That draft pick the Steelers expected to get in the compensatory picks at the end of the third round? It's officially in jeopardy.
And it could put Donte Moncrief's spot on the roster in jeopardy, as well.
According to a league source, when the Eagles released linebacker L.J. Fort last week, it hurt the Steelers' compensatory numbers. And that could mean the Steelers could get a pick lower than the third-round selection they had hoped to get in return for the loss of Le'Veon Bell.
The Eagles signed Fort to a three-year, $5.5 million contract as an unrestricted free agent and he played a team-high 75 special teams snaps in the team's first three games.
But the Eagles surprisingly released him last week, helping their own compensatory formula while hurting that of the Steelers. According to Overthecap.com, the Eagles could gain a fourth-round comp pick just for the release of Fort, who was signed this week by the Ravens, while the Steelers' could see their compensation drop.
The Steelers have long expected to gain a third-round pick for the loss of Bell, despite the signings of Steven Nelson and Moncrief. Nelson was added for a three-year, $25.5-million deal, while Moncrief signed a two-year, $9-million contract.
Linebacker Mark Barron's two-year, $12-million deal doesn't count against that because Barron was released by the Rams.
Tight end Jesse James' four-year, $22.6-million deal helped offset the Nelson signing, while the Eagles' signing of Fort offset Moncrief's deal.
The Steelers expected to get a third-round compensatory selection for the loss of Bell, who signed a four-year, $52.5-million deal with the Jets.
But because the Eagles released Fort before he had appeared in 10 games, it's like his signing with Philadelphia never happened. The Steelers still have a loss of a major player on the books in Bell, but now, they also have one additional veteran free-agent signing in Moncrief on their ledger.
Making matters worse, the Steelers aren't even playing Moncrief at this point. He was inactive two weeks ago at San Francisco and appeared in just three plays in Monday night's 27-3 win over the Bengals.
Certainly, that could change, but the Steelers also aren't exactly using a receiver-friendly offense now with Ben Roethlisberger out for the season and Mason Rudolph at quarterback.
Against the Bengals, for example, wide receivers were targeted with just 11 passes, with six of those intended for rookie Diontae Johnson. JuJu Smith-Schuster got four and James Washington had one target.
"It was the scheme that we had for that team," Washington said. "Backs had to win because of the personnel they had on the field and the looks we got in the game."
But one way the Steelers could recoup their potential third-round selection would be to release Moncrief before he appears in 10 games.
Releasing Moncrief would cost the Steelers $250,000 in addition to the $3.25 million he already counts against the salary cap this season. In addition, he would count $1.75 million against their 2020 cap, but his release would also save the team $4 million in cap space next season.
Mike Tomlin hasn't given up on the veteran receiver just yet -- despite him being credited with four dropped passes in the first two games, when he started against both the Patriots and Seahawks.
"He’s working extremely hard at practice," Tomlin said. "He had an opportunity to have a helmet on again in the last game. He only got three plays, but I just like his attitude and his work. And we’ll keep working to see if an opportunity presents itself. More importantly than that, if it presents itself, is his level of readiness when it presents itself because you don’t have to be in this thing a long time to realize that the boomerang comes back around. He needs to be ready for it when it does."
At some point, however, if that doesn't happen soon, the Steelers could decide moving their compensatory pick back up a round or two could be worth the risk of playing without Moncrief.
Compounding the issue is the fact the Steelers have been very active moving picks in the past year. They traded next year's third-round selection to the Broncos as part of the package to acquire linebacker Devin Bush in this year's draft. Then, they sent their first-round pick and two others to the Dolphins to acquire safety Minkah Fitapatrick. They also got two picks back in that deal, but without a first-round selection in 2020, the Steelers had been banking on getting that third-round compensatory selection.
As things currently stand, they have their own picks in the second, fourth, sixth and seventh rounds, and Miami's selection in the fourth round.
LOLLEY'S VIEW
This seems to be a loophole in the system, since Fort is still actually in the league.
But it definitely could cause the Steelers to make a move with Moncrief, given his playing status. Obviously, that could change and the Steelers won't make a move until they absolutely have to, but it doesn't bode well for Moncrief's future with the team.
