In some not so surprising news today, the Pittsburgh Steelers announced that they have released cornerback Bryant McFadden and wide receiver Arnaz Battle and officially announced that they have signed safety Myron Rolle, wide receiver Juamorris Stewart and linebacker Brandon Hicks to future contracts. The release of McFadden and Battle were expected as the Steelers start to clear salary cap room for 2012. McFadden was scheduled to count nearly $2.667 against the 2012 cap and Battle was scheduled to count almost $1.3625 million. By releasing both players prior to June 1st, the Steelers will eat Read more [...]

According to a tweet by Pittsburgh Steelers tackle Marcus Gilbert, the Steelers have signed linebacker Brandon Hicks to a futures contract. Hicks was a teammate with Gilbert at the University of Florida and was signed by the Buffalo Bills after going undrafted last April. Hicks did not make the Bills final 53 man roster and was released prior to the start of the 2011 regular season. At his Florida pro day last March, Hicks measured in at 6023 and weighed 231 pounds. His unofficial 40 time was 4.83, he did 12 reps of 225 ponds, had a 31 inch vertical jump, a 09'10" broad jump and a 4.38 short Read more [...]

The Pittsburgh Steelers have signed former Florida State safety Myron Rolle to a futures contract according to his Twitter account. Rolle, a Rhodes Scholar, was originally drafted by the Tennessee Titans in the sixth round of the 2010 NFL Draft, but was released prior to the start of the season and he landed on the practice squad. Last offseason Rolle joined former President Bill Clinton on a trip to the Congo to participate in a Clinton Global Initiative Lead program to aid displaced refugees. He was back with the Titans last offseason, but was released again prior to the start of the regular Read more [...]

The Pittsburgh Steelers officially made several future contract signings official today that I had previously reported along with a few players that had not yet surfaced. Officially signed now to future contracts are quarterback Troy Smith, cornerback Walter McFadden, wide receiver Tyler Beiler, wide receiver David Gilreath, wide receiver Derrick Williams and wide receiver Jimmy Young. the two new names on this list that were not yet reported are McFadden and Gilreath. McFadden spent a portion of 2010 and 2011 with the Oakland Raiders and on the practice squads of the Jacksonville Jaguars and Read more [...]

Ed Bouchette has confirmed a rumor circulating last night that the Pittsburgh Steelers have indeed signed former Ohio State quarterback Troy Smith to a future contract. Smith won the Heisman Trophy in 2006, his senior year with the Buckeyes, and was subsequently drafted by the Baltimore Ravens in the fifth round of the 2007 NFL Draft. In his first 3 seasons with the Ravens, Smith started just 2 games. He was released by the Ravens before the start of the 2010 season and was quickly signed by the San Francisco 49ers where he started 6 games during his one season there. For his career Smith completed Read more [...]

The Pittsburgh Steelers have signed former Bridgewater College wide receiver Tyler Beiler according to Beiler himself on Twitter. Beiler is 6 foot, 195 pound receiver that the Steelers reportedly watched workout prior to the 2010 NFL draft. Beiler was with the San Francisco 49ers during the 2010 preseason, but was released prior to the start of the season. He was signed to the Jacksonville Jaguars practice squad in September but was waived in the early part of October. During his Pro Day at James Madison University last March, Beiler reportedly ran an unofficial 40 time of 4.38 and had a Read more [...]

The Pittsburgh Steelers have signed former Penn State wide receiver Derrick Williams to a future contract according to the Twitter account of Williams. Williams was originally drafted by the Detroit Lions with the 18th pick of the 3rd round of the 2009 NFL Draft. He dressed for 18 games with the Lions over the course of the 2009 and 2010 season and recorded 9 catches for 82 yards during that time. He also returned 42 kicks for 931 yards in his rookie season with no touchdowns and 2 fumbles. Williams was waived by the Lions prior to the start of the 2011 season. In 2010 he was placed on injured Read more [...]

