The new league year began at 4 p.m. Wednesday with a bang around much of the NFL as teams were permitted to officially announce the moves they had been reported to make in the previous couple of days.
As for the Pittsburgh Steelers, there were cricket noises coming out of the Rooney Sports Complex as the team continued to sit out the free agency dance, apparently waiting for the dust to settle from the initial burst of action. They did, however, announce the releases of Mike Mitchell, William Gay and Robert Golden.
With the exception of the release of Golden, the moves were expected and left the Steelers with nearly $9.5 million in salary cap space, money the team could use to pursue their two biggest needs, inside linebacker and free safety.
Two players the team might be interested in became available Wednesday.
After agreeing to re-sign veteran linebacker Nigel Bradham to a five-year, $40-million deal, the cap-strapped Eagles made it known they are shopping linebacker Mychal Kendricks, who is scheduled to count $7.6 million against the team's salary cap in 2018. And Arizona released ball-hawking defensive back Tyrann Mathieu just two years into a five-year, $62.5-million contract.
Both would be upgrades for the Steelers, who need to replace both Mitchell and injured inside linebacker Ryan Shazier.
In fact, Cam Heyward already started lobbying for Mathieu to join the Steelers:
Texted with ex-Cardinals DB Tyrann Mathieu on what he's looking for in his next destination: "I wanna go somewhere where football and defense matters." Said he'd love to go to a place where he can immerse himself in the game, and a culture of winning.
— Albert Breer (@AlbertBreer) March 14, 2018
Tell him to give me a call lol
— Cam Heyward (@CamHeyward) March 14, 2018
Mitchell, 30, signed a five-year, $25 million free agent deal with the Steelers in 2014 to be the team's starting free safety. A second-round draft pick of Oakland in 2009, he spent four seasons with the Raiders before spending one season in Carolina in 2013.
With the Steelers, he appeared in 61 games -- all starts -- recording 281 tackles, four interceptions and 23 passes defensed. But his play tailed off considerably in 2017 when he suffered an ankle injury early in the season that eventually forced him to miss three games.
In 13 starts, Mitchell had just 53 tackles, no interceptions and two pass breakups.
Gay, meanwhile, has spent all but one of his 11 seasons with the Steelers, who selected him in the fifth round in the 2006 draft. A true ironman, Gay has never missed a game in his NFL career, appearing in 176 straight contests, the longest such current streak for a defensive back.
His release leaves Ben Roethlisberger as the only remaining player who has won a Super Bowl with the Steelers.
Golden, 27, had been with the Steelers since making the team as an undrafted rookie in 2012. A former special teams captain with the team, his release saves the Steelers $1.4 million against the salary cap this season but also leaves the team thin at safety.
Sean Davis and J.J. Wilcox are the only players on the roster with extensive experience at the NFL level, though the team will take a look a second-year cornerback Cameron Sutton there, as well.
