With a new coaching staff set to take over the Pittsburgh Steelers, uncertainty hangs over many players, and defensive back Jalen Ramsey sits near the top of that list. After firing head coach Mike Tomlin, the Steelers aren’t just hunting for a new HC – they’re also staring down some tough salary cap decisions heading into the 2026 offseason. When Steelers reporter Chris Halicke recently discussed Pittsburgh’s cap situation, he revealed an obvious move sitting right in front of the Steelers revolving Ramsey’s contract.

“They [Steelers] are sitting on $41.9 million in cap space right now, according to overthecap.com,” Chris Halicke said recently on DK’s Double Shot of Steelers podcast. “And they can clear another $19.5 million with a snap of a finger in just getting rid of Jalen Ramsey. I think Jalen Ramsey can still be a good player in the league if you put him in a Jalen Pitre role, like what he has with the Texans as a slot corner, and that’s just what he does.”

Halicke went on to say, “I think Jalen Ramsey is still a very good football player. But you can’t pay that player almost $20 million, or have a player earn $20 million of your cap – it’s just too much.”

Despite being a three-time All-Pro corner, Jalen Ramsey moved to the safety position for the Steelers ahead of the Week 9 game in the 2025 season due to injuries in the team’s secondary. The move made sense as it let Ramsey play more physically and protected him from getting isolated in coverage as much as he used to. But here’s the problem: the safety market doesn’t pay like the cornerback market. So, in 2026, Ramsey is still owed $19.5 million, and as Halicke pointed out, that’s not aging safety money.

According to Spotrac, Jalen Ramsey is in the middle of a four-year, $84.7 million deal with $19.5 million guaranteed, all of which hits this upcoming season. His cap numbers for the next three years sit around $17 million, $19 million, and a massive $31 million. To make things even trickier for the Steelers, $3.5M of his 2026 salary is guaranteed for injury only.

So, while the 31-year-old is technically under contract with the Steelers through 2028, the team does not have many clean escape routes with him. If Pittsburgh brings Ramsey back next season, they’d probably want him on a cheaper deal. But would Ramsey agree to that? He might rather test free agency. 

The Steelers do get a better exit option with Ramsey in 2028, but cutting him out in 2026 won’t be simple. But with their defense needing a financial trimming, Ramsey feels like the most obvious place to start.

Former Steelers player urges the next HC to take action against Ramsey 

The Steelers’ defense in 2025 finished around 26th in the league in total yards allowed at 356.9 per game. And while Jalen Ramsey arrived in Pittsburgh via a splashy trade with the Miami Dolphins last year, the results could not match the hype around him. Ramsey finished the 2025 season with 53 solo tackles, 3 sacks, and just one interception. As such, former Steelers defensive lineman Chris Hoke recently thinks that the next head coach in Pittsburgh should move on from Ramsey.

“The reality is, I think that he gave up a lot of plays this year,” Hoke said recently on 93.7 The Fan. “I think he got beat quite a bit this year. Think back objectively. Don’t put emotions in it. Objectively, he gave up a lot of touchdowns, and in critical moments in games. Even all the way back to the Jets game, or when he got beat by Jaxon Smith-Njigba on third down.”

“He was a guy who came into training camp, and everybody had a lot of high hopes. He was coming in talking about, ‘I’m the one who’s gonna line up and guard Ja’Marr Chase. That’s me.’ And he didn’t pan out to be that guy. This year, he did not show what the Steelers anticipated him being.”

Top Stories

Fired Sean McDermott Doesn’t Hold Back in Final Message to Bills Mafia As Locker Room ‘Sickened’ by HC’s Removal

Furious Terrell Owens Demands NFL Investigation on Refs for Decision That Eliminated Josh Allen & Bills

Mac Jones Issues Statement on Leaving 49ers Amid Backup QB’s Ongoing Trade Rumors

Bill Belichick Assigns Blame for Failures at UNC Amid Reports Linking HC to Top NFL Job

CBS Announces Final Tony Romo Decision for AFC Championship Game Amid Health Struggles

To be fair, Jalen Ramsey dealt with injuries around him all season as Pittsburgh’s secondary never stayed healthy. But even with that context, there were too many moments where Ramsey simply didn’t make the play. Hoke pointed to one example that Steelers fans probably still remember. 

In the Week 2 game against the Seattle Seahawks, Seattle’s wide receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba beat Ramsey on a third-down slant for a 15-yard gain. That gain contributed to a touchdown drive for Seattle in a game that Pittsburgh lost 31–17. One play doesn’t define a season for Ramsey, but doesn’t it perfectly summarize the problem? Ramsey is no longer a true shutdown cornerback, and in the 2025 season, that reality showed up again and again.

So, the Steelers could wait until after June 1 to release Jalen Ramsey, which would spread out roughly $14 million in dead cap over two seasons. But perhaps a full offseason dedicated to playing as a safety could help Ramsey bounce back in the 2026 season. However, the Steelers’ next HC might decide not to provide Ramsey that opportunity or time in Pittsburgh.