Pittsburgh Steelers Rumors: Heath Miller Reportedly Gets New Deal
By Matt Shetler
Earlier today I looked at the fact that the Pittsburgh Steelers needed to get busy with the offseason officially beginning in just eight days.
Apparently they listened.
Nov 24, 2013; Cleveland, OH, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers tight end Heath Miller (83) makes a pass reception against Cleveland Browns outside linebacker Jabaal Sheard (97) during the second quarter at FirstEnergy Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ron Schwane-USA TODAY Sports
The Steelers have reportedly created some salary cap flexibility for 2014, as according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, the Steelers have reworked tight end Heath Miller’s contract.
Miller’s 2014 salary cap number was $9.5 million, but it has now been reduced for the upcoming season. He is in the final year of his current contract, during which he was due $6.02 million.
Miller, 31, signed a six-year, $35.3 million contract with the Steelers back in 2009 and the restructuring of his deal comes of little surprise as the team is annually forced to restructure deals to get below the salary cap.
This being the final season of Miller’s deal, the only thing the Steelers could do would be to extend Miller a few more years, giving him more money up front to lower his cap figure this season.
That is not a bad move by the Steelers as Miller remains one of quarterback Ben Roethlisberger‘s favorite targets.
Despite coming back from a serious knee injury, Miller hauled in 58 passes for 593 yards and one touchdown in 2013. He has played at least 14 games in all nine of his seasons with the Steelers, catching 466 passes for 5,273 yards and 40 touchdowns.
He also draws rave reviews around the NFL as former Steelers offensive coordinator and current Arizona Cardinals head coach Bruce Arians recently went as far as to say that he believes Miller remains the best tight end in the game.
Terms of Miller’s new deal haven’t been made available yet, but as soon as they are we will pass along the info.