Tuitt done

[Who Dee Knee]

I turn the page and move on.

There are some free agents who are still available. I think Eddie Goldman is, he could play nose and Tyson could move to DE, with Lowdermilk and Leal spelling him and Cam. Not to mention Wormley who can chip in. Get to work, Omar.

[jebrick]

I knew this shit would happen which is why I was sounding alarm bells in Free Agency and the Draft about Dline. Leal better gain some weight and be a stud or Loudermilk better have gained more leg strength or we are going to be fcked.

The best you can say about this is that he didn't drag this along through training camp to try to collect paychecks. We all knew his heart wasn't in it anymore...this just confirmed it.

Loudermilk is never going to be a pass rusher. They can train him up to be a poor man's Aaron Smith. Leal is inconsistant in his effort. I just do not see that changing in the NFL.

[franco32]

I knew this shit would happen which is why I was sounding alarm bells in Free Agency and the Draft about Dline. Leal better gain some weight and be a stud or Loudermilk better have gained more leg strength or we are going to be fcked.

The best you can say about this is that he didn't drag this along through training camp to try to collect paychecks. We all knew his heart wasn't in it anymore...this just confirmed it.

Loudermilk is never going to be a pass rusher. They can train him up to be a poor man's Aaron Smith. Leal is inconsistant in his effort. I just do not see that changing in the NFL.

I would take a poor man's Aaron Smith any day since Aaron was a beast. Leal's inconsistent motor scares me too.

[Mick]

I wanted Ogunjobi when FA first opened. Thought bengals resigned him, but looks like he’s still available…

[Steeldrama]

Well while the bottom feeders are tripping over themselves running to the podium to draft one young stud qb after another, the Steelers will be left with plenty of options in what looks to be a very good DL/edge class for 2023

Go Kenny
Go Steelers

[COR-TEN]

Anybody here have inside info about what was discussed over the last months between Tuitt and the steelers? I mean, does anybody think his agent and reps for the steelers haven't been in communication since last season? If you have it in your head he was stealing a paycheck, then he must obviously be stealing a paycheck?

Contracts are just that. Contracts. You Get the Good with the Bad, but I see most that don't get what they want out of a contract they want to re-negotiate the contract. Everybody signed the dotted line, right?

I get this shit from family members. They don't like what they agreed to, and then try to revise history and change what was agreed to. "But that's not fair!!" Or "That's not what I agreed to!!"

What's fair is what you agreed to. Period. End. Move on. Quit your whining.

[COR-TEN]

I turn the page and move on.

Wise man.

[Pabst]

I wanted Ogunjobi when FA first opened. Thought bengals resigned him, but looks like he’s still available…

Pass.

For starters, he's not a good run defender. Second, and more importantly, he's exclusively played as a penetrating DT in 4 man fronts. I don't see him fitting the Steelers' scheme.

[sinceiwas4]

the Steelers won't be making any moves because of this announcement. they already made their moves, for what theyre worth, unless they had to wait for his june 1st retirement to get cap room for the player they are going to sign.
it was reported last winter that he said he was going to retire at the request of his mother after the death of his brother and the team asked him to take the yr and decide outside of the immediate emotions. he did, he still chose retirement the team had to have known hence the june 1st retirement for best cap relief. he didnt steal anything. the team gave him the yr. and its that type of relationship with the players that the Rooneys had been known for shoot at a helicopter and we will still get you to the damned game. get your foot blown off in a jungle? the team needs ya get out of ur depression and come be a superbowl winning rb. i'd rather be that team than the u smoked pot and dared to talk about it? ur cut even tho u caught the superbowl winning catch a minute ago shit we were becoming.
he was a great player when healthy. rly stepped up when Cam was down. on to Loudermilk and Leal it looks like. so it goes.

[955876]

What's fair is what you agreed to.

Ummm you are missing the small detail that what the Steelers “agreed to” was pay for play.

They payed. He didn’t play.

So no, they didn’t get what they agreed to.

