What are the odds Cam proves worth $22 mill in 2024?

[topseed]

17 games in 2021
17 games in 2022
11 games in 2023.

injuries not piling up.

Heyward "played" in the playoff game against the Bills too. In between the 5 plays he was on the sidelines as the Bills marched down the field on their very first possession of the game. I guess he needed a break after 4 snaps.

 

[MTC]

So Cam is making $22 million this year?
Good for him

 

[Greg Lloyd]

Apparently Cam isn’t going to report for OTA’s or anything unless he gets an extension. I’d cut him tomorrow. Guy is 35 and not nearly the player he was five or even two years ago. Nobody is extending a 35 year old DT on the down slope. Reference is SN home page.

Thank you, I saw that today. He is refusing to report as if the 35 year-old has so much tread on his tires. Instead of just "slinking away" for the highway robbery he is committing this year for his $22 mill cap hit, and $16 mill of new $, he's throwing a fit over no new contract. Unbelievable. Someone needs to tell him he isn't playing QB, he's playing DT, because apparently his coach doesn't have the stones to clue him in. I know some in here still try to defend this clown, that has to stop. He thinks he can act all hypocrite and no one is allowed to notice.

 

[Greg Lloyd]

I seem to recall that you felt Cam was going to eventually take a paycut, too, even after his declaration to screw the fans asking for that. I guess he meant what he said, after all.

It's hard to believe Cam can be so obtuse not to see how transparent his hypocrisy is. But when you factor in who his "leader" is, I guess it shouldn't come at that great of a surprize.

 

[Greg Lloyd]

The guy is delusional, makes zero sense to demand new money when you are already over paid

I tried to warn you all this was coming, after I heard his little tirde over "not playing for a dollar less" than his contract called for. As you said, it is truly delusional behavior. Kahn need to end the lunacy, Tomlin won't. Doesn't have the stones.

https://www.nbcsports.com/nfl/profo...ary-offseason-workouts-as-he-seeks-a-new-deal

 

[Fiji Mariner]

Oh it can get worse. For me I am not opposed from moving on from Cam he did us well and I appreciate all he has done. It is just I don’t think they have his replacement on the roster. Also I don’t think his counterpart has been consistent. Rather them address his position next season when free agency and the draft can help out.

Cam has been great

Where the problem lays is he IS our best DL, maybe Benton can overtake him but it hasn’t happened yet

the argument to cut him (by some) when the team doesn’t need the cap space or have a viable upgrade/replacement makes little sense to improving the team

You nailed it with your take of not making the team better by gutting the position

It would be different if there were upgrades lined up around the corner for his spot. We are in a simple situation here with simply doing right by a player and letting him play out his contract and (if they are smart) then letting him walk away with dignity next year.

No upgrades available and not needing the cap room- yeah let your best DL hopefully take ya to a playoff win (or two, three, four…wishful thinking)

 

[diver]

I seem to recall that you felt Cam was going to eventually take a paycut, too, even after his declaration to screw the fans asking for that. I guess he meant what he said, after all.

Calling him a hypocrite before we saw where anything was going with the contract I felt was premature. That is what I said...very consistently. I never said I thought he'd take a pay cut. I had no idea one way or the other.

 

[stillwright]

Yeah, if they're going to extend his contract it'll need to pay him like an aging defensive lineman. I'd probably just go one year at a time and pay him what he's getting this year and maybe offer $10-12 million tops for next season. Anything more and the Steelers would be paying too much for an older player. They've moved on from bigger legends in the past.

Do you think someone would pay Cam $10-12mill on the open market today?

 

[Badcat]

Do you think someone would pay Cam $10-12mill on the open market today?

Yes, there are some desperate and stupid GM's out there who would most certainly pay that out.

 

[stillwright]

Cam has been great

Where the problem lays is he IS our best DL, maybe Benton can overtake him but it hasn’t happened yet

the argument to cut him (by some) when the team doesn’t need the cap space or have a viable upgrade/replacement makes little sense to improving the team

You nailed it with your take of not making the team better by gutting the position

It would be different if there were upgrades lined up around the corner for his spot. We are in a simple situation here with simply doing right by a player and letting him play out his contract and (if they are smart) then letting him walk away with dignity next year.

No upgrades available and not needing the cap room- yeah let your best DL hopefully take ya to a playoff win (or two, three, four…wishful thinking)

Our D has been **** against the run the 5 or 6 season. He has been part of that. I say cut the old fart and bring in a bunch of vets on the cheap. Let's see how much worse it can get.

 

[carbonsteel]

So I'm just going to leave this here for reference :

Past Cam Article

So Cam is this current stance a 'team first' demand, or a 'me first' type of demand ?

Hypocrite much ?

 

[steelcan58]

Our D has been **** against the run the 5 or 6 season. He has been part of that. I say cut the old fart and bring in a bunch of vets on the cheap. Let's see how much worse it can get.

The DL has to be rebuilt anyway. Might as well get a jump on it. No sense tying up future cap space.

 

[jitter77]

I think a contender would pay cam 10-12 mil easily for a year or 2. I dont think anyone would pay him 20+ million. My thought is if Cam is on the team and he isn't hurting us cap wise then it's not an issue. If we cut cam we would be weaker on the DL and probably forced to overpay for someone anyways. If Cams contact was in the way of signing someone we need then that is a different story. We basically have a QB playing for free this year so we are lucky in that regard.
I'm not sure how much of a role Cam plays in our bad run defense. Our other DLs are kinda meh and for as good as TJ is, he takes himself out of alot of plays. We have also had poor MLB play or injuries at that position. Without going back and watching tape I'm not sure how much is on cam vs other reasons

 

[Bluesteel]

So he won’t take a pay cut, entering his contract final year and age 35 season, at DL, but further, wants the Steelers to pony up even more money for a 2 year extension?

In spite of his time on the field and production clearly in decline, he wants every penny signed for, four years ago, AND the Steelers to commit more future money to him, he obviously will not be willing to renegotiate after this season, if his decline continues???

Ok captain, put your money where your mouth is and sign a vet minimum, incentive deal, with bonuses for snap count/production thresholds???

Should have traded him before the draft! TJ is out, Steelers generally lose… that has not been the case with Cam, and even when he suits up, he’s often on the sideline, sucking on oxygen mask, at pivotal points in games. Took him a while to get going, early in his career, was quite dominant for some years in the middle, but has been MIA for long stretches of games/multiple games in recent memory, so not only is he not worth his 22 mil hit this year, he’s not worth future money.

 

[Badcat]

If Cam's head gets any bigger, Aaron Smith will need to loan him his helmet.

 

[steel dino]

This guys helmet to head fit had issues also...
But so did his jersey...

 

[Greg Lloyd]

This guys helmet to head fit had issues also...
But so did his jersey...

But when the whistle was blown there was no one better at his job as a 3-4 NT, certainly no one Shades has brought.

 

[steel dino]

But when the whistle was blown there was no one better at his job as a 3-4 NT, certainly no one Shades has brought.

Like any other man...when his window was open he was at his best...
But by looking at that pic....I think thats when his window was closed tight...

 

[Greg Lloyd]

Like any other man...when his window was open he was at his best...
But by looking at that pic....I think thats when his window was closed tight...

I don't think so, a true NT has to carry weight and have a low center of gravity. He was perfect for the position.

 

[steel dino]

I don't think so, a true NT has to carry weight and have a low center of gravity. He was perfect for the position.

If I remember correctly....Casey's game really tailed off the last couple of seasons.....and I always thought it was the extra load he was carrying...

I hear ya about the weight and center of gravity....but he already had all that....prior to the belly lol

 

[warriors42]

Screw giving him one extra dollar, with his attitude he is gonna want 12 mil a year guaranteed for two years then set his *** on the side line for at least half of those games.
I"m not sure how it works but if he sits out half the games can we choose to not let him play for the year and not pay him a dime?

