Steelers officially announce Cortez Allen is not a post June 1st release

In the not-so-shocking news department, the Pittsburgh Steelers released embattled cornerback Cortez Allen recently. Allen had done little to prove worthy of his huge second contract with the team, but although Allen's release wasn't a shock, the fact he wasn't labeled as a post-June 1st designation certainly was.

As reported by Mark Kaboly of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, Allen being flat out released might be tough to swallow in 2016, but will be better in 2017.

Confirmed that Cortez Allen was NOT post June 1 designation release. Means $1.7M in cap savings, $4M in dead money in '16. Off books in '17

— Mark Kaboly (@MarkKaboly_Trib) April 18, 2016

As Kaboly stated, the designation means the Steelers will save a measly $1.7 million in salary cap space in 2016, and will also have to fork over $4 million in dead money this season. While most fans will scoff at such a transaction, the move means Allen will be completely off the books in 2017.

Think back to when the Steelers released OLB LaMarr Woodley. Woodley was designated a post-June 1st release, and because of that the team not only had dead money that year, but also the following year. Releasing a player after June 1st equates to the team paying off the dead money in two years, rather than one.

In this case, just cutting ties with Allen might hurt this year, but will benefit the team in the long run. With Allen not willing to take a pay cut, releasing him of his current contract was the only logical step the team could make. Now the job falls on Kevin Colbert and Mike Tomlin to find a replacement who is a step above Allen's 2014 and 2015 performances. Watching the film, that task shouldn't be that difficult.