Mar 12, 2021 5 min read

Color a lot of NFL teams disappointed. They felt with the new TV deals nearly completed, the salary cap might come in quite a bit higher than the $180-million floor that had been adjusted a few weeks back, up from $175 million.

Instead, the NFL, with just a week remaining before the start of free agency, set the 2021 cap at $182.5 million.

For the Steelers, that wasn’t necessarily unexpected. They made their adjustments to get under the cap with the idea it would be at that $180-million floor.

So, as of this writing, after the new contract given to Ben Roethlisberger and a couple of minor signings, they still have $6 million in salary cap space available.

And they got there without having to release any players, though the retirements of Maurkice Pouncey and Vance McDonald certainly leave a couple of holes on the roster.

The Steelers aren’t going to be major buyers on the free-agent market. But they certainly have the ability to sign a few players without breaking the bank. And if they do want to add a veteran – say, a center – they have the ability to create roster space by extending contracts of players such as Stephon Tuitt or Steven Nelson to clear additional cap space.

So much for the cap Armageddon they were supposedly dealing with this offseason.

Yes, they’re going to lose Bud Dupree and JuJu Smith-Schuster along with some additional players such as James Conner and Alejandro Villanueva. But there’s a good chance they would have moved on from some of those players, anyway.

Compared to some of the blood lettings going on elsewhere around the league, what the Steelers are dealing with has been child’s play.

Just this past week, the Kansas City Chiefs released both of their starting offensive tackles – neither of whom played in the Super Bowl because of injuries – and made it apparent that center Austin Reiter, a free agent, wouldn’t be back. And Kansas City still has moves to make just to get under the cap.

The Steelers aren’t in that kind of situation. Yes, they’re going to have some losses. But it wasn’t anything they didn’t plan for, outside of the two retirements.

• While Steelers fans have been focused solely on the team selecting Alabama running back Najee Harris in the draft, North Carolina’s Javonte Williams has continued to gain steam as the potential top running back in this draft.

Williams is still just 20 years old and had half as many career touches as both Harris and Clemson’s Travis Etienne, the other top two backs in this draft. Harris, by the way, is already 23 years old.

Keep an eye on Williams, who forced a ridiculous 76 missed tackles at North Carolina last season despite having just 157 carries because he shared time with Michael Carter, who will likely be selected no later than the third round of the draft.

• There’s a good chance the opening day starter for the Pirates will be Mitch Keller. The only other option is probably Steven Bault.

Now, Keller is a highly touted prospect, but he’s also 2-6 in his limited Major League career, having thrown 69 2/3 innings.

Brault, with his 12-15 career record, isn’t a much better option.

These, folks, are you 2021 Pittsburgh Pirates.

I get it. General manager Ben Cherrington had to tear this thing down to build it back up. But 2021 is looking like a particularly bleak year for a franchise that has largely been the definition of bleak for the better part of 30 years.

• It will be interesting to see if the Penguins are buyers at the NHL trade deadline in April. As currently constructed, they probably aren’t good enough to make a run at the Stanley Cup. After all, through their first 26 games, they were just plus-7 in goal differential.

Tampa Bay led the NHL at plus-36 through 24 games.

The Penguins also don’t have first, third, fourth or sixth-round draft picks this year because of trades.

With an aging roster – Sidney Crosby and Kris Letang are 33 and Evgeni Malkin is 34 – continuing to trade away future draft picks just isn’t a good way to do business.

• This year’s Pony League World Series is currently scheduled to be held Aug. 13-19 at Lew Hays Pony Field.

After not holding a series last year because of the pandemic, it will be a welcomed site to have the series back this year – assuming that happens.

The Founder’s League, from which the host team is chosen, now includes players from the Trinity, Washington, McGuffey, Canon-McMillan and Chartiers-Houston school districts, with players chosen from at least nine different teams and 100 players.

That’s a far cry different from just five or six years ago when, because of declining numbers, the team was chosen from a pool of 35 players, only half of which were 14-year-olds.

It’s truly becoming a Washington County team.