The Pittsburgh Steelers have a lot of work to do this offseason when it comes to roster management.

Pittsburgh needs to address several starting positions this offseason, including wide receiver, cornerback, linebacker, and defensive tackle. They either need to scour the free agent market or re-sign current players (cornerback Cam Sutton, for example, is a candidate to be re-signed this spring).

Addressing those positions won't be cheap. And that's bad news for the Steelers because they don't have much salary cap room at the moment.

According to Spotrac, the Steelers are essentially in the red entering the offseason.

SteelersNow.com estimates that Pittsburgh will be $21 million over the cap when future and known expenses are factored in.

The Steelers obviously need to create some cap room.

I'm sure there will be some restructures that push the cap hits down the road, but Pittsburgh would be wise to make a few tough moves to create some real cap space that doesn't include the bill coming due in a couple of years.

One obvious way to do that would be to release starting quarterback Kenny Pickett's backup, Mitch Trubisky.

Trubsiky's cap hit in 2023 is $10.625 million. That's quite expensive for a backup quarterback (New York Giants superstar running back Saquon Barkley probably won't make much more than that with his next contract).

If the Steelers release him, they'd save $8 million in cap space in 2023 (there would be a $2.625 million dead cap hit). That's a good place to start if the Steelers are trying to create some breathing room with the cap (or really, just room to operate).

Considering Trubisky's comments last month about wishing he'd taken more time to sign with a team in free agency, it seems like it would be best for Pittsburgh and the former UNC quarterback to part ways.

From ESPN:

"Everything happened kind of quick," Trubisky told ESPN recently. "I didn't really have a long time to think of the decision. I wish I would've taken some more time and not just signed the first day of free agency. Looking back on it, just try to do some more research. But I felt like they were interested. I felt like it was a good opportunity to possibly get back on the field, but nothing's guaranteed."

The Steelers will still need a backup quarterback if they release Trubisky, but they could sign someone like Joe Flacco, a quality backup who knows the AFC North, for significantly less cash (Flacco made just north of $3 million last season and he'll be a free agent in March).

There are also other options in the same price range (or cheaper).

If Pittsburgh wants to make their life easier this offseason, they'll move on from Trubisky. There's no upside to keeping him in a Steelers uniform for $10 million in 2023.

Featured image via Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports