The 4 p.m. deadline Wednesday came and went, and the Pittsburgh Steelers declined to offer tenders to any of their restricted free agents.
Players in that category were center J.C. Hassenauer, cornerback James Pierre, wide receiver Steven Sims and running back Jeremy McNichols. They become unrestricted free agents.
The cheapest option — the right-of-first-refusal tender — was worth $2.627 million.
The Steelers could try to re-sign any of those four players for amounts less than the right-of-first-refusal tender.
Sims emerged as an option in the slot after the midseason trade that sent wide receiver Chase Claypool to the Chicago Bears. Sims had 14 catches for 104 yards — all coming after Week 7 — and he was the Steelers’ most-used kickoff and punt returner.
Pierre started four games in 2021 and two last season when he primarily was used in sub-packages as an outside corner. He had one interception and four pass breakups last year while playing 24% of the defensive snaps.
After starting a combined seven games in his first two seasons with the Steelers, Hassenauer saw just 46 snaps in 2022 as the team’s backup center. Hassenauer, Pierre and Sims each earned $895,000 last season.
McNichols was injured early in training camp and spent the season on injured reserve. He earned $480,000.
