The San Francisco 49ers have claimed rookie outside linebacker Thaddeus Gibson off waivers from the Steelers on Monday. Gibson, a fourth-round pick out of Ohio State, was placed on waivers Saturday when the team signed defensive lineman Steve McLendon to the active roster from the practice squad. Gibson had been inactive for the Steelers first 6 games of the season and was deemed the low man on the totem pole of a deep linebacking unit by head coach Mike Tomlin. The move was needed to add defensive line depth with both Steelers defensive ends Aaron Smith and Brett Keisel sidelined with injuries. Read more [...]

As expected with all the injuries on the defensive line, the Steelers promoted defensive lineman Steve McLendon from the practice squad to the 53 man roster and waived rookie linebacker Thaddeus Gibson. This is the 3rd time McLendon has been activated this year as he was signed off the practice squad for the games against the Titans and the Ravens this season. He recorded a fumble recovery against the Titans and did not see any action against the Ravens. He will likely be rotated in Sunday night against the Saints with both defensive ends Aaron Smith and Brett Keisel sidelined with injuries. Gibson, Read more [...]

As expected, the Steelers signed defensive tackle Steve McLendon back to the practice squad Monday morning after he cleared waivers following his release on Friday. McLendon was signed off the practice squad for the second time before the week 4 Ravens game as veteran backup nose tackle Chris Hoke was forced to miss the game with a MCL knee sprain. McLendon was active for th e Ravens game, but did not play any snaps on defense this time up. He only contributed on special teams in week 4 as starting nose tackle Casey Hampton took all of the snaps at nose tackle in non nickel defense formations. Read more [...]

The Steelers released and waived defensive tackle Steve McLendon on Thursday in order to make room for quarterback Ben Rothlisberger who has been activated from the reserve suspended list to the 53 man roster. The Steelers had received a temporary roster exemption earlier in the week to make sure they could properly evaluate Rothlisberger upon his return to the team. This is the second time McLendon has been released from the 53 man roster this season and he is expected to be signed back to the practice squad if he clears waivers. The release of McLendon also hints that backup nose tackle Chris Read more [...]

Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger returned to the Steelers South Side facility on Monday and rejoined his teammates for afternoon meetings as his 4 game suspension is now over. According to Steelers Digest, the Steelers requested, and received, a temporary roster exemption for Roethlisberger and don't have to clear a spot for him just yet on the 53 man roster. In all likelihood, the Steelers are using every loophole in order to properly evaluate Ben over the bye week and not have to release a player while they do so. After the bye, the Steelers will likely be forced to then make a roster move and Read more [...]

It was announced today that defensive lineman Steve McLendon cleared waivers and was re-signed back to the Steelers practice squad. McLendon was promoted to the Steelers 53 man roster on Saturday so he could help fill the void on the defensive line against the Titans with nose tackle Casey Hampton out with a hamstring injury. Quarterback Byron Leftwich was temporarily released to make room for McLendon on the roster and was re-signed back to the roster on Monday and McLendon had to be released to make room. Depending on the health of Hampton this week, McLendon could be headed for the same type Read more [...]

Although not officially announced yet by the Steelers, quarterback Byron Leftwich was spotted at the team facility this afternoon and is attending team meetings today according to Ed Bouchette. Bouchette reported the news on ESPN 1250 just moments ago. Leftwich was released on Saturday to make room for defensive lineman Steve McLendon, who was promoted from the practice squad because of the hamstring injury to Casey Hampton. In all likelihood, McLendon was released today and will likely be signed back to the practice squad if he clears waivers. We will pass the official word on shortly as we get Read more [...]

The Steelers needed an extra defensive line body for Sunday with nose tackle Casey Hampton ruled out against the Titans this week so they promoted defensive tackle Steve McLendon from the practice squad and released quarterback Byron Leftwich to make room on the 53 man roster. McLendon will be active on Sunday and will likely back up Chris Hoke in the lineup. McLendon will have a short stay on the roster as Leftwich reportedly will be re-signed next week according to reports. The move also means that reserve lineman Ramon Foster will likely be inactive on Sunday.

A league source reports that the Steelers have signed former New Orleans Saints fourth-round defensive tackle Al Woods to their practice squad. It is unclear who was released from the practice squad if indeed Woods was signed today. Either Steve McLendon or Doug Worthington are the likeliest candidates as they both play defensive line. McLendon makes even more sense as he may still be slowed by the knee injury he suffered early on in camp, plus Worthington was a draft pick you would not think the Steelers would be willing to give up on just yet. We will get to the bottom of this soon as we are Read more [...]

The Steelers finalized their practice squad on Sunday and it includes many familiar faces as expected. The players added to the Steelers practice squad include: TE Eugene Bright, OG Dorian Brooks, S Da’Mon Cromartie-Smith, WR Tyler Grisham, OT Kyle Jolly, DT Steve McLendon, FB Frank Summers and DE Doug Worthington. All 8 players were on the Steelers training camp roster this year. The have also elected their team captains by naming Hines Ward and Heath Miller offensive captains; James Farrior defensive captain and Keyaron Fox the special teams captain.

