies to everyone,” Khan said of the cap going up. “If there’s an opportunity to improve the roster, we’ll find ways to do things with the cap, and there’s some flexibility. And if we can make things better, we will.”
There are obviously two ways to do that in the offseason. The first is through free agency. The second is through the…
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