It might not be any time soon, but one analyst believes the Steelers have one more cap casualty coming this offseason. Not because they have some desperate need for the cap space, but because the play doesn’t justify the pay. And the 2026 NFL Draft could—perhaps should—have a big say in that, as well.

Matt Williamson is a draft analyst who has broken down the Steelers for years, and he believes Malik Harrison will eventually be a cap casualty. Signed to a two-year, $10 million contract last year, even then, people thought it was an overpay. They still owe him $4,750,000 for this season, and what will they have to show for it?

“I also think [Cole] Holcomb is a very solid No. 3”, Williamson told Tim Benz on Breakfast with Benz. “Who knows when and if this happens, [but] I don’t think Harrison will be on the final roster. I think his cap space is worth more than he is. [Carson] Bruener is gonna be a core special teamer, [Tyler] Matakevich, [Miles] Killebrew guy. And he’s probably gonna make the team”.

The Steelers signed Malik Harrison last offseason in part because they didn’t know what they could expect out of Cole Holcomb, who was still working his way back from a career-threatening knee injury. If they are now comfortable with Holcomb, the Steelers could make Harrison a cap casualty. While they signed Harrison largely for special teams, Holcomb can also do that. And they found a new ace in that department in Bruener, as Williamson mentioned.

Even if the Steelers were to make Malik Harrison a cap casualty, they would have a full inside linebacker room. With Patrick Queen and Payton Wilson at the top, Cole Holcomb and Carson Bruener round out the group. If you take the opportunity to dip into a deep linebacker draft, then you really have something. And if they were to do that, there is almost no way they would entertain keeping six linebackers.

One could easily make the argument that Bruener proved as a rookie last year he could be every bit the player on special teams as any veteran. The Steelers didn’t even know they would draft Bruener when they signed Malik Harrison in free agency, let alone that he would take to his task as well as he did. Combine that with Holcomb’s welcome return to the field, and you continue building a compelling case.

Last season, Malik Harrison logged 294 defensive snaps and 158 special teams snaps. He did miss six games due to injury, playing 40 percent of the Steelers’ defensive snaps when he was available, and 54 percent of the special teams snaps. While that’s a respectable workload, is it the best usage of resources?

One of the reasons the Steelers liked Harrison was his bigger body, and they used him on run downs. But he didn’t dramatically improve the run defense when he was on the field. And if they were to draft another linebacker, they could target a bigger body to complement Queen and Wilson. Should they follow that course, Harrison’s skill set would be fully redundant, his salary expendable.