This free agency period could be crazy

[phillyesq]

Pittsburgh fire sale: The Steelers could lose every one of their free agents

Submitted by 60 Max Power O Staff on February 7, 2013

How did the Pittsburgh Steelers get into this situation? The usually fiscally sound organization has fallen on hard times with the salary cap.

The philosophy of pushing money into the future ended with the new CBA, and the Steelers are at the front of the line for paying back it’s long due credit line.

According to Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, if you thought last year was tough, this year will be brutal.

He’s referring to the impending slashing of veterans as the “March Massacre.” Pittsburgh’s GM Kevin Colbert gave an indication in January that major changes were going to happen, but no one expected what Bouchette is envisioning:

“The Steelers could lose every one of their free agents, and they might have to lose a few more veterans if they don’t agree to take less money in 2013, they are so far over the salary cap that they would not be able to fill a 53-man roster without doing all of that,” Bouchette said.

Bouchette continues:

“The bloodletting that occurred last year when they released three longtime stars could be a drop in the bucket as to what occurs over the next month, which could resemble their March Massacre.”

[URL]http://network.yardbarker.com/nfl/article_external/pittsburgh_fire_sale_the_steelers_could_lose_every _one_of_their_free_agents/12862057[/URL]

I have not seen Bouchette's full article, but it sounds like he is contemplating what would happen if the Steelers did not do any more restructures. The Steelers almost have to restructure at least a few contracts, otherwise they would need to make close to $15 million in pure cuts before they even considered a tender.