The Pittsburgh Steelers needed to add depth to the inside linebacker position after watching Terence Garvin go to the Washington Redskins and Sean Spence go to the Tennessee Titans via Free Agency. The main issue remains the team's current salary cap status. The Steelers are near the top of the list, in terms of teams with very little cap space remaining. Therefore, when they added Steven Johnson to their roster, the price had to be right.
See the details of Johnson's deal:
Steven Johnson Steelers deal: $840,000, $25,000 signing bonus, $760,000 salary, $55,000 first game 53-man roster bonus
— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) March 28, 2016
The deal was very friendly for the Steelers, as Johnson getting a small signing bonus of $25 thousand dollars, and a potential contract of $840,000 dollars depending on if he makes the team's 53-man roster and earns his $55 thousand dollar bonus.