Onward we go with our player by player look at the Pittsburgh Steelers 2012 Free Agents. we are breaking them down one by one and look ahead to their pending 2012 free agency situation. The first part of this series I am focusing on the restricted free agents and this is the fourth player in that series. In this free agent analysis we will have a look at guard Ramon Foster. Player: Ramon Foster Position: Guard Experience: 3 Years Free Agent Status: Restricted 2011 Salary Cap Hit: $527,668.00 2011 Season Breakdown: Foster did not own a starting spot on the offensive line out of Read more [...]

Pittsburgh Steelers rookie tackle Marcus Gilbert said tonight on a live Spreecast video chat that he was told by the coaching staff during his exit meetings that that there is a "strong possibility" that he will be flipped over to left tackle next season. Gilbert started 14 games at right tackle for the Steelers in 2011. This news is not very surprising considering that Willie Colon is expected to return from his triceps injury suffered week 1 against the Baltimore Ravens to be the Steelers starting right tackle. Colon signed a 5-year, $29 million dollar contract late last July and reportedly 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 [...]

Onward we go with our player by player breakdown of the 2012 Pittsburgh Steelers free agents. We are still looking at the restricted group and next up is offensive lineman Doug Legursky. Player: Doug Legursky Position: Guard/Center Experience: 3 Years Free Agent Status: Restricted 2011 Salary Cap Hit: $525,000.00 2011 Season Breakdown: Legursky was a very busy guy in 2011 for the Steelers. He started the season as the starting right guard after getting the job late in the preseason as Chris Scott, Tony Hills and Ramon Foster failed to nail it down. He started the first three games Read more [...]

Season 2, Episode 26 of The Terrible Podcast is up and David Todd and I spend most of the first half of the show talking about the MASH unit over at the Steelers South Side facility. The list is long and apparently getting longer as both Chris Kemoeatu and Casey Hampton have missed practice the past couple of days. We go through the entire list and talk about what position moves and roster moves need to be made for Sunday's match-up with the Tennessee Titans. Of course, the big move was announced yesterday as Max Starks was re-signed and the Steelers waived Chris Scott and subsequently signed him Read more [...]

The merry-go-round of Steelers transactions continues today as recently released offensive lineman Chris Scott has cleared waivers and has been signed to the Steelers practice squad today according to Steelers Digest. Scott was released on Wednesday to make room for tackle Max Starks on the 53 man roster. To make room on the practice squad for Scott, offensive lineman and former University of Pittsburgh product, John Malecki was cut. Malecki was originally signed by the Steelers on August 4th and saw limited action in preseason mostly at center. He was released during the Steelers final cutdowns Read more [...]

I have been asked how the Steelers were able to afford Max Starks being as they were so strapped for cap room so I thought I would post the specifics in a short post. Before Starks signed his one year deal for the vet minimum the Steelers reportedly just under the salary cap by less than a million. The new Starks deal only counts $575,000 against the cap because it was a one-year vet minimum deal with the maximum allowed signing bonus of $50k to qualify. The Steelers will pay him $860,000 this year, but as I mentioned, he only counts $575k against the 2011 cap. The Steelers released second Read more [...]

The Steelers re-signed tackle Max Starks today to the active roster and released 2010 5th round draft pick Chris Scott to make room for him on the 53 man roster. Starks was originally drafted by the Steelers in the third round of the 2004 NFL Draft and started 68 games for the Steelers over a seven year span. Starks suffered a season-ending neck injury last season that cost him most of the year. He was released prior to the start of training camp this year with two years remaining on his contract. The Steelers release of Scott means that they have given up on the former Tennessee product. Scott Read more [...]

The week 4 game against the Houston Texans figures to be one hell of a game and the Steelers will be forced to win minus two more starters on the offensive line as right guard Doug Legursky and left tackle Jonathan Scott are both listed as out on the Friday injury report. As I do every week, here is my weekly prediction of the 7 man inactive list for this week and due to the injuries and mid-week news, there is not much guessing that needs to be done this week. The official inactives will be released 90 minutes before kick-off and I will have those posted on site immediately after they are announced Read more [...]

Season 2, Episode 24 of The Terrible Podcast is up and David Todd is back with me today to do our normal preview of the upcoming Sunday game against the Houston Texans. We lead off with the Steelers injury report and the speculation that practice squad tackle Trevis Turner could be promoted to the active roster this weekend. We discuss who the Steelers might release should that indeed be the case. Chris Carter? Chris Scott? We then discuss the recent $15K fine that James Farrior received for his hit on Kerry Collins this past Sunday and how the league seems to be fining for every personal foul Read more [...]

The hot news this afternoon after practice is that practice squad tackle Trevis Turner could be promoted to the active roster for the Sunday game against the Houston Texans due to injuries to Jonathan Scott and Doug Legursky. If indeed that does happen, the Steelers will need to either release a player or place one on injured reserve to make room for him on the 53 man roster. From a salary cap standpoint the Steelers will likely have to release a player with less than 4 years accrued experience as after week 1 the vested players base salary is guaranteed and thus still counts against the cap. Read more [...]

Steelers beat writers Mike Bires and Mark Kaboly reported via Twitter this afternoon that practice squad tackle Trevis Turner has a good chance of being promoted to the active roster this week due to the injuries on the offensive line. Both left tackle Jonathan Scott and right guard Doug Legursky both seem doubtful this week due to injuries suffered Sunday night against the Colts. Both sat out practice again on Thursday. Scott reportedly has a high ankle sprain while Legursky is battling a left shoulder injury. As it stands right now, Trai Essex would likely get the start at left tackle with Ramon Read more [...]

The 2011 state of the offensive line was never one that any of us felt totally good about heading into the season outside of center Maurkice Pouncey and right tackle Willie Colon, but after 3 games now, the best way to describe it is by saying it is a hot mess. Something Steeler Nation has grown accustomed to over the years. The Steelers lost Colon for the season in the week 1 loss to the Ravens, but at least rookie Marcus Gilbert was ready to jump in at right tackle. Gilbert really has played above the line in his two starts, but is a ways away still from filling the Colon shoes. To make matters Read more [...]

Below are the 7 players that will not dress for the Steelers and Colts tonight at Lucas Oil Stadium. Teams are now allowed to dress 46 players this season as there is no emergency quarterback rule. Inactives are released and announced starting 90 minutes before kick-off. Brett Keisel was ruled out on Friday with a knee injury. For the Colts, Peyton Manning and Ernie Sims were ruled out long ago. Steelers QB Dennis Dixon RB Jonathan Dwyer WR Jerricho Cotchery DE Brett Keisel T Chris Scott CB Bryant McFadden OL Jamon Meredith Colts QB Peyton Manning LB Ernie Sims RG Ryan Diem LB Read more [...]

Week 3 is upon us and the Steelers go on the road this week to play the Indianapolis Colts Sunday night. The final injury report of the week was released on Friday and I will now make my weekly prediction of the 7 man inactive list for this week. The official inactives will be released 90 minutes before kick-off and I will have those posted on site immediately after they are announced in the press box. QB Dennis Dixon - Not a tough one here as Dixon has been inactive for the first two games thus far this season. Ben Roethlisberger practiced fully all last week following the knee injury he suffered Read more [...]