Another day, another longtime Steelers veteran thrown off board.
Jason La Canfora of NFL Network and Adam Schefter of ESPN report that the Steelers will cut Aaron Smith. This move is even less surprising than the news about Hines Ward coming out on Wednesday.
Smith has only played 15 games in the last three seasons. He may be one of the most underrated players of his generation, but there was simply no way the Steelers could keep him at his current salary at 35 years old.
Unlike Ward, we wouldn’t be shocked if Smith returns to the team at a cheaper price if he still wants to play football and can prove he’s healthy in the summer.
If Smith doesn’t play again, he’ll go down as one of the best 3-4 defensive ends of the last decade.
UPDATE 4:43 p.m. ET: It looks like the Steelers are listening to Florio. He put cutting Smith on his “to do” list for PFT Live.