Steelers re-sign Allen, Warren and Wallace on day 2 of free agency
By Kim Myers
Dec 29, 2013; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Chris Carter (54) is congratulated by safety Will Allen (20) after recovering a fumble against the Cleveland Browns in the first half at Heinz Field. Mandatory Credit: Jason Bridge-USA TODAY Sports
It’s still early but the Pittsburgh Steelers seem to have spent the second day of free agency keeping some of their free agents in-house. Not very many surprises here. The Will Allen re-signing was already leaked last week and just made official this morning. Also re-signed today were long snapper Greg Warren and center/guard Cody Wallace. In addition to the re-signings, the conditions of safety Mike Mitchell’s contract have come out and they’re favorable for the 2014 salary cap.
Perhaps the most telling signing of the day so far has been with Cody Wallace, who was signed to a 3-year deal. Wallace stepped into the starting center position starting with Week 14 last season after Fernando Velasco went down with an Achilles injury. According to Ed Bouchette, the Steelers have determined that Velasco still isn’t fully recovered from his injury and not healthy enough for them to warrant a contract at this point. Velasco had stepped in for the injured Pouncey after Week 1. The contract going to Wallace and not Velasco signifies a confidence both the front office and most likely new offensive line coach Mike Munchak have in Wallace.
ESPN’s Scott Brown broke down the terms of Mike Mitchell’s contract and it looks like the Steelers got a deal for the 2014 season. Mitchell will only cost $2.2 million for 2014, but his numbers rise over the duration of the contract. Obviously, the trend as well is that the salary cap is going to rise consistently over the course of the next few years anyway.
Per ESPN, here are the details of Mitchell’s contract:
- 2014 : $950,000 signing bonus + $750,000 base salary + $500,000 roster bonus = $2.2 million cap hit
- 2015 : $2 million base salary + $2 million roster bonus + $950,000 signing bonus = $4.95 million cap hit
- 2016 : $5 million base salary + $950,000 roster bonus = $5.95 million cap hit
- 2017 : $5 million base salary + $950,000 roster bonus = $5.95 million cap hit
- 2018: $5 million base salary + $950,000 roster bonus = $5.95 million cap hit
The fact that Mitchell’s cap hit for 2014 is so small it gave them the opportunity to get the contracts of Will Allen, Cody Wallace, and Greg Warren done immediately after.
What do you think the next move will be?
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