I’m just glad he’s finally gone as I had zero confidence he was going to remain on the field if he did come back

[Stosh-67]

DT's that I believe are still available.

There are over 30 on this list.....
https://www.spotrac.com/nfl/free-agents/

Some of the notable names.........tho most of theses guys are north of 30.

N. Suh ( 35 )
Eddie Goldman ( 28 )
Brandon Williams ( 33 ) massive nemesis.
Linval Joseph ( 33 )
Star Lotulelei ( 32 )
Larry Ogunjobi ( 27 )
Malik Jackson ( 32 )
Sheldon Richardson ( 31 )
Gerald McCoy ( 34 )
Steve McClendon ( 36 )

[Kodiak.]

They payed. He didn’t play.

$14M buys a lot of therapy.

His salary last year became guaranteed once the season started, when PIT might have expected him to be back in a month or so. My guess is Tuitt knew he was retiring some time well before the end of the season. Which means, yes, he stole millions.

[Stillenigma]

Suh would help us a lot vs the run and could play all 3 positions. IMO, he is an upgrade on Wormley for base downs. Would probably be one year for around 10 million.

[DP39]

What's fair is what you agreed to.

Ummm you are missing the small detail that what the Steelers “agreed to” was pay for play.

They payed. He didn’t play.

So no, they didn’t get what they agreed to.

I’m just glad he’s finally gone as I had zero confidence he was going to remain on the field if he did come back

Yep. Yep. Yep...and...Yep.

Some people can see what's right in front of them and some can't or just refuse to -- sometimes it's just to convince themselves (and anyone that'll listen) they're right.

[RemoAZ]

What's fair is what you agreed to.

Ummm you are missing the small detail that what the Steelers “agreed to” was pay for play.

They payed. He didn’t play.

So no, they didn’t get what they agreed to.

I’m just glad he’s finally gone as I had zero confidence he was going to remain on the field if he did come back

I agree. Better he is gone before they're stuck paying him and soaking up all that cap space for nothing. Just a shame it didn't happen in time for them to sign an impact play at that position or anywhere on defense.

[Ice]

Some of those current FA DTs could be decent stopgap measures while Leal and maybe Loudderrmillkk learn on the job. Could maybe get a twofer out of that group for Tuitt's cap. Goldman and Suh? Williams? At least interesting possibilities that could bring some nasty to the table.

Glad Tuitt has his degree and is making the changes he feels like he needs to make. Loss can change a person's outlook and direction.

[steelmann58]

SUH ,Goodman,Richardson

[jewelsongs]

I would bring Steve McClendon back. He can play nose or end, as can Alualu. The 3 kids can rotate 10 to 15 snaps a game. None of the free agents available will bring what Tuitt did, but I think we will see more blitzes from Jack and Bush (which sounds like to old Marx Bros character, Hackenbush).

[Who Dee Knee]

DT's that I believe are still available.

There are over 30 on this list.....
https://www.spotrac.com/nfl/free-agents/

Some of the notable names.........tho most of theses guys are north of 30.

N. Suh ( 35 )
Eddie Goldman ( 28 )
Brandon Williams ( 33 ) massive nemesis.
Linval Joseph ( 33 )
Star Lotulelei ( 32 )
Larry Ogunjobi ( 27 )
Malik Jackson ( 32 )
Sheldon Richardson ( 31 )
Gerald McCoy ( 34 )
Steve McClendon ( 36 )

Star would be a good pick up. We have the cap space.

[Who Dee Knee]

Suh would help us a lot vs the run and could play all 3 positions. IMO, he is an upgrade on Wormley for base downs. Would probably be one year for around 10 million.

He’s such a dirty player though.

[Ice]

We've definitely been the Native Americans in Brandon Williams' cowboy movie a few times over the years.

