Last week, the Pittsburgh Steelers restructured the contract of left tackle Marvel Smith so that they could free up about $2.5 million in salary cap space. Reports out of Pittsburgh indicate that this money will be used either to sign draft picks or restricted free agents.
If that’s all the room they have, it’s no wonder they passed on Plaxico Burress, who signed a six-year, $25 million deal with the Giants last week. If it came down to Plax vs. their entire draft class, I can imagine which might seem more important to the Steelers, who traditionally draft pretty well.
Of course, there’s no telling whether or not Cedrick Wilson would fit into the offense as well as Plax. He’s obviously not a bad receiver, and he will make Antwaan Randle El work a little harder to remain in a starting role, but as far as I can see, he’s as big a question mark as the Steelers’ secondary coming into next season…