Vince Williams appears to be a salary cap casualty in Pittsburgh.

Jeremy Fowler of ESPN reported the Pittsburgh Steelers are releasing the veteran linebacker, a move that saves $4 million in cap space.

Pittsburgh drafted Williams out of Florida State in the sixth round of the 2013 NFL draft.

The Davenport, Florida native was a starter in his rookie season but ultimately spent time as more of a depth piece between 2014 and 2016. But Williams regained his starting spot in 2017 and made the most of his opportunity.

Williams started all 16 games, recording 8.0 sacks, 14 quarterback hits, and 11 tackles for a loss to go with 89 combined tackles and an interception. Another strong year in 2018 was followed by a bit of a down season in 2019. But Williams again found success in 2020, racking up a career-high 14 tackles for a loss.

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The 31-year-old will now hit the open market and should garner interest from a number of teams as a guy who can make plays in the defensive backfield.

Meanwhile, the Steelers will continue to create cap space.

Pittsburgh entered the offseason in the direst straits from a cap perspective. The situation was made worse by the fact the Steelers had a number of internal free agents headed to the open market.

Indeed, edge rusher Bud Dupree and cornerback Mike Hilton have already found new homes. Wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster could be headed elsewhere, among other Steelers players.

General manager Kevin Colbert will need to find guys to plug and play as he creates cap. Williams might not always have been a full-time starter, but he was the kind of dependable and impactful linebacker that helped make the Steelers' defense one of the most imposing units in the NFL.

Alas, cap issues have forced the two sides apart. Williams will look for opportunities elsewhere.