Foote’s Departure Clears $2.885 Million In Cap Space
Posted by Mike Florio on April 28, 2009, 11:46 a.m.
With the Steelers dumping veteran linebacker
Larry Foote
, the uncharacteristically cap-strapped defending Super Bowl champs will clear $2.885 million in 2009 salary space.
Foote has started every game for five straight years. In 2008, he had his lowest output of that half-decade run, with only 63 tackles and 1.5 sacks.
Lawrence Timmons, a 2007 first-round pick, will be expected to earn and keep one of the starting jobs at inside linebacker. To date, Timmons has been overshadowed by 2007 second-rounder
LaMarr Woodley
, who has become an impact player on the outside.
And it’s a bit surprising that the Steelers are making the move now, two months after the start of the 2009 league year. Cutting Foote in February would have given him a fair chance to participate in the free-agent feeding frenzy.
We also wonder whether the locker room will support the sudden departure of Foote, and whether there might be something more to the story that would make the guys left behind more inclined to accept the move.
