5 Pittsburgh Steelers cuts to create cap room for the 2024 offseason

1. Patrick Peterson, CB (Pre-June 1 Cap Savings: $6.875 million)

On one hand, it's not hard to find several Steelers insiders who have indicated that veteran cornerback Patrick Peterson had a strong influence on 2023 rookie Joey Porter Jr. and the former Penn State star's development throughout the year. That type of on-roster coaching help and mentorship is certainly valuable.

The other hand, however, is that Peterson was downright bad when on the field in the 2023 season.

After enjoying a resurgent 2022 season with the Minnesota Vikings and then landing with Pittsburgh in free agency, the 33-year-old cornerback and former first-round pick simply looked his age. He was routinely picked on in coverage against the better passing offenses that he and the team faced, perhaps most notably getting eviscerated in the Wild Card Round loss to the Bills.

All told, Peterson registered the third-worst PFF grade of his career in 2023, and his worst since 2020. While the Steelers will have to replenish the secondary, especially with another eyesore in Levi Wallace set to hit the open market, cutting Peterson should very much be on the table.

Releasing the veteran multi-time Pro Bowler would not only save just shy of $7 million with a $2.925 million dead cap hit, but it would open the doors for the Steelers to start turning the page on the cornerback room with higher upside propositions. This is a business, and good business would be not bringing back a struggling defensive back for his age-34 season.