Steelers sign pair of deals to get under salary cap

Troy Polamalu and Heath Miller are doing their part to help the Pittsburgh Steelers get under the 2014 salary cap.

The eight-time Pro Bowl safety and the venerable tight end both signed new three-year contracts with the team on Wednesday that are designed to give the Steelers some cap relief before the new league year begins next week.

Terms of the deals were not disclosed, but both contracts are designed to give Pittsburgh some flexibility heading into free agency as the Steelers look for answers after consecutive 8-8 seasons.

The Steelers also cut linebacker Larry Foote, cornerback Curtis Brown and offensive tackle Levi Brown on Wednesday.

Polamalu, 32, was scheduled to make $8.25 million this year in the final season of a four-year contract he signed in 2011. He is coming off a year in which he played in all 16 games after being limited by injuries in 2012.

The deal came hours after the Steelers re-signed safety Will Allen, meaning it’s unlikely Pittsburgh will make any attempt to bring back Ryan Clark, who will become a free agent next week.

Polamalu missed nine games in 2012 with a strained calf and revamped his offseason conditioning campaign last spring. It paid off handsomely. Polamalu picked off two passes and recorded 69 tackles while playing in every game for just the third time in the last eight years.

Miller, 31, caught 58 passes for 593 yards and a touchdown in 2013 after sustaining a major right knee injury at the end of the 2012 season. He caught a season-high eight passes in a 37-27 win over Detroit on Nov. 17 that keyed a late 6-2 flourish as Pittsburgh avoided its first losing season in a decade.

The moves continued a busy week for the typically quiet Steelers. Pittsburgh tagged linebacker Jason Worilds as a transition player on Monday, with Worilds quickly agreeing to the one-year deal, opening the door for both sides to work on a long-term contract.

“Feels good to be back with the ones I bled with,” Worilds tweeted on Wednesday.

AP