Category Archives: Former Steelers

Adam Podlesh

Bears To Release Former Steelers Punter Drew Butler

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The Chicago Bears are set to cut punter Drew Butler, according to the Chicago Tribune. The cut could come as soon as today according to a team source. Butler was signed to a futures contract in December, but the Bears drafted former Miami punter Pat O’Donnell in the 6th round of this year’s draft. The team was carrying 3 punters on their roster, so someone had to go.

Butler was All-American, an All-Southeastern Conference selection and a Ray Guy Award winner at the University of Georgia. He was signed as an undrafted free agent by the Steelers after the 2012 draft. He kicked a total of 77 punts for the Steelers that year, 6 of which were touchbacks, and 26 were inside the 20.

Butler, the son of former Bears kicker Kevin Butler, was waived by the Steelers last September. He won the position battle in camp last year, beating out veteran Brian Moorman, but the team signed former Patriots punter Zoltan Mesko in the end.

steelers

Saints Sign Mike Golic Jr. To Two Year Deal

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The New Orleans Saints have signed offensive lineman Mike Golic Jr. to a two year deal according to reports.
https://twitter.com/caplannfl/status/465318281537409024
https://twitter.com/MGolicJR57/status/465322773758218240

Golic was at Notre Dame’s pro day in March to workout for scouts. ESPN radio personality Mike Golic Sr. was at the event to root for his son. The Steelers signed Golic Jr. as an undrafted free agent last spring, but released him during their final roster cuts in August. The rookie lineman saw little action during preseason, and wasn’t picked up by another team during the season.

Larry_Foote cardinals

Former Steelers LB Larry Foote Signs With The Cardinals

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Pittsburgh West grew by one yesterday. Larry Foote has signed a one year deal with the Arizona Cardinals according to the National Football Post. Foote confirmed the news via his Twitter account.
https://twitter.com/LarryFoote313/status/463837544296091648

The veteran linebacker was a cap casualty two months ago, as the team made a series of roster moves to get within compliance. Cutting Foote saved the team $1,166,666 in 2014 cap space and created a dead money charge of $666,667. Foote, who will be 34 in June, spent 11 seasons with the Steelers. In his 11 years with the Steelers, he recorded 21 sacks and 411 tackles.

The contract details of his deal with the Cardinals aren’t available, but I can’t imagine it’s for anything more than the veteran minimum. If there’s a signing bonus, it wouldn’t be more than $65,000.

Ryan Clark

Antonio Brown And Ryan Clark: An Off-Season Drama

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Antonio Brown didn’t like what Ryan Clark has said about the team in recent months, and Ryan Clark didn’t like that Antonio Brown didn’t like it. In an interview with Tribune reporter Alan Robinson, the Steelers wide receiver shared some of his thoughts on Clark’s recent musings in the media.

“When you see things like that, it shows you how guys feel when they’re not part of the team anymore,” Brown said regarding some of Clark’s comments. “It’s a form of bitterness or taking a shot at the team because you’re not there anymore.” Brown went on to say that comments like Clark’s show a lack of recent camaraderie that the team needs to improve on. Mainly, Brown is referring to Clark’s openness about his teammates using marijuana.

“When you see people taking shots who were on the same team and wearing the same jerseys, that’s a sign of not having that team camaraderie. That’s something we need to get back, something we haven’t had for the past two years.” Brown went on to say that Clark’s behavior likely stems from his affiliation with ESPN. “He’s getting into his career as a reporter and trying to get those things in the works,” Brown told the Trib. “I don’t think he meant any harm taking those shots to players as individuals, I just think he was trying to make pointers and make himself sound smart on ESPN.”

Well, it didn’t take long for Ryan Clark to respond to Brown’s statements. Shortly after the article was published, and the somewhat sensational headline grew legs on social media channels, Clark took to Twitter to share his opinion.

 

At first, Clark doesn’t seem bothered by Brown’s feelings, but in the span of a few minutes, his tone changes rather drastically. Clark isn’t new to sharing his candid feelings on Twitter. The former Steelers safety recently returned to Twitter after deleting his account last year, due to his sometimes blunt opinions not sitting well with certain fans.

After spending a couple months on the free agent market, Clark signed a one year deal with the Washington Redskins last month. Before signing with the Redskins, many people speculated that he was not going to return to playing football, but rather take on a full time analyst gig.

What do you think? Is Antonio Brown right? Are Clark’s opinions due to bitterness, or are they just said in effort to get attention on ESPN?