The Steelers reached their 53 man roster limit today when they released 11 players and placed quarterback Ben Roethlisberger on the reserve/suspended list. The following released were: LB Patrick Bailey, CB Joe Burnett, S Da’Mon Cromartie-Smith, WR Tyler Grisham, DE Sunny Harris, C Justin Hartwig, WR Stefan Logan, DT Steve McLendon, FB Frank Summers, OG Kraig Urbik and DT Doug Worthington. The Steelers will now look to put together their 8 man practice squad after players clear waivers. Players released over the last two days that are eligible for 2010 Practice squad are  Worthington, Urbik, Read more [...]

The Steelers made 6 roster moves on Tuesday to get down to the league mandated 75 roster total. Released from the active roster were linebacker Brandon Renkart, running back Dwayne Wright, cornerback David Pittman and tackle Adrian Jones. Rookie tackle Chris Scott was moved from the active PUP list to the reserve PUP list and now will certainly miss the first 6 weeks of the season with a foot injury. The Steelers will then have a three-week window to look at Scott in practice before deciding to move him up to the 53-man roster, release him or put him on injured reserve. In a final roster move, Read more [...]

The Steelers re-signed long snapper and linebacker Matt Stewart on Monday and released wide receiver Isaiah Williams to make room for him. It is a bit of a curious move unless current long snapper Greg Warren is having problems with his knees again. This is Stewart's second time on the roster this offseason as he was signed back in June and released right before training camp started. Another theory behind the move is that free safety Ryan Clark is likely to sit out the next preseason game versus Denver as a precaution and cornerback Keenan Lewis could be out as well after suffering a concussion Read more [...]

The Steelers made a roster move on Thursday as they placed six-year veteran linebacker Andre Frazier on the Reserve/Injured List with a knee injury and signed first-year linebacker Brandon Renkart to a one-year deal. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed, but it is believed to be a $320,000.00 contract. Frazier was originally signed by the Steelers as an undrafted rookie free agent in 2005 and then spent time on the team’s active roster in 2005 and again from 2007-09. He also spent time on the Cincinnati Bengals roster in 2006-07. Renkart (6-2, 245) was originally signed a free agent Read more [...]

The Steelers made one roster move on Sunday as they placed safety Tuff Harris on the Waived/Injured List with a shoulder injury and added rookie free agent safety Da’Mon Cromartie-Smith to their training camp roster. Harris was injured Friday night in practice and was on the Steelers’ practice squad in 2009 after previously spending time on the active rosters of the Miami Dolphins, New Orleans Saints and Tennessee Titans from 2007-08. Cromartie-Smith (6-2, 210) originally signed with the Steelers as an undrafted rookie free agent out of University of Texas-El Paso (UTEP) this past April, but Read more [...]

The Steelers made one roster move on Monday as they released undrafted free agent fullback Demetrius Taylor and signed fullback Dwayne Wright off of waivers from Philadelphia. Wright (6-0, 234) signed with Philadelphia as a free agent in January 2010, after originally being drafted by the Buffalo Bills in the fourth round (111th overall) of the 2007 NFL Draft out of Fresno State. He appeared in 15 games with the Bills during his rookie season and gained 94 yards on 29 carries. Taylor had signed with the Steelers as an undrafted rookie this past April.

The Steelers released linebacker Lindsey Witten, linebacker Johnny Williams, and long snapper Matt Stewart on Friday to make room on the 80 man roster for draft picks Maurkice Pouncey, Jason Worilds and free agent tackle Flozell Adams. Williams was a practice squad hold over from the end of the 2009 season, while Witten was an undrafted free agent linebacker/defensive end out of the University of Connecticut. As soon as Pouncey arrives to sign his 5 year contract, the Steelers roster will be at the 80 man limit.

On the eve of training camp the Steelers signed free agent tackle Flozell Adams to a two-year contract according to Jason La Canfora of the NFL Network. Financial terms were not immediately disclosed, but it is believe to be a front loaded deal around worth $7.5 million with no signing bonus. If he makes the team, Adams will receive a $2.5 million salary this season and his salary for 2011 is $5 million, none of it guaranteed. This would make Adams likely a one year stop gap. Adams originally was a second-round pick out of Michigan State in 1998 by the Dallas Cowboys and has started 178 of 182 Read more [...]

The Steelers will announce on Thursday that they have reached an agreement with 2010 2nd round draft pick Jason Worilds on a 4 year, 3.7 million dollar contract believed to include 1.9 million in guaranteed monies. Per club policy, the official numbers will not be available until filed with the NFLPA, but the Virginia Tech product will be signed on time and ready to report to Latrobe on Friday for the start of training camp. The Steelers will need to release a player from the roster to make room for Worilds and speculation is that either linebackers Johnny Williams or Renauld Williams will be released. Read more [...]

The Steelers signed six-year veteran Adrian Jones to the active roster on Wednesday and placed tackle Willie Colon on their Reserve/Injured List. Jones (6-4, 330) was originally drafted by the New York Jets in the fourth round (132nd overall) in the 2004 NFL Draft out of Kansas and started 44 games for the Jets from 2004-07 before being waived late in the 2007 season. He was then signed by the Kansas City Chiefs and started 10 games in 2008 at guard. Jones was signed by the Houston Texans during the 2009 offseason but was released. Colon had surgery after he suffered an Achilles injury last month Read more [...]