3 options for the Steelers with Levi Wallace headed into 2023

With one year remaining on his contract, there are 3 different ways the Steelers could go with Levi Wallace this offseason.

As the 2023 NFL league year set to kick off at 4 PM on Wednesday, March 15, 2023, there are a number of decisions that the Pittsburgh Steelers have to make with a fair amount of players when it comes to their status for this season. While some players are set to become unrestricted free agents, there are some still under contract with the Steelers whose future might be in danger simply because of the amount of salary cap space they would consume for this coming season. Although some players are more obvious if they will be kept on for another season, others are more up for debate.

With some great discussion with talking about the options for Myles Jack, I decided to extend the question to other players who have one year remaining on their contract and have a significant cap savings if they were cut. After discussing Mitch Trubisky, Ahkello Witherspoon, and Gunner Olszewski, next up is cornerback Levi Wallace. How should the Pittsburgh Steelers handle his situation? For the most part, there are three options when it comes to Wallace and the 2023 season with the Pittsburgh Steelers:

Release

I find it interesting that Levi Wallace and Ahkello Witherspoon have the exact same contract, so the release of Wallace would also serve as a $4 million cap relief. If the Steelers are looking to truly upgrade the position, they could piece together the savings from multiple cuts in order pay for a big fish..

Retain

Having a cornerback on the roster with five years experience, one of which was with the Steelers, who is either the second or even third option of the position and only cost $5.4825 million against the salary cap is not a bad deal. Simply using Wallace again for 2023, especially since he came on strong at the end of 2022, would be the wise decision .

Extend

If the Steelers really have no other options at the position except for building through the draft, keeping Levi Wallace around beyond 2023 would be a good option. In doing so, it could somewhat lower his cap hit for this year but would also bring some stabilization for the future.

So now that these three options are on the table, it’s time to look at what might be the best move for the Steelers before opening up the discussion, I’ll give my vote:

My vote: Retain

Once again, I thought this was a pretty easy decision. If I have to choose between Levi Wallace and Ahkello Witherspoon at cornerback, I’m choosing Levi Wallace. The Steelers need to keep some players from this year and the cost is not that much so they don’t need to cut both players. I also don’t feel the need to extend Wallace because it would be just fine to see how the season plays out. If the Steelers add young players, seeing if they are ready beyond this upcoming season before having to make a decision with Wallace is the right decision. After all, the Steelers might not need him after this season if they add some young talent that need a year to get acclimated. It just makes sense to keep Wallace around at this price and see how both free agency and the draft plays out.

So what do you think? Should the Steelers release, retain, or extend Levi Wallace? Make sure you vote in the poll and leave your thoughts in the comments below.

In case you missed it, check out the same question for other players below: