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Evaluating the team's salary cap position with a projected $140 million cap gives the Steelers about $8.5 million in space for next season. That figure is subject to change, but it's something to look at now, the new contract for Shaun Suisham has taken a chunk of the expected cap room only this week for example.
Cortez Allen is the most likely candidate, with Jason Worilds a distant if unlikely possibility following Suisham and Maurkice Pouncey in having already had their contracts addressed.
Of course, Ben Roethlisberger is a candidate for an extension, but the team has already said they will likely negotiate with Roethlisberger next year instead.
| Quarterbacks | Cap Hit In 2015 | Saving If Cut | Contract Length | |
| 1 | Ben Roethlisberger | $18,395,000 | $11,600,000 | 1 |
| 2 | Bruce Gradkowski | $1,833,334 | $1,550,000 | 1 |
| 3 | Landry Jones | $694,805 | $475,195 | 2 |
| 4 | Brendon Kay | $510,000 | $510,000 | 2 |
| Running Backs | ||||
| 5 | Le'Veon Bell | $1,123,800 | $435,400 | 2 |
| 6 | LeGarrette Blount | $2,475,000 | $2,000,000 | 1 |
| 7 | Dri Archer | $644,504 | $264,992 | 3 |
| 8 | Josh Harris | $510,000 | $510,000 | 2 |
| 9 | Jordan Hall | $510,000 | $510,000 | 2 |
| Wide Receivers | ||||
| 10 | Antonio Brown | $9,787,500 | $125,000 | 3 |
| 11 | Lance Moore | $1,822,500 | $1,500,000 | 1 |
| 12 | Markus Wheaton | $752,844 | $457,156 | 2 |
| 13 | Martavis Bryant | $619,805 | $290,390 | 3 |
| 14 | C.J. Goodwin | $510,000 | $510,000 | 2 |
| Tight Ends | ||||
| 15 | Heath Miller | $5,666,666 | $2,333,332 | 2 |
| 16 | David Paulson | $671,474 | $660,000 | 1 |
| 17 | Rob Blanchflower | $524,850 | $480,300 | 3 |
| 18 | Eric Waters | $510,000 | $510,000 | 2 |
| Offensive Line | ||||
| 19 | Maurkice Pouncey | $8,100,000 | ($2,300,000) | 5 |
| 20 | David DeCastro | $2,486,240 | $1,455,531 | 1 |
| 21 | Ramon Foster | $2,150,000 | $1,850,000 | 1 |
| 22 | Cody Wallace | $1,250,000 | $950,000 | 2 |
| 23 | Mike Adams | $1,127,525 | $873,225 | 1 |
| 24 | Kelvin Beachum | $671,474 | $660,000 | 1 |
| 25 | Wesley Johnson | $546,140 | $437,720 | 3 |
| 26 | Will Simmons | $510,000 | $510,000 | 2 |
| 27 | Kaycee Ike | $510,000 | $510,000 | 2 |
| 28 | Chris Elkins | $510,000 | $510,000 | 2 |
| Defensive Line | ||||
| 29 | Cameron Heyward | $6,969,000 | $6,969,000 | 1 |
| 30 | Steve McLendon | $2,808,334 | $2,250,000 | 1 |
| 31 | Cam Thomas | $2,500,000 | $2,000,000 | 1 |
| 32 | Stephon Tuitt | $1,047,601 | ($836,162) | 3 |
| 33 | Nicholas Williams | $599,462 | $570,538 | 1 |
| 34 | Hebron Fangupo | $585,000 | $585,000 | 1 |
| 35 | Daniel McCullers | $529,670 | $470,660 | 3 |
| 36 | Josh Mauro | $510,000 | $510,000 | 2 |
| 37 | Ethan Hemer | $510,000 | $510,000 | 2 |
| 38 | Roy Philon | $510,000 | $510,000 | 2 |
| Linebackers | ||||
| 39 | Lawrence Timmons | $12,566,250 | $4,433,750 | 2 |
| 40 | Jarvis Jones | $2,374,228 | ($2,769,933) | 2 |
| 41 | Ryan Shazier | $2,160,728 | ($5,617,894) | 3 |
| 42 | Sean Spence | $816,345 | $680,000 | 1 |
| 43 | Vince Williams | $604,670 | $565,330 | 2 |
| 44 | Jordan Zumwalt | $536,213 | $457,574 | 3 |
| 45 | Howard Jones | $510,000 | $510,000 | 2 |
| Defensive Backs | ||||
| 46 | Troy Polamalu | $8,250,000 | $3,750,000 | 2 |
| 47 | Mike Mitchell | $4,950,000 | $1,150,000 | 4 |
| 48 | William Gay | $1,666,668 | $1,500,000 | 1 |
| 49 | Shamarko Thomas | $698,288 | $471,712 | 2 |
| 50 | Shaquille Richardson | $557,513 | $414,974 | 3 |
| 51 | Devon Carrington | $510,000 | $510,000 | 2 |
| 52 | Lew Toler | $510,000 | $510,000 | 2 |
| Special Teams | ||||
| 53 | Shaun Suisham | $3,665,000 | $1,385,000 | 4 |
| Dead Money | ||||
| 1 | Lamarr Woodley | $8,580,000 | ||
| Totals | ||||
| Adjustment for 51 | -$1,020,000 | |||
| 2014 Salary Cap Rollover | $0 | |||
| Salary Cap Adjustment | $0 | |||
| 2011/12 Cap Payback | $1,125,000 | |||
| Salary Cap Total | $127,898,431 | |||
| 2015 Salary Cap | $140,000,000 | |||
| Under Cap | $8,463,569 | |||
A quick look down the list and there is an obvious number of names that are unlikely to be on this list at the end of camp. Most undrafted free agents were signed to 3 year deals but more than one making the final 53 would be something of a surprise. It is hard to see all nine draft picks making the final roster too.
The majority will be cut with eight being signed to the practice squad on what will be one year deals. After that they will sign futures contracts at the end of the season which in most instances will be for the league minimum in 2015 which will be $435,000. Additional players will be signed to similar futures contract to bring the number of players under contract to 51 but for maths purposes it practically will add around $2 million in additional space to the cap when it all shakes out.
The projection of a cap number of $140 million is somewhat conservative for 2015 with some reporting the cap could go as high as $155 million but looking at the picture from a worse case scenario as the Steelers front office are most likely to do seems the most prudent course at this time.
Edit: Updated to include the new contract numbers for Shaun Suisham.