As they did on Monday, the opening day of the legal tampering period, the Steelers made a two-for-one trade in signing their own free agents.
The team agreed to a deal Tuesday that will keep offensive tackle Zach Banner in Pittsburgh, but lost two more defensive pieces, as Tyson Alualu signed a two-year deal with the Jaguars, while cornerback Mike Hilton got a four-year deal from the Bengals.
This followed a day on Monday in which the team kept cornerback Cam Sutton but lost offensive lineman Matt Feiler and linebacker Bud Dupree.
Per ESPN, the Steelers also are releasing linebacker Vince Williams for a cap savings of $4 million as they get ready for the start of the new league year at 4 p.m. Wednesday.
Banner, a fourth-round pick of the Colts in 2017, was the Steelers' starting right tackle to open the regular season last year but suffered a torn ACL. He received a 2-year, $9.5 million deal that includes a $3.5 million signing bonus. Banner will count $3.25 million against the team's salary cap in 2021 and $6.25 million in 2022.
He's also spent time with the Browns and Panthers, but the 28-year-old feels he's found a home in Pittsburgh. He took to social media to make the announcement of his new deal.
Banner is expected to line up at one of the two offensive tackle spots for the Steelers. Longtime starting left tackle Alejandro Villanueva also is a free agent and, at 34, is not expected to be retained.
Let’s get to work... pic.twitter.com/OW0zfOobu0
— Zach Banner (@ZBNFL) March 16, 2021
Alualu, drafted by the Jaguars in the first round in the 2010 draft, received a two-year deal worth a reported $6 million.
Alualu, 34, joined the Steelers in 2017 after spending the first portion of his career with Jacksonville. He became an integral part of the Steelers defense, appearing in 62 games with 22 starts in four seasons.
In 2020, Alualu moved to nose tackle to offset the loss of Javon Hargrave in free agency and had 38 tackles and two sacks in 15 games.
The loss of Alualu is a big one for the Steelers, who don't have a veteran player capable of replacing him. Chris Wormley, acquired along with a seventh-round pick for a fifth-round pick last season from the Ravens, also is a free agent.
His departure leaves the team with Isaiah Buggs, Henry Mondeaux and Carlos Davis backing up starters Cam Heyward and Stephon Tuitt -- and a big hole at nose tackle.
The Steelers had made an effort to retain Alualu. Alualu is the second defensive starter to leave the Steelers in the past two days. Monday, outside linebacker Bud Dupree agreed to a deal to join the Titans.
The Steelers did, however, retain nickel cornerback Cam Sutton.
The signing of Sutton mitigated the loss of Hilton, who got $24 million over four seasons, including making $8.5 this season to join the Bengals. The Steelers feel Sutton can be their nickel corner, a role he shared with Hilton at times in the past, anyway.
But Hilton was a success story as a reclamation project by the team. Signed as an undrafted rookie in 2016 by the Jaguars, Hilton was released by Jacksonville and signed by the Patriots. After spending just a few weeks with the Patriots on their practice squad, Hilton was again released.
The Steelers signed the Mississippi product at the end of that season and in 2017, he won the starting nickel corner spot.
Hilton appeared in 59 games for the Steelers -- 20 of which were starts -- making 237 tackles, seven interceptions and recording 9.5 sacks.
Williams, 31, was a sixth-round draft pick of the Steelers in 2013. He appeared in 121 games, including making 69 starts. Williams had over 400 tackles while also recording 20.5 sacks in his career.
But as the league has changed, the Steelers feel they need a better coverage linebacker next to budding star Devin Bush and Williams, who was set to count $7 million against their 2021 salary cap, became expendable with the emergence of Robert Spillane.
The Steelers could still try to re-sign Williams to a lesser deal at a later date.
