Pittsburgh Steelers restructure Stephon Tuitt's contract

Former Notre Dame standout Stephon Tuitt’s contract with the Pittsburgh Steelers was restructured for the 2021 season per ESPN’s Field Yates.

“The Steelers converted $7.925M of DL Stephon Tuitt’s 2021 base salary into a signing bonus, creating $6.34M in 2021 cap space,” Yates said. “Even after the trade for Joe Schobert, Pittsburgh has good cap flexibility to operate throughout the season.”

Last week, the Steelers traded for Jaguars linebacker Joe Schobert, bringing the former Wisconsin linebacker back to the AFC North after a year in Jacksonville. The trade appears to be a factor in Tuitt’s contract restructure.

Schobert was drafted by Cleveland in 2016, where he spent five seasons. He joins a Steelers defense that features Tuitt, TJ Watt, Cameron Heyward, Minah Fitzpatrick, Joe Haden, Tyson Alualu and Devin Bush.

Stephon Tuitt’s signed a 5 year, $60,001,439 contract in 2017. The contract is set to expire after the 2022 season.

Still just 28, Tuitt could be in line for another massive contract, whether that be with the Steelers, or another team, should he choose to test the free agency market.

In seven seasons, Stephon Tuitt has recorded 246 tackles, 34.5 sacks and 48 tackles for loss. He’s played 91 games in his career, starting in every single game he’s been available for since his second year.

Last season, Tuitt missed just one game, due to being placed on the Reserve/COVID-19 list. He recorded 33 tackles and 11 sacks. As a unit, the Steelers finished third in total yards allowed and tied for second in yards allowed per play. The Steelers also finished second in turnovers caused.

At Notre Dame, Stephon Tuitt was a reserve as a freshman but starred in his sophomore and junior seasons before declaring for the NFL. In his Notre Dame career, he finished with 126 tackles, 21.5 sacks and 25 tackles for loss. In his sophomore year, Tuitt recovered a fumble against Navy and returned it 77 yards for a touchdown.