Stay or Go? Who should the Steelers keep, and let walk?

The Pittsburgh Steelers have a lot of issues to deal with this offseason. One of them is the pending decision surrounding Ben Roethlisberger and his $41 million salary cap hit, and another would be the questions surrounding the salary cap for the upcoming season.

While we don’t know the actual number for the 2021 salary cap, it is never too early to think about who the Steelers should, or could, keep in free agency.

Some fans might suggest doing this is frivolous considering the Steelers’ salary cap position heading into the 2021 league year, but I would suggest taking a realistic approach to this exercise can prove to be valuable.

I’ve broken down the Unrestricted Free Agents (UFA) into offense and defense. I have placed all Restricted Free Agents (RFA) and Exclusive Rights Free Agents (ERFA) into their own category, considering they will all likely be returning with the organization having the right to first refusal on those players.

Take a look at the lists below, and let us know who should stay, or let walk, in the comment section below!

Offense

Alejandro Villanueva — LT — UFA
Matt Feiler — RT — UFA
Zach Banner — RT — UFA
JuJu Smith-Schuster — WR — UFA
Danny Isidora — RG — UFA
James Conner — RB — UFA
Jerald Hawkins — RT — UFA
Joshua Dobbs — QB — UFA

Defense

Bud Dupree — EDGE — UFA
Avery Williamson — LB — UFA
Mike Hilton — CB — UFA
Tyson Alualu — IDL — UFA
Jayrone Elliott — EDGE — UFA
Cassius Marsh — EDGE — UFA
Jordan Berry — P — UFA
Chris Wormley — IDL — UFA
Sean Davis — S — UFA
Jordan Dangerfield — S — UFA
Cameron Sutton — CB — UFA

Specialists

Jordan Berry — P — UFA

RFA/ERFA

Ray-Ray McCloud — WR — RFA
Marcus Allen — S — ERFA
Olasunkanmi Adeniyi — EDGE — RFA
J.C. Hassenauer — C ERFA
Robert Spillane — LB — ERFA

Okay, time to play the game! Who are your priority signings, and who should the team let test the free agent waters? Try to be realistic throughout this exercise. For instance, the odds of the Steelers keeping Dupree, Hilton and Sutton are small.

Be sure to stay tuned to BTSC for the latest news and notes surrounding the black and gold as they prepare for the new league year, NFL Free Agency and the 2021 NFL Draft.