Author Archives: Steve Alan

About Steve Alan

Steve, known by most as TTF, is owner of TheSteelersFans and administrator of the best Steelers message board on the net. Big fan of strong coffee and hardcore Steelers fan from womb to tomb.

Steelers Sign RB Todman, Claim DE Lyons; Waive Chickillo And Grant

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The Steelers made some additional changes to their initial 53 man roster today. The team signed former Jaguars RB Jordan Todman and claimed DE Caushaud Lyons off of waivers from Tampa Bay. To make room for the additions, the team waived LB Anthony Chickillo and CB Doran Grant.

Todman is 5’10, 200 lbs and was recently waived by the Panthers. He was drafted in the 6th round of the 2011 draft by the Chargers. He played behind Maurice Jones-Drew and next to Justin Forsett in Jacksonville. His salary is reportedly fully guaranteed this year.

Lyons is a raw, yet athletic DE. The 6’5″, 295 lb UDFA defneisive lineman was waived by the Bucs this weekend. Here are some of his measurables: 4.87 40 yd, 475 lb bench press, 600 lb squat, and a 30 1/2 inch vertical.

Will Allen Will Be The Starting SS Against The Patriots

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Veteran Safety Will Allen will reportedly be getting the starting nod over Shamarko Thomas on Thursday. This comes from Shamarko Thomas via Dale Lolley of the Observer-Reporter.

https://twitter.com/dlolleyor/status/640521552996511744

While Allen isn’t exactly young and quick, he’s seldom out of position. Thomas on the other hand had difficulty at times in the Cover 2 this preseason, which resulted in some big offensive plays.

I wouldn’t be surprised to see Shamarko on the field and being worked into the fold in different looks, but it appears that the Steelers don’t think that the 3rd year safety is quite ready to cover the deep half of the field against Tom Brady.

The Pittsburgh Steelers 53 Man Roster After Final Cuts

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The Steelers made their remaining necessary moves today to get their roster down to the 53 man requirement. Here is the roster as it stands right now. It is not permanent, and will likely change over the course of the next week.

Quarterbacks (3) — Ben Roethlisberger, Michael Vick, Landry Jones.

Running Backs (2) — DeAngelo Williams, Dri Archer

Full Backs (2) — Will Johnson, Roosevelt Nix

Wide Receivers (5) — Antonio Brown, Markus Wheaton, Darrius Heyward-Bey, Sammie Coates, Tyler Murphy

Tight Ends (3) — Heath Miller, Matt Spaeth, Jesse James.

Offensive Linemen (8) — Kelvin Beachum, Ramon Foster, Maurkice Pouncey, David DeCastro, Marcus Gilbert, Cody Wallace, Chris Hubbard, Alejandro Villanueva.

Defensive Linemen (6) — Cameron Heyward, Steve McLendon, Stephon Tuitt, Cam Thomas, Letterius Walton, Daniel McCullers.

Linebackers (10) — James Harrison, Lawrence Timmons, Ryan Shazier, Arthur Moats, Jarvis Jones, Vince Williams, Sean Spence, Bud Dupree, Terence Garvin, Anthony Chickillo.

Cornerbacks (6) — William Gay, Cortez Allen, Antwon Blake, Brandon Boykin, Doran Grant, Ross Cockrell.

Safeties (5) — Mike Mitchell, Shamarko Thomas, Will Allen, Robert Golden, Ross Ventrone.

Specialists (3) — Greg Warren, Josh Scobee, Jordan Berry

Reserve/Supsended (2)
RB Le’Veon Bell, WR Martavis Bryant

Reserve/PUP (1)
Mike Adams

The Steelers signed former Bills CB Ross Cockerell to a one year deal today. RB Le’Veon Bell and WR Martavis Bryant are on the Reserve/Suspended list and do not count towards the 53 man roster during their suspensions.

Some noteworthy names made the squad. WR Tyler Murphy, LB Anthony Chickillo, S Ross Ventrone, and OL Alejandro Villanueva being the biggest standouts. Villanueva was a lock once Mike Adams was destined for PUP, but few would have guessed he’d make the 53 man roster.

The team has until 12:00 pm est tomorrow to make waiver claims on any players they like on the waiver wire. At 1:00 pm est all teams can assemble their 10 man practice squad. At 4:00 pm tomorrow, the team can place a player on Reserve/Injured with the designation to return.

