We’re used to seeing it.

On Day 1 of the NFL’s 2020 free agency period, the rest of the league took a headfirst dive into the deep end of the pool.

Meanwhile, the Steelers are simply in a doggy paddle toward cap compliance.

That’s the case every year, right?

But for some reason, the gap feels wider this season. Maybe it’s because the Steelers have missed the playoffs two years in a row and there are so many needs to fill.

Maybe it’s because the league is just coming out of a collective bargaining agreement with a salary cap of nearly $200 million.

Maybe it’s because we are all in coronavirus jail and we don’t have “March Madness” or a Penguins playoff push to distract us.

This year, though — more than most — it feels like the Steelers are playing catch up against their own budget while other clubs are improving.

The biggest reason that the Steelers’ usual slow start to free agency has the vibe of being more delayed than usual is that some of the biggest moves on Day 1 of the new league year were being done by two AFC North rivals: the Cleveland Browns and Baltimore Ravens.

In the case of the Browns, they signed Atlanta Falcons free agent Austin Hooper to the richest tight end contract in football history — four years at $44 million ($23 million guaranteed).

A two-time Pro Bowler, Hooper caught 214 passes for 2,244 yards and 16 touchdowns.

Via ESPN, Hooper had 105 first downs on 274 targets and just one drop on 97 targets last season. Over the past three seasons, he leads all tight ends with a 77.3% catch percentage.

The team also inked former Tennessee Titans offensive lineman Jack Conklin to a $42 million contract over three years at $30 million fully guaranteed, according to Cleveland.com. Conklin was perceived by many to be the best offensive tackle available on the open market.

The team also nabbed veteran quarterback Case Keenum to back up Baker Mayfield.

Want to accuse the Browns of just collecting football cards again like last year? OK.

But Keenum, Conklin and Hooper strike me as both talented and glue guys, instead of the strict flash-and-dash they added a year ago.

Plus, all three players address specific holes and are significant upgrades to their position groups. Not just upgrades to jersey sales.

Then there are the Ravens, who acquired defensive linemen Calais Campbell and Michael Brockers.

Campbell comes from Jacksonville via trade for the scant price of a fifth-round pick. And Brockers was signed out of free agency from the Los Angeles Rams for $30 million over three years. Campbell is a five-time Pro Bowler, with 31.5 sacks in three years with Jacksonville. Brockers is good against the run and had eight sacks over the last three years. He is also durable, having missed just one game in that time.

Since the start of 2013, Campbell has only missed two games.

Brockers will also offset the potential loss of Michael Pierce and could help a run defense that allowed 4.4 yards per carry (20th in the NFL).

According to Yahoo.com, Baltimore’s defense also only generated four sacks from its defensive line last season and needed to blitz more than any team in football (54.4% of the time).

Those two should be a good mix with pass rusher Matthew Judon (9.5 sacks a year ago) if he stays on his current franchise tag.

If the club can’t work out a long-term deal with Judon or trade him on the tag to another team that will, they can now buffer that loss. And they may have the draft cache to compensate. After backup tight end Hayden Hurst was traded to Atlanta, Baltimore has five picks in the first three rounds.

Even the Cincinnati Beng… eh, never mind.

Back to the Steelers.

On Monday, general manager Kevin Colbert had to put the franchise tag on Bud Dupree, saw starting defensive lineman Javon Hargrave go to the Philadelphia Eagles, and needed to cut outside linebacker Anthony Chickillo, wide receiver Johnny Holton and inside linebacker Mark Barron.

Somehow though, I got the sense it was a better day than expected because popular guard Ramon Foster decided to retire instead of needing to be cut or traded, Hargrave at least went to an NFC team (although one that plays the Steelers next year), and the team restructured contracts of tight end Vance McDonald, kicker Chris Boswell and cornerback Joe Haden to free up cap space.

We all knew that given the Steelers’ cap situation they were never going to be proactive in this year’s free-agent pool. If they pull off anything of note, it’ll come later in the process. Hopefully they make another sneaky good move like signing cornerback Steven Nelson and not soaking up a bust like receiver Donte Moncrief. Or just another average guy like Barron.

Just as examples from last year’s class.

Their inability to get out of the gate en route to improving an 8-8 roster now has a heightened sensation given how two archrivals have improved significantly in just one day.

But I suppose that every morning that the Steelers wake up closer to cap breathing room is a good morning at the Steelers headquarters around these parts.

Yippee. A high bar for celebration indeed.

I’d say, “Let’s throw a parade.” But that would be a gathering of more than 50 people. And those aren’t allowed right now. So we’ll just have to stay inside and be quiet.

Much like the Steelers front office most years in mid-March. But especially this one.

Literally and figuratively.

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