The Pittsburgh Steelers released offensive guard David DeCastro on Thursday, ESPN’s Adam Schefter tweeted. The Steelers’ offensive line already lost center Maurkice Pouncey to retirement this offseason and two other starters. I really think this is a bad sign for QB Ben Roethlisberger because a quarterback needs a good offensive line. The team passed on offensive linemen in the first two rounds of the draft, and then this news breaks? However, the good news to come out of this is that DeCastro was in the last year of his contract with a $14.2 million cap hit, so this saves Pittsburgh $8.75 million in cap space. The Steelers had a conversation with Pro Bowl guard Trai Turner last week to try and get him to go to Pittsburgh. DeCastro was the 24th overall pick in the 2012 NFL Draft by the Steelers. Steelers general manager Kevin Colbert said in a statement, “David was without a doubt one of the premier offensive linemen during his time with us. He helped us win a lot of football games, but it was David’s consistency, reliability and professionalism that stood out more than anything else. We wish him the best moving forward in his career.” DeCastro was a six-time Pro Bowler. This is not good for the Steelers because if their offensive line gets worse, Roethlisberger will retire soon, as he is getting older.
