--- I have no idea what the Steelers will do with LaMarr Woodley, Jason Worilds or any other personnel decisions they might have to make after the season. But here is a myth: They cannot cut/trade Woodley (or anyone else) because they would have too much “dead” money. That’s just not true.Woodley will make $8 million in salary next season and count $13.6 million against their salary cap. He has an $8.5 million salary in 2015 and counts $14 million against their cap. He has a $9 million salary in 2016 and counts $12 million against their cap. That’s about $14 million in “dead” money, which is bonus money that’s been pro-rated or salary redesigned as a bonus and pushed into the future. It does not include his salaries, which are not guaranteed.No matter what the Steelers do with Woodley – keep him, trade him, cut him – that $14 million cap hit isn’t going away. They can redistribute its affect by, for example, designating him as a June 1 release and taking a bigger cap hit in 2015 than 2014. Or they could just swallow hard and take the big hit in 2014.They also could keep him. And if they keep him, they add his $8 million salary to their salary cap count in 2014. If they would, say, release him after June 1, they would save that $8 million under their salary cap; he would still count $5.6 million, the so-called “dead” money for 2014, but that’s a lot less than $13.6 million.If they did that, his salary cap for 2015 would be a wash, about $14 million (as it now stands to be including his salary if he’s on the team) because all of the pro-rated stuff would count then. But then he would count nothing in 2016!This is not to say the Steelers will cut or trade Woodley, it is merely using him as an example to point out that when people say they cannot cut or trade a player because of the “dead” money involved, they are wrong. They actually would save money and plenty of cap room, although in this case they would no longer have the services of LaMarr Woodley.
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