The Steelers announced Thursday afternoon that they released six-time Pro Bowl guard David DeCastro.
DeCastro was the Steelers' six-time Pro Bowl guard who had just finished his ninth season, albeit playing only 13 of the team's 16 regular season games. The move comes after DeCastro was noticed not participating in team OTAs and not suited up for any of the three days during the mandatory minicamp at Heinz Field.
The 31-year-old guard did have a nagging injury that hindered his performance last season after missing three of the team's first five games. He still earned a Pro Bowl bid, but was obviously not the same dominant lineman the Steelers had known him to be for several seasons.
Releasing DeCastro freed up $8.75M in salary cap space, opening the Steelers total salary cap to approximately $15.8 M. It also leaves the offensive line with no player who's started an entire 16-game season for the Steelers, as Chukwuma Okorafor's 15 starts led the offensive line last season. But Kevin Dotson only started four games Zach Banner only started the season opener before suffering a season-ending injury.
Now the Steelers hope that rookie Kendrick Green can step up at center to replace the recently retired Maurkice Pouncey, and that they can find a ready replacement for DeCastro at right guard. They did bring in five-time Pro Bowl guard Trai Turner for a visit last week. And with the extra money to throw around, should be active in free agency soon.
But DeCastro was supposed to be the one offensive linemen who could set the tone for the younger, less experienced group as new offensive line coach Adrian Klemm built them up during training camp and helped them grow during the season. Even with the promising look at how Dotson played last season, DeCastro was going to be the undisputed leader of the group.
Even if the Steelers sign Turner, he's 28-years old and coming of a less than stellar year after nine starts with the Chargers and his first season missing the Pro Bowl since his rookie year. He also hasn't played all 16 games in a season since 2016 and would need time to adapt and gel along with all the young linemen getting used to being a starter.
As the depth chart looks now, either returning interior offensive lineman B.J. Finney or recently signed free agent Rashaad Coward would be first in line to replace DeCastro, but neither would be ideal for an offense that needs to protect a 38-year-old Ben Roethlisberger and open up holes for rookie running back Najee Harris.
The Steelers will most likely use some of their newfound salary cap space to replace DeCastro with a potential starter. But how much they invest in his replacement is a big question, as they could try to prioritize signing a free agent at another position like Morgan Moses at offensive tackle, Justin Houston as an edge rusher, Malik Hooker at safety, or many others.
But finding a starting guard to go along with Klemm pushing a more physical style of play for the line needs to take priority.