Steelers 2015 Final Roster Cuts Tracker

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Today’s a big day for the Steelers as they make their final cuts to whittle down and make the remaining necessary cuts to get to the final 53 man roster. Here are the cuts, waivers, and final roster moves- updated as the news breaks.

<<Updated>>

Here is the complete list of cuts the Steelers made over the past two days.

WR Shakim Phillips
WR Jarrod West

RB Jawon Chisholm
RB Josh Harris
LB LJ Fort
LB Shayon Green
LB Howard Jones

DL Mike Thornton
DL Ethan Hemer
DL Matt Conrath

S Jordan Dangerfield
S Alden Darby
S Gerod Holliman
CB B.W. Webb
CB Kevin Fogg

OG B.J. Finney
OG/C Doug Legursky
OL Reese Dismukes

Waived/Injured
OT Mitchell Van Dyk
OT Kevin Palmer
P Brad Wing (traded to Giants for late round pick)

https://twitter.com/AaronWilson_NFL/status/639824001884291072

WR Jarrod West

https://twitter.com/JosinaAnderson/status/639825195100971008

LB Howard Jones

https://twitter.com/JFowlerESPN/status/639838187326713856

RB Jawon Chisholm has been rumored to have been cut. We’ll update when this is confirmed, though he was an obvious cut, so I see no reason for this to be untrue.

LB LJ Fort

https://twitter.com/DraftDiamonds/status/639845655511453700

CB Kevin Fogg

https://twitter.com/JFowlerESPN/status/639848601099870208

DL Mike Thornton

https://twitter.com/JFowlerESPN/status/639855467431374848

Ethan Hemer

https://twitter.com/MikeGarafolo/status/639852222877204480

It appears that the Steelers are are keeping FB Roosevelt Nix. According to Chris Adamski, he was in the locker room looking very happy, and was getting congratulated by his teammates.

Steelers Trade P Brad Wing To The NY Giants

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The Steelers have traded punter Brad Wing to the NY Giants for a late round draft pick in 2016.

https://twitter.com/AaronWilson_NFL/status/639824001884291072

I really like this move by the Steelers. The Giants parted ways with long time punter Steve Weatherford this morning to get younger and cheaper. Instead of simply waiving Wing today, the Steelers seized the opportunity and earned back a draft pick for 2016. The team traded away a 6th round pick for Scobee, and a conditional fifth round pick for Boykin.

Berry, 24, averaged 49.8 yards per punt in the preseason.

Update: The Steelers will receive a conditional 7th round pick from the Giants in 2016.

Brady Wins Appeal, Will Play Against Steelers In Season Opener

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The Steelers travel to Gillette Stadium next Thursday night to face the New England Patriots. Unfortunately, Tom Brady will be the starting quarterback. Judge Richard Berman ruled in favor of Brady and the Patriots, nullifying the 4 game suspension issued by Roger Goodell.

The NFLPA issued a statement shortly following the decision.

“The rights of Tom Brady and of all NFL players under the collective bargaining agreement were affirmed today by a Federal Judge in a court of the NFL’s choosing. We thank Judge Berman for his time, careful consideration of the issue and fair and just result.

This decision should prove, once and for all, that our Collective Bargaining Agreement does not grant this Commissioner the authority to be unfair, arbitrary and misleading. While the CBA grants the person who occupies the position of Commissioner the ability to judiciously and fairly exercise the designated power of that position, the union did not agree to attempts to unfairly, illegally exercise that power, contrary to what the NFL has repeatedly and wrongfully claimed.

We are happy for the victory of the rule of law for our players and our fans. This court’s decision to overturn the NFL Commissioner again should signal to every NFL owner that collective bargaining is better than legal losses. Collective bargaining is a much better process that will lead to far better results.”

Several current and former players congratulated the NFLPA’s victory over Goodell and the NFL.

https://twitter.com/Realrclark25/status/639463783438548992

https://twitter.com/jharrison9292/status/639455854245347328

https://twitter.com/jharrison9292/status/639467329768845312

The NFL released a statement as well, stating their disapproval and vowing to appeal the decision.

