Steelers Pick Up Fifth Year Option On Guard David DeCastro

The Steelers today picked up the fifth year option on guard David DeCastro. It’s a move that will keep the 24th overall pick in the 2012 draft with the Steelers through 2017.

DeCastro becomes the third 2012 first-rounder to have his option picked up, joining Chargers outside linebacker Melvin Ingram and Colts quarterback Andrew Luck.

The guard was on a four-year $7,813,898 deal, according to Spotrac.com. He is set to make $1,030,531 in base salary this season, receive a $325,000 roster bonus and get a $100,000 workout bonus, according to Spotrac.com.

His contract counts for $2,486,240 against the Steelers’ salary cap.

This was a no-brainer for the black and gold, as the guard has been solid since his first-year knee injury. DeCastro has started 31 games over the last two seasons and played every snap in 2014.

How good is He? ProFootballFocus.com graded DeCastro out as the 18th most effective guard in football among 78 qualifying candidates in 2014.

This move will give the Steelers a lot of time to get a long term deal done, and will keep DeCastro on a line that the team needs to keep improving if the club is going to make a run at a seventh Super Bowl.