The Pittsburgh Steelers came into the offseason in a bigger salary cap crunch than almost any team in the NFL. They have already seen three key pieces of their excellent defense leave in free agency (Bud Dupree signed with the Tennessee Titans, Mike Hilton signed with the Cincinnati Bengals, and Tyson Alualu signed with the Jacksonville Jaguars), and now they may be preparing to lose another.
According to a report from ESPN's Adam Schefter, the Steelers have granted starting cornerback Steven Nelson permission to seek a trade. Nelson has started across from Joe Harden for the past two seasons, forming one of the league's better trios, along with Hilton in the slot.
He played the first four seasons of his career with the Kansas City Chiefs, signing a three-year, $22.5 million deal with Pittsburgh prior to the 2019 season. He has played the first two seasons of that deal with low cap hits, but is set to count for around $14.4 million on Pittsburgh's books in 2021. With a base salary of $8.25 million, he would be very affordable for another team in a trade.
However, the cornerback market is chock full of other options thanks to a strong free agency class that has seen players like Kyle Fuller and Adoree' Jackson join it in recent days after being released by their previous teams. The Steelers may find themselves left wanting when it comes to trade destinations, and forced to release Nelson instead. He'd then be free to choose his own destination and to negotiate a longer-term deal.
