woodley assured being cut now

[squidkid]

correct?

by placing LAME R on IR, he is ineligible to play for the remainder of the season. for a team that still has playoffs possibilities, this seems to be a very telling move.
i would think if he was a valued member of this team, he would have been left on the roster. especially seeing that his calf boo-boo could be heeled in a week or two.
this clown that they signed to take his place will have zero effect the next 2 weeks and most certainly wont be a factor if they make the playoffs.
why was it so important to take woodleys roster spot. especially by someone that wasnt even on our PS?
this move looks like nothing more than a message to woodley and maybe the rest of the team.
am i wrong on the IR rules?
is there a logical reason for placing him on IR?

[feltdizz]

while we are technically still alive I think that 61 yard FG put a wrap on our chances.

[squidkid]

while we are technically still alive I think that 61 yard FG put a wrap on our chances.

sure, but we all believe that tomlin will play whoever it takes to win regardless of risk of injury, development of younger players etc. even after being eliminated from the playoffs(last year)
this move seems strange to me.

[SteelCrazy]

Cutting Woodley will not help Steelers Salary Cap woes

The Pittsburgh Steelers placed LaMarr Woodley on injured reserve Tuesday with a calf injury, ending his frustrating 2013 season. And the emergence of Jason Worilds in Woodley’s absence — he’ll end up missing five full games and parts of several others — has left the salary cap-strapped Steelers between a rock and a hard place.

The 25-year-old Worilds, who is set to be a free agent after this season, leads the Steelers with 7.0 sacks. Under normal circumstances re-signing him would be a no-brainer.

But Pittsburgh has boxed itself into a corner in recent seasons with some unruly contracts — moves that already have forced them to cut veterans like Willie Colon and James Harrison and to allow WR Mike Wallace to walk. Woodley’s current deal, which he restructured this past offseason to help Pittsburgh get cap compliant, is another headache.

Woodley is due more than $25 million in base salary over the next three seasons with another $13 million or so in prorated bonuses still on the books. Because of that restructuring, Woodley holds a cap hit of $13.59 million in 2014 and another approximately $14.1 million in 2015.

The real problem, though, is that the Steelers cannot release him and help themselves. If Pittsburgh cuts Woodley prior to June 1, 2014, it actually would result in a dead-money hit of nearly $14.2 million — meaning it would be more expensive to send him packing than to keep him on the team and pay him. Waiting until after June 1 would allow the Steelers to push some of that penalty into 2014 … but that move would not come in time to get Worilds locked up.

So, there’s no easy way out here until at least after 2014.

Making matters worse (and possibly eliminating the possibility of keeping both Worilds and Woodley) is that Pittsburgh’s current projected salary figure for 2014, per OvertheCap.com, is around $135 million. The league-wide cap for next season is expected to settle just north of $126 million.

So no matter what, the Steelers face some tough decisions in the months ahead.

Woodley’s not the only big name potentially on the chopping block, either. Troy Polamalu, Ike Taylor, Levi Brown and Heath Miller all could save the Steelers millions by being handed their walking papers. OvertheCap.com sets the cap savings for releasing that quartet of players at $27 million.

With that extra dough in their pockets, the Steelers might be able to take a closer look at retaining Worilds. Of course, the flip side is that it would force them to part ways with at least three long-time roster stalwarts plus a player they traded for during this season in Brown.

Woodley chalked up a combined 35.0 sacks from 2008-10. He’s since recorded only 18.0 while missing at least three games per season.

That the production has not matched the price tag in recent years is a tough enough reality for a team trying to rebuild on the fly. The thought of losing an emerging Worilds on top of it has to have the Steelers feeling quite uneasy.

[url]http://nfl.si.com/2013/12/17/lamarr-woodley-ir-steelers-salary-cap-problem/[/url]

[Shoe]

Cutting Woodley will not help Steelers Salary Cap woes

The Pittsburgh Steelers placed LaMarr Woodley on injured reserve Tuesday with a calf injury, ending his frustrating 2013 season. And the emergence of Jason Worilds in Woodley’s absence — he’ll end up missing five full games and parts of several others — has left the salary cap-strapped Steelers between a rock and a hard place.

