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After last week’s signing of Ben Roethlisberger to the largest contract in team history, the Steelers entered a new era, one where they were assured of being constantly strapped by the salary cap.  This means making difficult decisions, as the Steelers are growing old at most of the core positions, namely both lines, and not drafting and developing the necessary replacements to fill in when they are needed.  Now, the Steelers have to make decisions about signing the aging players or not.

The right decision, of course, is to let guys like Marvel Smith walk away.  The cost of signing good offensive and defensive linemen is much higher in the modern NFL than bringing in a good coaching/scouting staff, drafting the right players and then developing them in the system.  The Steelers used to be good at this.

In the last few years, however, the Steelers have identified players such as Trai Essex, Chris Kemoeatu, Willie Colon and Max Starks as potential starters.  These players stepped in to play the line and promptly had Roethlisberger on his back.  Yes, they have size and some of them have skill, but they have clearly not developed the consistency necessary to be successful in the NFL.

At the moment, these players are the best that the Steelers have and they are going to have to use them until better options develop, but at the moment those answers just are not available.  If the Steelers are going to rebuild their team from the inside out, as they should, they are going to need to allow the older players to walk.  Sure, having some familiar faces around is a good thing, but growing attached is not the best way to develop a team.

In order for the Steelers to be successful in the future, they are going to have to make tough calls about who to sign and who to let walk and, unfortunately, the answer more often than not should be to let the player walk.

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