[JackLambert58]

I think this frees up $9m. Someone can correct me if that's wrong

Per Labriola on Steelers.com:

In 2022, the Steelers will be charged a dead cap hit of $9.685 million, but they will save the $9.05 million in salary he was due this season. That leaves a net loss to the cap of $610,750 in 2022. Because of the restructured contract that included three voidable years the team worked out with Tuitt to help with their dire 2021 cap situation, the Steelers' cap will be charged $4.755 million in dead money in 2023, $1.585 million in dead money in 2024, and $1.585 million in dead money in 2025. Another potential variable in all of this has to do with whether Tuitt will be designated a post-June 1 retirement. If he is, then the dead cap charge will be halved in 2022 (from $9.685 million to $4.8425 million, with the balance of the other $4.8425 million to be charged to the cap in 2023). In that case, the voidable years charges will remain the same.

[Scunge]

Well, I said many times that I thought he would never play another game as a Steeler and that turns out to be the case.

Don't understand why we would have to trade for a vet Defensive lineman or sign a vet in free agency. Chris Wormley had his best year as a pro last season. Loudermilk got thrown into the fire early and showed some nice play as a rookie. Adams played with a sense of urgency when we plucked him off of a practice squad, he has quickness and some elite traits to work with. We drafted Leal in the 3rd round. Alualu is back this season ready to start at NT.

The discussion the minute after we drafted Leal was who was going to be cut because surely, the Steelers weren't going to keep 7 DL, right?

With Tuitt now retired, we are back down to the customary 6 Defensive linemen that they normally carry.

Where is the problem??? The issue???

I must confess I don't understand the hand wringing over the defense and the 'loss' of Tuitt. We have a total transformation taking place on offense, new QB, new WRs, new offensive linemen, etc.

On defense don't we have a mini rebuild happening too??? We may a new set of starting CBs in Wallace and Witherspoon. We have a new ILB in Myles Jack, we may have a new slot CB in Damontae Kazee/Cameron Sutton. Isn't this the perfect time to allow Leal and Loudermilk and Adams to learn and grow on the job???

Embrace the youth movement, let young players learn and grow, don't retard/stunt their growth by having them fight over scraps of playing time because you signed a 35 year old Suh or some other similar vet.

If you are looking at a 7-10 or 8-9 record, how much sense does it make to not let our young D-line use those 17 games to get better?

[Pabst]

I think this frees up $9m. Someone can correct me if that's wrong

Per Labriola on Steelers.com:

In 2022, the Steelers will be charged a dead cap hit of $9.685 million, but they will save the $9.05 million in salary he was due this season. That leaves a net loss to the cap of $610,750 in 2022. Because of the restructured contract that included three voidable years the team worked out with Tuitt to help with their dire 2021 cap situation, the Steelers' cap will be charged $4.755 million in dead money in 2023, $1.585 million in dead money in 2024, and $1.585 million in dead money in 2025. Another potential variable in all of this has to do with whether Tuitt will be designated a post-June 1 retirement. If he is, then the dead cap charge will be halved in 2022 (from $9.685 million to $4.8425 million, with the balance of the other $4.8425 million to be charged to the cap in 2023). In that case, the voidable years charges will remain the same.

Thanks.

Spotrac did a shitty job with the updates on this one.

[Scunge]

I think Labs may have it not completely right either.

Voidable years or not, I was always under the impression that once you retire, all of that is moot, it all comes due, meaning whatever restructures that were pushed into future years all comes due this year.

The June 1st thing is possible and I think they can split the difference of whatever his remaining cap hit over this year and next.

[Kodiak.]

The discussion the minute after we drafted Leal was who was going to be cut because surely, the Steelers weren't going to keep 7 DL, right?

With Tuitt now retired, we are back down to the customary 6 Defensive linemen that they normally carry.

It was reported the Steelers knew about his retirement for a few months. Even then, with one year left on his contract his status probably didn't weigh heavily on their offseason moves as they needed to add to the DL regardless.

[Mick]

Where is the problem??? The issue???

I must confess I don't understand the hand wringing over the defense and the 'loss' of Tuitt. We have a total transformation taking place on offense, new QB, new WRs, new offensive linemen, etc.