We knew they were coming, but we just did not know when, but the Pittsburgh Steelers finally officially announced today the 10 future contract signings today that include 5 players from the 2011 practice squad. As I previously reported, offensive lineman John Malecki, tackle Trevis Turner, tight end Jamie McCoy and defensive end Corbin Bryant were signed to 3 year reserve/future contracts. The name that we did not have was offensive lineman Chris Scott, the Steelers 2010 5th round draft pick, as he too was signed to a to 3 year reserve/future contract. The other 5 players that were made official Read more [...]

The Pittsburgh Steelers offseason roster continues to expand as they have signed former South Carolina State linebacker Marshall McFadden and former Auburn defensive tackle Mike Blanc to a reserve/future contracts. McFadden is a 6 foot, 237 pound inside linebacker who was a four-year starter at South Carolina State. McFadden finished with 47/5/2 as a senior, but missed the 2009 season with a broken wrist. He had 88 tackles in 2008. Blanc is a 6 foot 3, 298 pound defensive tackle out of Auburn. He had only 26 tackles and 2 1/2 sacks in 14 games his senior year for the BCS Champion Tigers. Read more [...]

The Pittsburgh Steelers have re-signed tackle Trevis Turner to a future contract according to a source. Turner was originally signed by the Steelers as an undrafted rookie free agent back in July and spent all of the 2011 season on the Steelers practice squad. Turner joins offensive lineman John Malecki, tight end Jamie McCoy and defensive end Corbin Bryant as other Steelers players that finished the season on the practice squad that have been re-signed back to future contracts. As I reported earlier, the Steelers have also signed wide receiver Jimmy Young, defensive back Anthony Smith, defensive Read more [...]

The Pittsburgh Steelers have signed practice squad players, tight end Jamie McCoy, offensive lineman John Malecki and defensive end Corbin Bryant to three-year futures contracts according to a source. All three players were with the Steelers at training camp this past season and started the 2011 season on the practice squad. Bryant saw the Steelers 53 man roster for one game against the Arizona Cardinals in week 7, but was released the next week and re-signed back to practice squad after he cleared waivers. Both McCoy and Malecki were released from the practice squad at different times this Read more [...]

The Pittsburgh Steelers have signed defensive tackle Kade Weston to a reserve futures contract today according to Adam Caplan on Twitter. Weston was originally drafted by the New England Patriots in the seventh round of the 2010 NFL Draft after playing his college football at Georgia. He was placed on injured reserve with an abdomen injury on Aug. 24, 2010 after being waived injured. Weston was ultimately released by the Patriots after training camp this past season and was signed to the Indianapolis Colts practice squad back in October, but was released by the Colts the following week. While Read more [...]

Former Texas A&M Aggies quarterback Jerrod Johnson announced on Twitter today that he has signed a futures contract with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Johnson was the first overall pick in the 2011 United Football League draft by the Hartford Colonials after going undrafted in the 2011 draft and ended up signing as an undrafted free agent with the Philadelphia Eagles in late July. He was waived by the Eagles in mid-August and signed on with the Arizona Rattlers of the Arena Football League. Johnson measures in at about 6 feet 5, 243 pounds and was the all-time leading passer at Texas A&M with Read more [...]

The Pittsburgh Steelers offseason roster has started to expand as former Ohio State defensive back Antonio Smith has signed a three year futures contract with the team. Smith was originally signed by the Indianapolis Colts as an undrafted free agent in 2007 and has also been a member of the Detroit Lions, San Diego Chargers and Cincinnati Bengals. Smith measures in at around 5 foot 9 and weighs 192 pounds. Smith was an All-Big Ten selection while at Ohio State following a senior campaign where he made 71 tackles, second-best on the team. He also was an accomplished special teams player covering Read more [...]

The Pittsburgh Steelers have promoted running back Chad Spann to the 53 man roster on Tuesday from the practice squad and signed running back Albert Young to the vacant spot on the practice squad. There is no word as of yet to what the corresponding roster move from the 53 man roster was to make room for Spann. Spann was originally signed to the Steelers practice squad on the 12th of December after he spent time with the Colts and the Buccaneers. He was undrafted in 2011 and played his college ball at Northern Illinios. He measures in at almost 5 foot 8 and weighs 201 pounds and played all four Read more [...]