It’s safe to say veteran offensive lineman David DeCastro is not happy with how he was released by the Pittsburgh Steelers.
DeCastro, a starter for the Steelers his entire career, was released Thursday by the team with a non-football injury designation and immediately replaced by free agent signing Trai Turner. The reasons appeared purely financial, as the Steelers were able to open up an extra $5.75 million in cap space by swapping DeCastro out for Turner. The non-football injury designation also means DeCastro will not be paid much of what he was owed as he entered the final season of his current deal, which carried a $14.2 million cap hit.
DeCastro knows this was about money. On Friday, he took a clear shot at the organization for the non-football injury designation on the release.
When @937theFan Steelers reporter @JColony13 asked David DeCastro about the "non-football injury" release designation DeCastro said: "The owners are billionaires for a reason."
!!!
— Andrew Fillipponi (@ThePoniExpress) June 25, 2021
The NFL can be a ruthless place. DeCastro was a two-time All-Pro and one of the team’s longest-tenured players, but when health and finances come into play, anything can happen.
One interesting thing will be how Ben Roethlisberger reacts to this. After losing another offensive lineman he was very close with at the end of last season, he can’t be happy to see DeCastro phased out like this.
