Pittsburgh Steelers Announce Another Signing To 2021 Roster
By Jason Hall
April 7, 2021
The Pittsburgh Steelers have made another addition to their roster during a busy offseason.
The Steelers announced the signing of linebacker Jamir Jones, the younger brother of practice squad member Jarron Jones, on their official team website Wednesday (April 7.)
Jones, who was signed by the Houston Texans as an undrafted free agent last offseason, was later waived prior to the start of his rookie NFL season. The former University of Notre Dame standout appeared in 55 games during four seasons in South Bend, which included recording 50 tackles, 7.5 for loss, 4.5 sacks, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery during 11 appearances in 2019.
Jones played defensive line at Notre Dame, but switched to the linebacker position after being signed by the Texans in 2020.
"I am very proud of him," said Jarron Jones via Steelers.com. "He had a very different career. He switched positions his junior year. That was his year to compete at linebacker and they switched him to defensive end. It was a selfless move by him. He just worked and learned and caught up. He was supposed to redshirt and started last four or five games and made the most of his opportunity. He didn't have a lot of college film and for him to make it on the roster I have the utmost respect for him. He grinded."
The Steelers have made numerous moves since entering the offseason just over $6 million in cap space, which has since grown through offseason moves, although has been reported with conflicting totals on various outlets.
Prior to signing Jones, Overthecap.com reported the Steelers are $11,789,086 under the salary cap, which has Ebron's deal, as well as several other recent moves, on the books. Spotrac.com, however, has Pittsburgh at $9,174,203 under the cap, but doesn't include the contracts of Ebron, Ray-Ray McCloud, B.J. Finney, or Kalen Ballage listed.
Neither website has included the recent signing of defensive end Tyson Alualu, who agreed to return to the Steelers on a two-year, $5.5 million ($1.925 million guaranteed) deal, according to NFL Network's Tom Pelissero.
Alualu's reported contract would include a $2.0375 million cap hit for 2021 and cost $1.2575 against the cap after displacement, putting the Steelers at approximately $11.3 million under the salary cap, according to BehindTheSteelCurtain.com.
Last month, starting tight end Eric Ebronagreed to a reworked deal, which Overthecap.com reports included four void years added to his contract, as well as a $4.88 million signing bonus spread over five seasons ($976,000 annually.)
Pittsburgh also agreed to a new, reworked contract with franchise quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and a one-year deal Juju Smith-Schuster -- preventing the star wide receiver from signing elsewhere in free agency -- earlier in the month, while either releasing several others or allowing them to test free agency.
Several other notable financial moves made during the offseason included granting starting cornerback Steven Nelson's release, cutting starting linebacker Vince Williams and allowing starting outside linebacker Bud Dupree to pursue other options in free agency, eventually signing with the Tennessee Titans.
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