The Pittsburgh Steelers have a serious salary cap problem coming in the off-season. There very likely could be several names released or not re-signed that have been crucial pieces to the team’s success. One unit that hasn’t been very successful is the offensive line. Considering there are several free agents and young guys ready to make an impact, there’s no chance the group will look the same next year. Derwin Gray is one of the young guys that might be included in the plans.
Derwin Gray Provides Salary Cap Flexibility
Steady Performance Against the Bengals
Against the Cincinnati Bengals, Derwin Gray got the first meaningful snaps of his career. With Matt Feiler on IR and Kevin Doston injured, Gray and backup center J.C. Hassenhauer got snaps at left guard. Oddly, Hassenhauer played more snaps in the game despite Gray appearing to have the better performance. Gray’s impact was most noticed in the running game, where his strength and ability to be a people-mover was appreciated. Here are how the numbers broke down in the running game between Hassenhauer and Gray:
Small sample size, I know, but YPC and run success rate with JC Hassenauer vs Derwin Gray at LG. #Steelers
Hassenauer: 2.5 YPC, 46.7% run success rate
Gray: 8.3 YPC, 50% run success rate— Alex Kozora (@Alex_Kozora) December 23, 2020
As Alex Kozora of Steelers Depot noted, it was a very small sample size. Gray played just 16 snaps in the game, so there’s no way to come to a solid conclusion regarding his level of play. Nonetheless, Gray clearly performed well in limited action. It is a promising sign moving forward and looking ahead to next season.
2021 Salary Cap Situation
There are a pile of free agents along the offensive line next year. Alejandro Villanueva, Matt Feiler, and Zach Banner will all be testing the market. Each of the three were starters at the beginning of the season. With the way Maurkice Pouncey and David DeCastro, who knows if the plan to stick around next year. DeCastro retiring would be a huge surprise, but that wouldn’t be the case with Pouncey. Regardless, the likely option is that both players will be Steelers in 2021.
That’s where Derwin Gray comes in, potentially. It’s almost a certainty that Kevin Dotson and DeCastro will be the starting left and right guards, respectively, next year. Gray was a tackle in college, though, and could have the potential to move to the outside. Or, he could stay inside and be the swingman backup for Dotson and DeCastro. That option would allow the team to focus draft and free agency priorities on offensive tackles, since they know they’d have a solid backup on the interior. But with their cap situation, the team could potentially be in the market for an offensive tackle. If they can’t afford a free agent at the position, or they focus draft resources on other needs, then we could potentially see Derwin Gray talked about as a starter.
The off-season will be a wild one for the Steelers. Until we know what the 2021 salary cap will be, we have no idea what the team will look like next year. They will likely have to find in-house solutions at some positions, because they only have so much cap room and so many draft picks. Derwin Gray has the potential to be an in-house solution at various positions along the offensive line.
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