In what you might call a surprise move, the Steelers have waived John Malecki in order to sign C/G Cody Wallace. Wallace has spent time on various practice squads over the past few years, and was just waived by Tampa Bay during their final roster cuts. Wallace is 6-4, 300 lbs.
Wallace drew somewhat sporadic grades from ProFootballFocus during the preseason. He scored well in run blocking during some games, and poorly in others. He is a four year veteran.
The Cardinals have claimed former Steelers 4th round draft pick Alameda Ta’amu off of waivers. Ta’amu was released by the Steelers yesterday after losing the battle for the backup NT spot to Hebron Fangupo.
Ta’amu was suspended by the team last fall and subsequently released after being arrested for DWI and other charges. The team signed him back to the practice squad last November where he spent the remainder of the season.
He missed a good deal of time during camp due to a hamstring injury, but looked promising in his preseason performance.
https://twitter.com/MEDATAAMU74/status/374284936586334208
LB Adrian Robinson was claimed off waivers by the Denver Broncos today. He is slated to practice tomorrow and will play special teams. Robinson was traded by the Steelers August 23rd in exchange for Felix Jones from the Eagles. The Eagles released Robinson Friday.
The Steelers have signed the following eight players to their practice squad:
OL Chris Hubbard
OL Joe Long
RB Alvester Alexander
DE Brian Arnfelt
LB Alan Baxter
LB Terence Garvin
DB Devin Smith
WR Justin Brown
Some notable exclusions from that list are Marshall McFadden and 5th round pick Terry Hawthorne. I expect that Spaeth’s roster spot will open up on Tuesday and most likely one of these guys gets promoted to the active roster.
Below is a sortable table with the complete 2013 Steelers 53 man roster as it stands today. This will almost certainly change in a few days, and when it does, I’ll update accordingly.
[table id=13/]
[table id=14 /]
[table id=15 /]
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The Steelers announced that they have activated Heath Miller from the Physically Unable To Preform list today. This is a great news and reinforces the fact that Heath’s rehabilitation was progressing ahead of schedule. If Heath had remained on the PUP list, he would have had to sit out the first six weeks, keeping him out of team activities until the first week of October. This way, Miller can begin practicing with team right now, and can be worked back into the line up as soon as his knee allows.
The team announced the remaining roster moves today that were necessary to reduce the roster to the required 53. The most surprising move to many people perhaps is the release of Dwyer. Here is a list of the roster moves:
RB Jonathan Dwyer
NT Alameda Ta’amu
CB Terry Hawthorne
WR Justin Brown
P Brian Moorman
CB Josh Victorian
LB Marshall McFadden
TE Jamie McCoy
WR Reggie Dunn
OL Mike Golic Jr
OL Joe Madsen
OL Chris Hubbard
DE Brian Arnfelt
LB Alan Baxter
LB Terence Garvin
CB Devin Smith
WR Kashif Moore
RB Alvester Alexander
TE Nathan Overbay
OL Joe Long
LB Brian Rolle
S Ross Ventrone
The team is expected to announce their final roster moves at 4:oo PM EST today, but early reports are indicating that Marshall McFadden has been released. McFadden is practice squad eligible, so it seems likely that he’ll wind up there. For what it’s worth, PFF scored McFadden lowest out of the Steelers ILB’s during the preseason.
NFL teams have until 6 PM tomorrow to reduce their roster down to the final 53. Here’s a look at how it may likely play out.
Quarterbacks:[3] Ben Roethlisberger, Bruce Gradkowski, Landry Jones.
I feel pretty certain that Jones makes the roster. The team knew he was a developmental pick.
Running Backs: [6] Le’veon Bell, Isaac Redman, Larod Stephens-Howling, Jonathan Dwyer, Felix Jones, Will Johnson [FB]
Dwyer could very well be cut or traded, and Jones could also be cut. In the end I lean towards the team actually keeping both to start the season. I’ve seen speculation that the Steelers call the Giants to trade Dwyer for a pick, but I don’t see the Giants being that hard up for a Running Back.
Wide Receivers:[4] Antonio Brown, Emmanuel Sanders, Jerricho Cotchery, Marcus Wheaton.
This is a tough one, and if the team keeps 5 WRs, then Moye is the fifth. I think Moye and Brown go to the PS to start the season, though. Of course, Brown is a gamble on the PS.
Tight Ends:[4] Heath Miller, David Johnson, David Paulson, Matt Spaeth.
Spaeth will likely be placed on IR designated to return.
Offensive Line:[8] Maurkice Pouncey, Ramon Foster, David DeCastro, Mike Adams, Marcus Gilbert, Kelvin Beachum, John Malecki, Guy Whimper.
Defensive Line:[6] Ziggy Hood, Steve McLendon, Brett Keisel, Cameron Heyward, Al Woods, Alameda Ta’amu.
This could go either way between Ta’amu and Fangupo in my eyes, but I think Ta’amu has shown enough to get the spot. Fangupo’s age is a deciding factor, too.
Linebackers:[10] LaMarr Woodley, Larry Foote, Lawrence Timmons, Jason Worilds, Jarvis Jones, Chris Carter, Alan Baxter, Marshall McFadden, Kion Wilson and Vince Williams.
I can easily see Wilson going to the Practice Squad. If that’s the case, they keep 9 and DCS is the 5th safety.
Cornerbacks:[5] Ike Taylor, Cortez Allen, William Gay, Curtis Brown, Terry Hawthorne.
Hawthorne missed a lot of time this summer, but he’s got a high ceiling. I think Victorian lands on the Practice Squad.
Safeties:[4] Troy Polamalu, Ryan Clark, Shamarko Thomas, Robert Golden.
Specials:[3] Greg Warren, Shaun Suisham, Drew Butler
Feel free to share your thoughts in the forum.
Has a nice ring to it, right? Big Ben will be joining 93.7 The Fan for a weekly radio show this fall.
“I am looking forward to spending time every week on The Fan talking about every game and sharing my insights with Steeler Nation”, Ben said of the radio gig.
Starting September 10th, The Ben Roethlisberger Show will air Tuesdays at 11:00 AM with the Vinnie and Cook show.