EAST RUTHERFORD, NEW JERSEY – DECEMBER 22: (NEW YORK DAILIES OUT) Vance McDonald #89 of the Pittsburgh Steelers in against the New York Jets at MetLife Stadium on December 22, 2019 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. The Jets defeated the Steelers 16-10. (Photo by Jim McIsaac/Getty Images)
The Pittsburgh Steelers need to make some personnel moves as early as 2020.
Once the 2020 league year opened up, the Pittsburgh Steelers watched as their rivals in the Baltimore Ravens, Cleveland Browns and Cincinnati Bengals vastly improve, while they made small additions due to their scarce amount of cap space.
While the Steelers retained a majority of their players from last season, they need to look towards the future. With plenty of prominent young players to retain, some on Pittsburgh’s depth chart stand no chance of being kept for the long haul. These three athletes are most likely to pack their bags and depart from the Steel City as early as 2020.
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Vance McDonald
TE Pittsburgh Steelers
The Steelers were so enticed by the play of Vance McDonald during his time with the San Francisco 49ers, they decided to flip a 2018 fourth-round draft pick back in ’17. His first season in Pittsburgh was far from exciting, but he truly exploded onto the scene in 2018. During that campaign, McDonald recorded 50 receptions for 610 yards and four touchdowns.
In 2019, McDonald failed to make it an encore performance. Through 14 games, McDonald caught 38 passes for 273 yards and three touchdowns. Most of that can be attributed to the revolving door at quarterback which consisted of Ben Roethlisberger, Mason Rudolph and Devlin Hodges. But, his play hasn’t lived up to the lucrative contract that he signed while he was a member of the 49ers.
You can tell the Steelers have already seen enough of McDonald, as they opted to sign former Indianapolis Colts tight end Eric Ebron back in March. McDonald will remain in the Steel City in 2020 as an insurance policy. But once the new league year hits, the Steelers can save $5.2 million in cap space by releasing him. That’s an easy decision for Pittsburgh.