With the start of the 2026 NFL year now just a few weeks away, it’s time to watch for some possible forthcoming news for a few Pittsburgh Steelers players currently under contract for this coming season. The three players I will highlight in this post are TE Pat Freiermuth, TE Jonnu Smith, and ILB Malik Hasrrison.
TE Pat Freiermuth – Even though it sounds like a few teams around the NFL have inquired about possibly trading for Freiermuth, there’s not a bone in my body that thinks he will ultimately be dealt. If, however, Freiermuth were to be traded this offseason, odds are good he would be dealt by March 13, the due date of his $1.5 million roster bonus for 2026.
So, why is Freiermuth on this list of three players if I don’t think he’ll be traded? Well, as I stated above, Freiermuth has a $1.5 million roster bonus due right after the start of the new league year. If the Steelers are planning to restructure his contract this offseason to free up additional salary cap space for 2026, getting such a transaction done with him before March 13 would make the most sense.
Restructuring Freiermuth’s contract prior to March 13 would free up $6,156,667 in 2026 salary cap space. However, waiting until after his $1.5 million roster bonus is paid would result in $5,256,667 in 2026 salary cap space being freed up via restructuring. Not that there is that much difference between the amount of salary cap space created via the two restructuring options, but it’s usually best to take advantage of the larger option and especially if a team knows it will have the player on its roster all season.
The Steelers might not need to do any contract restructuring this offseason for additional salary cap space. That said, Freiermuth is the likeliest top candidate for an offseason restructuring should any be deemed necessary.
TE Jonnu Smith – It’s probably easy to guess why I have Smith as one of the three players to watch between now and the start of the new league year. Yes, Smith very well could wind up being cut in the next few weeks and especially if no other team is willowing to trade for his 2026 base salary of $7 million. Personally, I think another team would be foolish to trade for Smith’s current contract.
Smith, who is currently set to be one of the Steelers top-10 cash earners in 2026, only managed to catch 38 passes for 222 yards and two touchdowns on 54 targets in 2025. Smith also logged just 536 total offensive snaps during the 2025 regular season, and he never seemed to be on the same page as QB Aaron Rodgers throughout the year. Smith also isn’t much of a blocking tight end and that’s yet another strike against him. Oh, and Smith will turn 31 in August to boot.
While cutting Smith this offseason would result in a 2026 dead money charge of $3.8725 million, the Steelers would save $7 million in both cash and salary cap space, prior to his top-51 roster displacement.
While the Steelers certainly could hold onto Smith beyond the start of the 2026 league year without any short-term repercussions, cutting him by mid-March would make the most sense. At the very least, Smith should be jettisoned prior to OTAs getting underway. Best for the Steelers to rip the Band-Aid off now.
ILB Malik Harrison – Like Smith, Harrison is yet another player who could be jettisoned in the next few weeks. Most might be surprised to learn that Harrison, like Smith, is set to be one of the Steelers’ top 10 cash earners in 2026. At least until the start of free agency and then the draft. In total, Harrison is poised to earn $4.75 million in 2026 and that’s on the heels of him earning $5.25 million in 2025.
While the Steelers would incur a 2026 dead money charge of $2.04 million if he is cut this offseason, they would recoup $4.75 million in both cash and cap space prior to his top-51 roster displacement if he is cut. That noted, the Steelers don’t have a very robust inside linebacker depth chart entering the start of the new league year. There is also the fact that Harrison can play some on special teams.
For 2025, his first year with the Steelers, Harrison logged 41 total regular-season tackles with two resulting in lost yardage. He only played in 11 regular-season games, however, on his way to registering 294 regular-season defensive snaps played and 158 more on special teams. A knee injury slowed Harrison during the first half of the 2025 regular season and it resulted in him spending four weeks on the team’s Reserve/Injured list.
In closing, the Steelers aren’t necessarily forced to make any of the outlined moves above prior to the start of the league year, which is just a little over a week away. Even so, I will be a little bit surprised if both Smith and Harrison are still under contract with the Steelers by the middle of March.
At the very least, Smith and Harrison aren’t locks to make the initial 2026 roster should one or both remain under contract by the start of training camp.
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