The 25-year-old Worilds, who is set to be a free agent after this season, leads the Steelers with 7.0 sacks. Under normal circumstances re-signing him would be a no-brainer.

But Pittsburgh has boxed itself into a corner in recent seasons with some unruly contracts — moves that already have forced them to cut veterans like Willie Colon and James Harrison and to allow WR Mike Wallace to walk. Woodley’s current deal, which he restructured this past offseason to help Pittsburgh get cap compliant, is another headache.

Woodley is due more than $25 million in base salary over the next three seasons with another $13 million or so in prorated bonuses still on the books. Because of that restructuring, Woodley holds a cap hit of $13.59 million in 2014 and another approximately $14.1 million in 2015.

The real problem, though, is that the Steelers cannot release him and help themselves. If Pittsburgh cuts Woodley prior to June 1, 2014, it actually would result in a dead-money hit of nearly $14.2 million — meaning it would be more expensive to send him packing than to keep him on the team and pay him. Waiting until after June 1 would allow the Steelers to push some of that penalty into 2014 … but that move would not come in time to get Worilds locked up.

So, there’s no easy way out here until at least after 2014.

Making matters worse (and possibly eliminating the possibility of keeping both Worilds and Woodley) is that Pittsburgh’s current projected salary figure for 2014, per OvertheCap.com, is around $135 million. The league-wide cap for next season is expected to settle just north of $126 million.

So no matter what, the Steelers face some tough decisions in the months ahead.

Woodley’s not the only big name potentially on the chopping block, either. Troy Polamalu, Ike Taylor, Levi Brown and Heath Miller all could save the Steelers millions by being handed their walking papers. OvertheCap.com sets the cap savings for releasing that quartet of players at $27 million.

With that extra dough in their pockets, the Steelers might be able to take a closer look at retaining Worilds. Of course, the flip side is that it would force them to part ways with at least three long-time roster stalwarts plus a player they traded for during this season in Brown.

Woodley chalked up a combined 35.0 sacks from 2008-10. He’s since recorded only 18.0 while missing at least three games per season.

That the production has not matched the price tag in recent years is a tough enough reality for a team trying to rebuild on the fly. The thought of losing an emerging Worilds on top of it has to have the Steelers feeling quite uneasy.

[URL]http://nfl.si.com/2013/12/17/lamarr-woodley-ir-steelers-salary-cap-problem/[/URL]

If that all is the case, then what really is the argument?

I've been a harsh critic of this albatross all the way along. BUT... if it is between cutting him (and getting no savings), or keeping him (and hoping he can somehow stay healthy)... is there anyone saying we should just cut bait altogether?

To me, it looks like a no-brainer. We have to keep him, despite how much I'm disliking this fat bum right now.

[NorthCoast]

If that all is the case, then what really is the argument?

I've been a harsh critic of this albatross all the way along. BUT... if it is between cutting him (and getting no savings), or keeping him (and hoping he can somehow stay healthy)... is there anyone saying we should just cut bait altogether?

To me, it looks like a no-brainer. We have to keep him, despite how much I'm disliking this fat bum right now.

I've said it before, make it a football decision, not a financial one. The correct football decision is to cut dead wood, and move on with new growth.

[steeler_fan_in_t.o.]

If that all is the case, then what really is the argument?

I've been a harsh critic of this albatross all the way along. BUT... if it is between cutting him (and getting no savings), or keeping him (and hoping he can somehow stay healthy)... is there anyone saying we should just cut bait altogether?

To me, it looks like a no-brainer. We have to keep him, despite how much I'm disliking this fat bum right now.

The argument to cut him is that you start fresh in 2015. Zero of his contract hangs around and you move forward with what you have. If you keep him one more year, you have a big cap number in 2014 and then you are making the same decision about eating $8.5M dead money in 2015 or a similar cap hit.