“We are grateful to Judge Berman for hearing this matter, but respectfully disagree with today’s decision. We will appeal today’s ruling in order to uphold the collectively bargained responsibility to protect the integrity of the game. The commissioner’s responsibility to secure the competitive fairness of our game is a paramount principle, and the league and our 32 clubs will continue to purse a path to that end. While the legal phase of this process continues, we look forward to focusing on football and the opening of the regular season.“

The league isn’t going to seek an emergency stay to try to keep Brady from playing in the season opener. Honestly, why would they? Did they ever really want a season debut watched by millions without Tom Brady?

DL Phil Taylor Visited Steelers, But Won’t Be Getting Signed

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The Steelers had former Browns defensive lineman Phil Taylor in for a visit yesterday. The Browns parted ways with the former 2011 first round pick on Tuesday after the defensive lineman requested he be released.

The Steelers were just doing their due diligence with the visit, but it does tell us what we already knew- the Steelers are short on talented defensive line depth. Taylor is more of a nose though, and the Steelers do have quality depth there.

Ultimately, the team won’t be signing Taylor. He suffered two knee injuries last year, one of which was significant. Some observers recently said that he ‘walks like a 70 year old’ and Gerry Dulac of the Post-Gazette reported last night that his knee will require another surgery.

Taylor would have been due $5.477 Mil upon his release, but he and Browns agreed to undisclosed injury settlement.

Contract Details Of K Josh Scobee’s Trade

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The Steelers traded with the Jacksonville Jaguars yesterday to get longtime kicker Josh Scobee. The team gave up next year’s 6th round pick, and reportedly took on some of the money he was due in 2015- $3.425 Mil.

Today CBS reporter Jason LaCanfora reports that the Jaguars agreed to pay nearly $1 Mil of his $3.425 Mil that was due in 2015. After the Jags share ($925 K to be exact), the Steelers will take on $2.5 Mil of the $3.425 Mil in 2015.

The Steelers wanted to sign him through 2016, but Scobee declined. When asked about it earlier, Scobee said:

“Well, first and foremost, Shaun Suisham has been an excellent kicker here. In the past three years he’s put up amazing numbers. I’m not trying to come in and take his job. I’m not saying that next year I’m going to be here, because I don’t know.

“You can’t guarantee anything. All I’m guaranteeing is this year. I told Shaun that. He’s done an amazing job and hopefully he rehabs and can come back, so I didn’t want to add on an extra year there.

“I just wanted to come in, have this year and see what happens after that and do what I can to help this franchise. If that’s continuing on after this year here, great. If not, we’ll see what happens.”

Steelers Do Some Restructuring; Brown Gets More Cash In 2015

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The Steelers have restructured some contracts today. According to Adam Schefter, the team has restructured the contracts of Heath Miller, Antonio Brown, and Shaun Suisham.

https://twitter.com/AdamSchefter/status/638769139998457856

The moves clear roughly $6 Mil in 2015 cap space. Schefter reports that the team made the moves to provide an offset for the number of injured players consuming cap space, and, while that may be partially true, it’s quite probable that the front office is trying to get their ducks in a row before locking up OT Kelvin Beachum prior to the season getting underway.

It appears that the Steelers did some type of traditional restructuring of Brown’s contract, while also moving forward $2 Mil of money that he was due in 2016, to give him a “raise” now. I speculated the team may make a similar move like this to “appease” Brown’s camp, who have been very much in the news regarding their hopes in getting more money for AB. I imagine they’ll be having more conversations when the season is over…

I’ll give a more detailed breakdown of these restructures when I get a little more information about the financials. About the “raise”, Antonio Brown said, “I’m extremely grateful and humbled.”

Steelers Announce 1st Roster Moves And Cuts To Get To 75

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The Steelers have announced their first waive of roster cuts and other roster moves today to trim down to the required 75 man limit.

The following players have been released or waived:

OL Miles Dieffenbach, WR Kenzel Doe, WR C.J. Goodwin, RB Braylon Heard, DE Joe Kruger, DT Joe Okafor, OG Collin Rahrig, CB Jordan Sullen, OT Kevin Whimpey , LB/S Ian Wild, TE Cam Clear (waived/injured), DE Niko Davis (waived/injured), and TE Ray Hamilton (waived/injured).

OT Mike Adams has been placed on Reserve PUP. He will not be able to practice or play for the first 6 weeks of the season. After that, the team will have a 6 week window as to whether or not he’s going to IR, getting released, or returning to active duty.

The Steelers also announced that K Garrett Hartley and CB Senquez Golson will go to IR.