I think it's safe to say Will Gay, Moats, McCullers, Sensabaugh, Hunter may not be returning for obvious reasons. Hunter was a total disappointment IMO. Made a nice catch off the turf for a TD is all I remember from him. Will Gay for obvious reasons. Age has ended his nice long career. Sutton replaces Gay. McCullers is a total disappointment and likely played his last game as a Steeler. Moats? What can I say that already hasn't been said. Time to move on from him. Keion Adams could be his replacement next season anyway. Sensabaugh served the Steelers well in spot duty. I think Sensabaugh's days in the NFL are all but over. Unless some other team takes a flier on him. I believe Sensabaugh played his last game as a Steelers too. Hubbard may have played his way off the roster. Would keep him if I could. Galambos and Kelsey are next in line at the ILB position. Perhaps either one could make the roster next season. I try to keep both. Justin Thomas and Marcus Tucker are both decent candidates to make the roster next season as well. I try to keep both. Discuss.

You nailed it. Hubbard gets starter money somewhere else. I think Hunter is a solid #5 WR because of his athletic ability. Not sure he returns though. They need ILBs and Safeties in a major way. Sounds like Bell gets tagged again. Steelers have the fewest snaps entering free agency in the nfl. They’d be in extraordinary shape if Shazier wasn’t injured.

Mitchell, Wilcox, Gay, and Sensabaugh are must cuts - saves you over 11M on the cap.

I'd still try to sign Bell to a long term deal to keep his 2018 cap hit far lower than the franchise tag price. Would give you a lot more room to add another piece. Easier said than done though given Bell's expectations.

Vance McDonald can't come back at his current cap hit of 4.6M. They should rip up his current contract and offer him a new (short) deal for like 2 years at 7M, with a couple million guaranteed. He's looked good at times but his production probably wouldn't warrant a ton of interest in FA if he were released. With none of his remaining money guaranteed it shouldn't be difficult to re-work his contract.

Agreed with SP, the Shazier injury puts them in a difficult spot. He might go on the commissioner's exemption list and there's no cap hit, but if he's ready to play do you sign him to an extension to reduce the 8.7M cap hit? That'd be risky.

Shazier going exempt and cutting Mitchell and Wilcox frees up $18 million.

I love Bell but am worried about signing him to a long-term deal. With that said, I’d do it if i could front load some of the early cap hit to the early years. We are looking for a S/ILB but may be drafting one early. Only FA signing I see is depth at ILB/S.

I don’t think it’s safe to say at all...
Been kicking Gay and McCullers, and to a lesser extent, Moats out the door for the past several years now. But here they are...”we do what we do...”

And I know that this won’t be a popular opinion, but I still think Bell’s days in the Black and Gold are winding down.

There's no sense in front loading a deal (cap hit wise) when you simply carry over any unused cap space to the next year. It may entice him to take a little less overall if you give him a higher signing bonus and higher base salaries in the first couple years, but he seems to be someone also focused obliterating the record for total money (and yearly average) for a RB.

16.843 (8.718 + 5 + 3.125), but close enough.

I think some of the other tough calls will be on Boz, Chickillo, and Rogers, all of which are RFAs. Boz deserves a long term deal, which would likely bring a lower cap hit in year 1 than the lowest RFA tender. Chickillo and Rogers haven't done enough to warrant the money of even the lowest RFA tender (close to 2M). They would either need new deals or become UFAs.

I think DHB can go away. Others are stepping up in ST. Allen has been the regular gunner on punts.

I would hope that Golden is released but with the total lack of talent at safety I would be stunned.

I would like to see a safety FA signing. Vacarro. Tre Boston. LaMarcus Joyner will either not allowed on the market or will be outside the price range.

Could they make a run at Navarro Bowman? Seems like a good fit.. Or Terence Garvin

Top 2 changes I try to make? Someone better for Mitchell, someone better for Spence/Fort. All the other guys are just reserves that I could see back, either on their current contracts, or for vet min one year deals.