 

[diver]

Is this really about what they are gonna pay Cam one way or the other? I don't give a shiit what they pay him for 2 reasons. One, it ain't my money. Two, it won't stop them from signing someone if the situation arises. Those are simply factual statements. So what is it about?

Look, I agree with the fact that he sure looks like a hypocrite with what he said about Ben. No doubt. That's why players over the years comment very little on other player's contracts. Cam forgot that.

But it's deeper than that. If Cam was critical of Tomlin, would anyone on here give a damn what his salary is? Btw, I find it interesting that for someone who is such "buddies" with Tomlin, he would do this. His not doing OTA's, while a challenge to the organization...wouldn't it be also disrespectful of Tomlin to some degree?

 

[topseed]

Cam has been great

Where the problem lays is he IS our best DL, maybe Benton can overtake him but it hasn’t happened yet

the argument to cut him (by some) when the team doesn’t need the cap space or have a viable upgrade/replacement makes little sense to improving the team

You nailed it with your take of not making the team better by gutting the position

It would be different if there were upgrades lined up around the corner for his spot. We are in a simple situation here with simply doing right by a player and letting him play out his contract and (if they are smart) then letting him walk away with dignity next year.

No upgrades available and not needing the cap room- yeah let your best DL hopefully take ya to a playoff win (or two, three, four…wishful thinking)

If the Steelers trade for a good wide receiver, they are going to need more cap room. I'd rather have a better option as the #2 receiver than paying an aging Heyward $16 mill to be off the field for more than a third of the plays, even when he is "healthy."

 

[BLITZ]

If the Steelers trade for a good wide receiver, they are going to need more cap room. I'd rather have a better option as the #2 receiver than paying an aging Heyward $16 mill to be off the field for more than a third of the plays, even when he is "healthy."

If Overthecap.com is accurate, they have 18M in cap space with only 2 draft picks to sign. Maybe 3 mil for those guys? Say they keep 5 Mil going into the season. That means they would have 10M to use on signing someone.

 

[topseed]

Calling him a hypocrite before we saw where anything was going with the contract I felt was premature. That is what I said...very consistently. I never said I thought he'd take a pay cut. I had no idea one way or the other.

Right. You only insinuated time and time again that he would, because despite his rude comment to the fans, he was such a great guy and teammate. And that we should allow Cam the time to decide take that pay cut, because everybody and their grandmother (even you) knows that he isn't worth $16 millon in 2024. About a dozen different ways:

He has fulfilled his part of the bargain...he has played well and hard, he has played when injured, he has been a great ambassador for the team in the community by doing outstanding things in the community. How dare he have the nerve? The Steelers signed the contract too! You could look at it the other way. How dare the Steelers ask him to take a dollar less.

I agree he can't come back at his salary.

I agree Cam is not worth that cap hit at this point in his career.

And I agree he can't play at his present salary!

I could be wrong, but I don't recall Ben announcing right after the season concluded that he was going to do that. Maybe he did. Point is...and someone else said this...why tip your hand now? That will all be negotiated. It's just the dance.

What a guy says and what actually happens are two different things. Did Ben, a few days after the season ended, announce he was taking a cut?

He can't play at that salary, and if he won't accept less, then thank you for your service.

Everyone seems to be mad at him for what he said about not taking a cut. Ok. Guys say things all the time. Let it play out.

He is not a hypocrite yet. We are just a few weeks after the end of the season. Nothing has happened yet! He may turn out to be one if he doesn't take a reduced salary

Because now, apparently, he doesn't have the right to the salary to which he and the Steelers agreed. The right. They both signed the names to the contract. But he doesn't have the right. To a signed contract that was agreed to by both parties.

How the hell can he be a hypocrite when they haven't even discussed contracts yet. Nothing has happened yet. If he refuses a salary cut after saying it was good for Ben to do it, then sure.

Once again, Cam has every right to expect his contract. It is a signed document by both parties.

Well here we are in May, and not only is he unwilling to take a reduced salary, but he also wants a contract extension. So, yeah, Cam is who most of us thought he was: Greedy and unwilling to take a cut in pay to help the team. At least he was honest about that.