The Pittsburgh Steelers restructured the contract of injured inside linebacker Cole Holcomb, which could signal that the team’s starting linebacker last season could start the season on the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list.
Holcomb’s contract now has a split guaranteeing part of his salary this year. However, if Holcomb is out for the season with a knee injury, he will only earn $3.1 million, which is guaranteed, rather than the initially agreed $6 million in base salary.
Why is this bad news for Holcomb? The Steelers will save salary cap space if he misses time on the PUP list, meaning that this move was made because Holcomb will likely not be ready for Week 1, and the team wants to save money against the salary cap for future moves.
The Steelers will not save a large sum of money on their salary cap, but it is enough to push the margins. This is why the Steelers signed Patrick Queen and drafted Payton Wilson, with Holcomb unlikely to be ready for the season. If he is placed on the PUP list, Holcomb seems likely to miss multiple weeks rather than just Week 1 to start the yea
Pittsburgh has Mark Robinson, Tyler Murray, Tyler Matakevich, and Jacoby Windmon battling for the other roster spot at inside linebacker.
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