The Pine Township home of Pittsburgh Steelers defensive end Stephon Tuitt is under contract to be sold, according to real estate and property records obtained by Steelers Now. The home was listed for sale on Jan. 16 and placed under contract on Jan. 22.
Tuitt did not play in the entire 2021 season for the Steelers. After dealing with the loss of his brother in a tragic hit-and-run vehicle-pedestrian accident over the summer, he suffered a knee injury while attempting to return to fitness in training camp.
But that doesn’t appear to be the only thing that kept Tuitt from returning. Former defensive coordinator Keith Butler said on Monday that he is unsure if Tuitt will return to the Steelers for 2022, saying he is not sure where the defensive lineman is mentally.
Tuitt selling is Pittsburgh-area home obviously does not preclude his return to the team, but it is another strange step in what has become a mysterious sequence of events. Tuitt has not spoken publicly or with the media for over a year.
“I don’t know. I really don’t know,” Butler said when asked by 93.7 The Fan if Tuitt will return. “That’s going to have to be up to Mr. Rooney and the organization, really. I have no idea, to be honest with you. I have no idea where he’s sitting, mentally. That’s something that’s very private and we didn’t know a lot about. We just took it for granted that the thing that happened to him and his family was very, very hard on him. He really struggled with it. I hope he comes back for the team. I don’t know if he will.”
Tuitt’s contract is slated to run through the end of the 2022 season. He will make $9.05 million in 2022 and the Steelers are still paying down $9.68 million in deferred salary bonus against the salary cap. Tuitt restructured the contract with the Steelers last year to help save the team money against the 2021 salary cap.