Steelers will let Jason Worilds hit free agency

The Steelers cleared a bunch of cap room through their policy of restructuring contracts of their signed players.

According to ESPN's Scott Brown, who cited a source with knowledge of the situation, the Steelers didn't free up that money to sign outside linebacker Jason Worilds before the veteran hits free agency.

The Steelers will allow Worilds to enter free agency March 10 without signing him to an extension, according to Brown. We wrote recently the Steelers cleared the money up in an effort to pursue Worilds before he hits free agency, and if Brown's report is accurate, the Steelers cleared up roughly $9.5 million in cap space to hit the free agency market aggressively for the second consecutive year.

Letting Worilds explore his options doesn't mean the team isn't interested in re-signing him. It does mean the team is allowing him to go the route of former cornerback Keenan Lewis, who tested free agency in 2013. He quickly found a suitor and the Steelers lost a former third round pick.

Worilds, a former second round pick, reportedly had strong interest from Philadelphia last season before the Steelers gave him the team's transition tag, keeping him in place for $9.75 million.