The One Contract Holding Back the Pittsburgh Steelers

Thanks to their busy offseason last year, the Pittsburgh Steelers were never expected to be be major players in free agency this time around. In terms of spending flexibility, Pittsburgh presently ranks 26th in the NFL with just $5.69 million in cap space.

The salary cap figures to rest next season, and the Steelers better hope it does considering that star youngsters like TJ Watt, Minkah Fitzpatrick, and Bud Dupree will be due for expensive contract extensions.

The fact of the matter here is that Pittsburgh's current financial issues can be traced back to the contract of oft-injured defensive tackle Stephon Tuitt.

The Steelers signed Tuitt to a five-year $61 million contract extension right before the start of the 2017 season. Including 2020, he still has three years left of that deal. That's brutal when you realize that the 26-year-old hasn't played a full 16-game campaign since he was a rookie back in 2014. His $14.94 million cap hit is the third-highest on the team, and he's almost an afterthought on Pittsburgh's loaded defense now.

The Notre Dame product was productive in 2018 with 45 combined tackles, 5.5 sacks, and 20 quarterback hits, but a player hogging as much cap space as him should be a perennial Pro Bowler. Tuitt hasn't been named to one in his six NFL seasons. To put things into perspective, his cap hit is almost triple what the Steelers have at their disposal.

You could make the case that Ben Roethlisberger's massive deal -- specifically his $23.75 million cap hit -- is holding the team back, but Pittsburgh's pitiful quarterback play in 2019 proved that the 38-year-old, if healthy, is still invaluable to the team.

The Steelers' cap constraints are largely due to Tuitt's inflated contract, and that cannot be disputed.