[SteelBucks]

I'm really getting tired of this guy. He must have the body of an 80 year old....never healthy.

[hawaiiansteel]

Why the Steelers will part ways with Woodley

By Gerry Dulac

The first sign that did not bode well for LaMarr Woodley returning to the Steelers in 2014 is what happened recently when he returned from injury – he wasn’t given his usual position back.

But it doesn’t end there. Woodley’s inability to stay healthy and on the field the past 2 ½ seasons – whether his fault because of poor conditioning of just plain bad luck – makes him unreliable and undependable in the eyes of the Steelers.

And that is not a good thing when you are the second-highest paid player on the team. Not at a time when the Steelers are annually up against the cap and needing to rebuild their team with more than just rookie draft choices.

When Woodley returned two weeks ago after missing three games because of a calf injury, he was moved to right outside linebacker for the first time since he was drafted on the second round in 2007. The reason was because Jason Worilds was playing so well at left outside linebacker, Woodley’s former position.

On the surface, that may appear to be a simple and logical explanation for the switch. But, do you really think the Steelers would have made that kind of switch with any of their other top-paid stars if they considered them to be irreplaceable or a part of their future?

When they left Worilds on the left side and moved Woodley to the right side – a position they have slotted for the future with Jarvis Jones – that was the first step on the path to Woodley’s departure.

But here are the others:

Woodley is scheduled to count nearly $13.6 million against the salary cap next season, the second-highest figure on the team. In 2015, he will count nearly $14.1 million. In the final year of his contract in 2016, the amount drops to $11.99 million.

If the Steelers decided to cut Woodley in the offseason, they would have to eat the remaining three years of his pro-rated signing bonus – $5.59 million in 2014, $5.59 million in 2015 and $2.99 million in 2016, or $14.17 million. That money is known as “dead money” because it is counting against the cap for a player who is no longer with the team. But, one way or another, that money is counting against the cap, even if Woodley remains with the team.

By cutting him, they would save $25.5 million – the amount in salary Woodley is due the next three years.

However, it’s not just about the money.

Woodley’s inability to stay healthy – and his decline in production – began on Oct. 30, 2011, when he pulled a hamstring against the New England Patriots. Prior to the injury, Woodley’s was having an All-Pro season, with nine sacks in eight games.

But, since that injury, Woodley has appeared in just 25 games and has nine sacks. He does not have a game in which he has had more than one sack. Before he was injured against the Patriots, Woodley had 16 games with multiple sacks.

Conversely, in that same time period, Worilds has appeared in 38 games and has 16 sacks, including a team-high eight this season. He has four games in which he has had multiple sacks, including three this season. Worilds’ cap number this year: $985,000.

The Steelers have a big decision to make. Worilds will be an unrestricted free agent after the season and has probably played himself into a nice contract on the open market. If the Steelers want to retain him, they will have to give him a contract that will make it difficult for them to keep Woodley.

Of course, it’s possible the Steelers could do to Woodley what they did to James Harrison – ask him to take a significant pay cut or else. But it’s more than likely, based on his lack of availability and production the past 2 ½ seasons, they will simply part ways with Woodley.

The process has already begun.

[URL]http://sportsblogs.post-gazette.com/sports/steelers-steelers-blog/2013/12/17/Why-the-Steelers-will-part-ways-with-Woodley/stories/201312170002[/URL]

[Shawn]

correct?

by placing LAME R on IR, he is ineligible to play for the remainder of the season. for a team that still has playoffs possibilities, this seems to be a very telling move.
i would think if he was a valued member of this team, he would have been left on the roster. especially seeing that his calf boo-boo could be heeled in a week or two.
this clown that they signed to take his place will have zero effect the next 2 weeks and most certainly wont be a factor if they make the playoffs.
why was it so important to take woodleys roster spot. especially by someone that wasnt even on our PS?
this move looks like nothing more than a message to woodley and maybe the rest of the team.
am i wrong on the IR rules?
is there a logical reason for placing him on IR?

What makes you think his "calf boo boo" would be healed in a week or two?