One tool of NFL teams to get relief from the salary cap is via a contract restructure. The Pittsburgh Steelers have some players they can still release to free up cap space but another tool is through contract restructures for guys with more than one year left on their current contracts. Here are the three guys who could work with the team to move some 2023 base to bonus and give Pittsburgh some cap space.
DT Cam Heyward
The top candidate for a restructure is defensive tackle Cam Heyward. His base salary is $15.85 million in 2023 and a portion of that could be spread out over the final two years of the contract as a bonus.
LB T.J. Watt
Edge T.J. Watt has a massive base salary of $20 million for 2023 and with three years left on his big contract, there is plenty of space to spread out the hit.
S Minkah Fitzpatrick
The Steelers rewarded Minkah Fitzpatrick with a huge new contract and no roster bonus built in for 2024, 2025 and 2026. So the team has quite a bit of wiggle room with his 2023 $14.5 million base.