On defense don't we have a mini rebuild happening too??? We may a new set of starting CBs in Wallace and Witherspoon. We have a new ILB in Myles Jack, we may have a new slot CB in Damontae Kazee/Cameron Sutton. Isn't this the perfect time to allow Leal and Loudermilk and Adams to learn and grow on the job???

Embrace the youth movement, let young players learn and grow, don't retard/stunt their growth by having them fight over scraps of playing time because you signed a 35 year old Suh or some other similar vet.

If you are looking at a 7-10 or 8-9 record, how much sense does it make to not let our young D-line use those 17 games to get better?

the problem is that our defense turned to poop last year, with one of the main culprits being identified as lack of d-line. Getting back that same crew of miscreants that failed miserably a few months ago again this year does not appear to be a ‘solution’ to me.

And our d-line isn’t young as is. Wormley will be 29, heyward is ancient, and the other guys (Leal excepted) are like 25, 26, 27. It’s not an issue of young guys who haven’t had a chance yet, they are mid career guys who aren’t good enough to sniff gameday helmets on teams that aren’t completely screwed by cap problems to the point of having no legitimate options. That was us last year. It’s not us this year.

[Jobu]

Where is the problem??? The issue???

Dead last in the league for rush defense. That is a problem!

[Scunge]

You guys are all over reacting and putting too much stock into last year.

It was all a bit of a watershed event with a perfect storm of events that led to the bad showing for the run defense last season.. It will not repeat this season and will trend back to normal this year. What happened last year?

(1) Mike Hilton was a great run defender as the slot CB, we failed miserably last year in replacing him. Be it Arthur Maulet, Tre Norwood, I think it will be much, much improved, that slot play with probably the combo of Kazee and Sutton.

(2) Wasn't just the slot CB, but also a moving combination of parts at CB too last year. Haden was a good CB against the run, even at his advanced age. Steven Nelson was also a physical CB but he was cut and so Cam Sutton became for the first time a #2 CB for and entire season and his run defense took some time to get better. James Pierre and Witherspoon also played because of injuries to Haden. We had a lot of turmoil overall in the secondary and it takes time to play the run to a high standard just as it does to cover and do great pass defense.

(3) Vince Williams retired. Joe Schubert was signed late in free agency and was terrible and Devin Bush coming off his ACL looked equally horrendous. Bush is now a year removed from his injury and has a great coach in Flores coaching him up. He also has a new partner inside with Myles Jack and rookie Mark Robinson looks like a real good sleeper as an inside linebacker.

(4) Bud Dupree was a very good run defender, but he leaves in free agency. I am high on Alex HIghsmith but it was his first year as a starter and it takes time to become a quality run defender. You have to take your lumps, learn that you have to get stronger, techniques, etc.

Now, I just listed a bunch of things that happened last year to why our run defense suffered and dropped so much from the previous year. Having your starting NT be gone for the entire season after he plays just 5 quarters would be devastating for ANY team. Buggs wasn't the answer as his replacement, he was no Chris Hoke.

Honestly, with all of that transpiring, Stephon Tuitt being out the whole year was really low on the list for me. True he did have a great 2020 season with 11 sacks but the year before in 2019 he was injured and played in only 6 games. Which Tuitt were we going to get back anyway if he hadn't retired? And I like to point this out too, that 11 sack season was a bit of an outlier, you look at the 4 seasons leading up to that, 4 sacks, 3 sacks, 5.5 sacks, 3.5 sacks, wow, Chris Wormley may not have the talent that Tuitt has but he managed 7 sacks last year in his first year as a season long starter. Tuitt's second best season sack wise was just 6.5 sacks.

Anyway, I think the Steelers did address the issues and problems on defense, did draft and sign players in free agency and added a great defensive mind in Brian Flores to boot. Nothing to worry about. Players have learned from last year and are ready to apply that his offseason to bounce back and give us good run defense again.

But keep crying Steeler Furians, I enjoy the lamentation of your tears.

[franco32]

The reason people are concerned is that Wormley was pretty awful against the run during some of our worst Run D games. If he is getting easily moved and Devin Bush does not improve, we have some big big problems.