By Jeremy Hritz In 2005, the Pittsburgh Steelers won a Super Bowl against the Seattle Seahawks with receivers Hines Ward, Antwaan Randle El, and Cedrick Wilson. Again in 2008, the Steelers captured their sixth Lombardi against another NFC West opponent in the Arizona Cardinals with Ward, Santonio Holmes, and Nate Washington. Wilson, Randle El, and Washington were solid, Holmes was clutch, and Ward is a future Hall of Famer. Outside of Washington, none of these guys were burners who could successfully get vertical, but they were all reliable and able to be depended on for earning crucial first Read more [...]

I have been asked quite a bit why the Steelers have not re-signed Flozell Adams back after right tackle Willie Colon was lost for the season this past Sunday and the simple answer is there just is not enough cap room to meet his likely salary demands. I finally cleared up my 2011 salary cap numbers following the final cutdowns and prior to the new contract signed by Troy Polamalu, the Steelers were roughly $2.23 million under the cap. The new official contract numbers have yet to surface, but it figures it would only slightly increase or decrease his original 2011 cap hit of $8.595 million. The Read more [...]

Per the usual, the Steelers were not very active in signing outside free agents this year. They normally concentrate on their own free agents and add an inexpensive player here or there for depth. Today they agreed to terms with former Jets wide receiver Jerricho Cotchery and it could end up being a steal if he is fully recovered from his offseason back surgery. Cotchery fits the mold of a player much like Hines Ward is, as he can line up both outside and inside and is very good at finding soft spots in the secondary and move the chains. Over the last 3 regular seasons Cotchery has caught 169 Read more [...]

Steelers Director of Football Operation Kevin Colbert joined Ken Laird and John Steigerwald for an afternoon interview on Trib Live Radio to discuss several things, including the possibility of the Steelers bringing back recently released veterans Max Starks, Flozell Adams and Antwaan Randle El. Colbert admitted that they were tough cuts to make, but again did not rule out the possibility of them being back after they get a good look at the young players on the training camp roster. Below is a brief portion of the question and answer concerning those players from the great interview. Laird: Read more [...]

It does not take a rocket scientist to figure out that the Steelers have big concerns right now about the feet of second year wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders. Sanders broke his right foot in the team’s loss to Green Bay in the Super Bowl and then had another surgery on his left foot in the spring after he developed a stress fracture in it. The left foot still had not healed properly when he arrived at training camp and he had a procedure done that consisted of injecting bone marrow and calcium into his foot to help promote healing. Sanders was slated to be the Steelers number 3 wide receiver Read more [...]

Wide receiver Limas Sweed injured his right shoulder today during the Steelers afternoon practice and currently has it wrapped on is kneeling on the sideline. It looks like he might be done for the day and the severity of the injury will likely be determined after practice. Sweed is in his 4th and final year under contract after being drafted by the Steelers in the second round of the 2008 draft. His time with the Steelers has been littered with setbacks as he suffered early on from drops and most recently injuries, as he was forced to miss all of last season after tearing his Achilles last Read more [...]

Season 2, Episode 2 of The Terrible Podcast is up and the 2nd day of training camp is in full swing. David Todd and I start dissecting the busy couple of days so far since the team reported to Latrobe and go over the signings of Ike Taylor, Willie Colon, Jonathan Scott and Shaun Suisham for starters and how we think the offensive line shapes up so far. We also discuss the release of Max Starks, Flozell Adams and Antwaan Randle El in addition. We report who is starting where on the offensive line as the team opens their first on-field practice with several players unable to practice because Read more [...]

The Steelers 2011 training camp has begun in Latrobe and here is a quick recap of what happened today in case you missed anything. The day started with the official announcement that both tackle Max Starks and wide receiver Antwaan Randle El were being released. The surprising Starks news broke last night and the not surprising news on Randle El came this morning. Art Rooney II joined the DVE morning show to discuss the release of Starks and also said he did not see either James Harrison or Hines Ward missing any playing time due to their recent incidents both were involved in. Rooney also Read more [...]

By Joseph Pucciarella As most people already know, the Steelers cut veteran wide-receiver Antwaan Randle El today. Randle El, who turns 32 in August, was cut to free up cap space. A move, according to head coach Mike Tomlin, was a necessary business decision. “I totally enjoyed playing before here and I know I will enjoy it now", said Randle El, following last year’s return to Pittsburgh after four un-substantial seasons in Washington. Having only 22 receptions last year shouldn’t cause potential teams to shy away from inquiring about the veteran. Randle El still has value. First Read more [...]

The Steelers annual conditioning test is now over and head coach Mike Tomlin addressed the media after it concluded. Tomlin told reporters that it was a conditioning evaluation today and no pass or fail was given. He did say that wide receiver Hines Ward, left guard Chris Kemoeatu and tight end Eugene Bright would start training camp on the PUP list. Ward is coming off thumb surgery that he had done following his stint on Dancing with the Stars and Kemoeatu has some swelling in one of his knees. Overall Tomlin said he was pleased with the condition of players today, although it was reported Read more [...]

The cap casualties continued on Thursday as veteran wide receiver Antwaan Randle El has been released. Randle El started 23 games in different two stints with the Steelers after being drafted in the second round by Pittsburgh in the 2002 NFL Draft. After spending the last 4 seasons in Washington, Randle El re-signed back with the Steelers last offseason. The deal was for 3 years and included a signing bonus near $1 million. He was scheduled to count $2.3 million against the cap in 2011, but his release now saves $2 million of that hit. Randle El is now the second player to be released as Read more [...]

Matt Mitchell of KVUE in Austin, Texas recently caught up with Steelers wide receiver Limas Sweed a few days ago as he looks to make the Steelers 53 man roster this season after he missed the entire 2010 season due to a torn Achilles that he suffered last offseason. Sweed told Mitchell he has been looking to get healthy instead of putting his two cents worth into the recent lockout negotiations and said, "You never want to rush back from an injury and the more time you have to work on your injury, work on your skills and your craft the better. So really this lockout to me has been a blessing Read more [...]

I wanted to give some clarification to the post June 1st cap rule in this article and point you to some updated numbers of mine in a previous post. In that post I pointed out the players that could be salary cap casualties as soon as the lockout is over and the 72 hour window opens prior to the start of free agency. While I have not officially confirmed yet that the post June 1st rule the league has previously used will be in effect, several people I have talked see no reason why it wouldn't be in the new labor agreement. First off, the rule previously allowed teams to cut players after June Read more [...]

The latest news concerning the 2011 salary cap per Albert Breer and Jason La Canfora is that it is now projected to be roughly $123 million per team. They state as a practical matter that it will "feel" more like $130 million to teams when the cap credits and new cap exceptions are factored in. They also state that teams will have to spend, in cash, 90 percent to the cap minimum and league-wide spending will be pegged at 99 percent to the cap. So where does that put the Steelers? I currently have them at about $130 million, $7 million over the projected cap number of $123 million, with the players Read more [...]

Linebacker James Harrison called NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell a "crook" and a "devil," among other insults, in an article in the August issue of Men's Journal magazine. Harrison also questions in the article whether a black player is punished more for a hard hit on a white player than the opposite. Former Steelers running back Amos Zereoue has traded football for fútbol as he represented Ivory Coast at this year’s Cosmos Copa NYC. Linebacker Lawrence Timmons did an interview with Steve Wyremski for Pro Football Focus and seems to be pretty upset with himself and the sacks he missed last Read more [...]