The Pittsburgh Steelers still have a lot of casting decisions for the 2021 NFL season. Between losing free agents, signing free agents, extending players and several other moves, the Steelers will remain busy for the next few weeks.
Another deadline approaching in the next two months has to do with the 2022 NFL season. Teams have until May 3 to exercise the fifth year option over any player chosen in the first round of the 2018 NFL draft. The Steelers have two players where this applies, as they chose safety Terrell Edmunds and switched safety Minkah Fitzpatrick and inherited their rookie contract.
Now that the 2021 salary cap has been set, it also allows all values for the 2021 franchise label to be set. Why is it important? Because these amounts also come into play when it comes to the players’ option in the fifth year.
Exactly how much a player’s fifth-year option would cost was shared last week by Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network. It has also been noted that some of the new ways in which players can benefit from their fifth year option will help Steelers Minkah Fitzpatrick’s safety when it comes to maximizing their revenue.
This was a change at the 2020 CBA that will most benefit the likes of Quenton Nelson and Minkah Fitzpatrick, who are Pro Bowl selections on several occasions.
– Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) March 10, 2021
Based on the information shared above, the Steelers now know how much the fifth year option would cost for both of their initial security devices. For Mikah Fitzpatrick, his one-year salary would be $ 10.612 million, as he was selected for the last two Pro Bowls. When it comes to Terrell Edmunds, his option in the fifth year would be $ 6.753 million, as he did not make a Pro Bowl, but played a lot of snaps in his first three seasons in Pittsburgh.
Now that the numbers are there, the only question is whether the Steelers will exercise those options. For the most part, the Steelers used the fifth year option on players. One player who did not exercise this option was cornerback Artie Burns, who became an unrestricted free agent in 2020. Before Burns, Jarvis Jones was not given the Steelers’ fifth year option and became a free agent after the 2016 season.
With a slow start, many Steelers fans thought Bud Dupree was not worth the fifth year option based on his first three seasons in Pittsburgh. But with Dupree coming strong in the fourth and fifth years, he won a payment of more than $ 15 million when he received the franchise label for the 2020 season.
The fifth year option works differently, starting with the 2018 project class, as they fall under the new CBA guidelines. Instead of having their salary based on where they were selected in the first round, they are based on performance. Fifth year options are now based on a percentage of the average transition tag per position, and a higher percentage is obtained based on other factors, such as Pro Bowls and playing time.
In addition, contracts become fully guaranteed when they are exercised, not on the first day of the league year in that season. In addition, the player’s salary in the fourth year becomes fully guaranteed, if it was not already.
Now that we know a little more about what the fifth year option will look like for Minkah Fitzpatrick and Terrell Edmunds, what will the Steelers do with these contracts? Personally, I still think that Fitzpatrick is a no-brainer to exercise the option and possibly use that time to give him a bigger contract. When it comes to Edmunds, the Steelers are probably in a very similar boat, as the $ 6 million price tag doesn’t seem to be very expensive when looking at the 2022 season. Regardless of how I feel about both players, I believe the Steelers will exercise both options.
What do you think? Will the Steelers lock their two initial security systems until the 2022 season? Leave your impressions in the comments below.