Omar Khan didn’t make a ton of moves on the second day of the free agent contact period on Tuesday, but the ones the Pittsburgh Steelers general manager made were big ones.
Khan signed free agent linebacker Patrick Queen from the Baltimore Ravens, and got the 2023 All-Pro at a very low price. Queen’s three-year, $41 million deal has just $13.8 million guaranteed and his salary cap hit in 2024 is only $6.1 million.
The Steelers then traded Diontae Johnson to the Carolina Panthers for cornerback Donte Jackson. That move will cost them about another $500,000 in cap space, though the team will likely find a way to re-negotiate Jackson’s contract, as it did with Allen Robinson II after acquiring him in a trade last year.
With the moves made, we can re-calculate how much Steelers general manager Omar Khan has to work with entering the third day of free agency. After Tuesday’s moves, the Steelers have about $17.9 million in 2024 offseason salary cap space, according to Steelers Now‘s estimate. That’s down from $23.7 million on Tuesday morning.
That number can be misleading. Before the start of the 2024 regular season, they will need to pay workout bonuses, sign their rookie class, account for the 52nd and 53rd players on the roster, sign a practice squad, account for players on the injured reserve and leave space for in-season acquisitions.
After being above the red line in our last two salary cap estimates, the Steelers once again will have some work to do to get salary cap complaint before the start of the season after Tuesday’s moves. They are functionally $1.8 million over the salary cap.
The Steelers also have several avenues of achieving further savings, as the team can cut, restructure, or extend the contract of several veteran players, including Cam Heyward, Larry Ogunjobi, Minkah Fitzpatrick, Alex Highsmith, and not to mention the recently acquired Jackson.
Khan could pretty comfortably still sign another $7-$10 million worth of commitments in 2024 without having to make any uncomfortable salary cap moves.
PITTSBURGH STEELERS 2024 SALARY CAP BREAKDOWN
| Functional 2024 cap space (est.) | -$1,813,367 | T.J. Watt | $30,418,694 |
| Cam Heyward | $22,406,250 | ||
| Estimated 2024 NFL salary cap | $255,400,000 | Minkah Fitzpatrick | $21,355,000 |
| Steelers 2023 salary cap rollover | $2,340,191 | Alex Highsmith | $13,933,000 |
| Steelers 2024 salary cap (est.) | $257,740,191 | Larry Ogunjobi | $13,283,333 |
| James Daniels | $11,166,668 | ||
| Top 51 salaries | $219,126,936 | Donte Jackson | $10,522,500 |
| Dead cap hits | $20,675,486 | Isaac Seumalo | $10,191,666 |
| Cole Holcomb | $7,640,000 | ||
| Offseason cap space (est.) | $17,937,769 | Patrick Queen | $6,113,333 |
| Nate Herbig | $5,460,000 | ||
| Draft pool | $3,013,936 | Chris Boswell | $4,720,000 |
| End of rule of 51 | $1,830,000 | Elandon Roberts | $4,667,500 |
| Practice squad (est.) | $4,000,000 | Najee Harris | $4,151,460 |
| In-season buffer/injured reserve (est.) | $10,000,00 | Damontae Kazee | $3,875,000 |
| Workout bonuses (placeholder) | $907,200 | Kenny Pickett | $3,836,701 |
| Broderick Jones | $3,778,719 | ||
| Dan Moore Jr. | $3,235,000 | ||
| Joey Porter Jr. | $2,185,988 | ||
| Cameron Johnston | $2,083,333 | ||
| Pat Freiermuth | $1,918,057 | ||
| George Pickens | $1,841,506 | ||
| Keeanu Benton | $1,666,619 | ||
| DeMarvin Leal | $1,414,608 | ||
| Darnell Washington | $1,216,798 | ||
| Russell Wilson | $1,210,000 | ||
| Isaiahh Loudermilk | $1,135,072 | ||
| Calvin Austin III | $1,111,084 | ||
| Nick Herbig | $1,083,231 | ||
| Denzel Mims | $1,055,000 | ||
| Connor Heyward | $1,023,806 | ||
| Mark Robinson | $1,013,089 | ||
| Jaylen Warren | $989,000 | ||
| Luq Barcoo | $985,000 | ||
| Marquez Callaway | $985,000 | ||
| Breiden Fehoko (est) | $985,000 | ||
| Dez Fitzpatrick | $985,000 | ||
| Thomas Graham Jr. | $985,000 | ||
| Kyron Johnson | $985,000 | ||
| Jonathan Marshall | $985,000 | ||
| Josiah Scott | $985,000 | ||
| Spencer Anderson | $934,446 | ||
| Kalon Barnes | $915,000 | ||
| Dylan Cook | $915,000 | ||
| Jalen Elliott | $915,000 | ||
| Devery Hamilton | $915,000 | ||
| Nate Meadors | $915,000 | ||
| Ryan McCollum | $915,000 | ||
| Jeremiah Moon | $915,000 | ||
| Darius Rush | $915,000 | ||
| Trenton Thompson | $915,000 |
Salary figures from Steelers Now sources, the NFLPA, and OvertheCap.com.