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Titans Sign Former Steelers G/C Eric Olsen

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The Tennessee Titans have signed former Steelers C/G Eric Olsen to a one year deal according to The Tennessean.


Olsen was the Steelers only exclusive rights free agent. They did not offer him a tender. Olsen was signed by the team last November, after being released by the Saints in September. The offensive lineman was originally drafted by the Broncos in the 6th round of the 2010 draft.

Ryan Clark Had A Visit With The Seahawks

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The National Football Post reports that Ryan Clark had a visit with the Seattle Seahawks. Clark confirmed the news on his Twitter account.


Clark met with the Panthers, and was said to be in negotiations with the Redskins a couple weeks ago, but a deal never materialized. Other teams, including the Ravens and Jets, were rumored to be interested.

The Seahawks wouldn’t be interested in Clark as a starter, and he has said in the past that he wouldn’t return to Pittsburgh in that role. Perhaps the stalemate of free agency is changing his priorities a bit.

James Harrison Steelers

James Harrison Wants To Return To The Steelers

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James Harrison was on Total Access last night on the NFL Network as part of the Steelers Dyansty week features. Ike Taylor was also a guest on the show, and had his share of questions for the former Steelers linebacker.

Harrison was released by the Bengals last week. Last night, he was asked where he wanted to play now that he was a free agent. His reply? “Pittsburgh. Everybody knows that.” With the lack of depth at OLB, and the potential need of veteran leadership, Deebo’s return could make sense. He would have to be comfortable with a low, one year contract and knowing he’d be a backup of course. Before you dismiss the idea, ask yourself who’s better on the market right now that the team can afford?

During the interview, Taylor and Harrison revisit the famous interception return during Super Bowl XLIII as well other topics. It’s enjoyable, and I recommend watching it if you haven’t seen it.

James Harrison Interview

[Audio] LaMarr Woodley Signs With The Oakland Raiders

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LaMarr Woodley, who was released by the Steelers on Tuesday, has signed with the Oakland Raiders today. The deal is for 2 years, and totaled $12 Mil. The Raiders also signed former Giants pass rusher Justin Tuck today. While the Raiders are a 4-3 defense, I think Woodley will actually be pretty successful there.

On SiriusXM NFL tonight, Woodley spoke about signing with the Raiders. In the interview, he said that he thinks moving to a 4-3 will be easier for him. “They’ll use me to get after the quarterback…I think it’s a little bit harder standing up”, said Woodley. He went on to say that he thinks it’s easier to get after the quarterback with your hand in the dirt.

When asked about what he’d do to stay on the field more, he said he needs to get his small muscles stronger. By that, he’s referring to how to avoid calf strains or hamstring pulls. About injuries and being released, he said, “It was out of my control, but I put myself in that position by being hurt…that led to my release in Pittsburgh”

Lastly, and probably most interestingly to Steelers fans, Woodley talked about being released, and mentioned that the Steelers were going to ask him to take a pay cut if Worilds was signed by another team.

“They said if they signed Jason Worilds back, they were going to let me go, if they didn’t sign him back, they were going to ask me to take a pay cut.

Even when they put the transition tag on him, I hadn’t heard anything from anybody, and I found out that Monday that I was going to be let go.”

You can listen to the majority of that interview below. Thanks for stopping by and be sure to share with your friends.

[soundcloud]https://soundcloud.com/siriusxmsports/new-raiders-de-lamarr-woodley[/soundcloud]

Contract Details For Al Woods

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Al Woods signed with the Tennessee Titans last night. I have the contract details for you now, and I can say that he likely signed that contract as soon as the paper hit the table. The deal totaled $5 Mil, including a $1 Mil guaranteed signing bonus.

His first year salary is $900,000, and his second year salary is $2.1 million. The deal also includes up to $500,000 per year in incentives. While I like Woods as a versatile backup/role player, this is a lot for him. While many people are critical of the Steelers free agent moves, it’s easy to see that they are being smart with their own free agents so far.

Thanks for stopping by and be sure to share with your friends.

Ziggy Hood’s Contract Details

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Now that the dust has settled, I can provide you with the details of Ziggy Hood’s contract with the Jacksonville Jaguars. Before I do, I can tell you that there’s no way that the Steelers would place that kind of value on him, which would be why it appears that they just ‘let him go’.

His contract is a 4 year deal, totaling $16 Mil. $5.5 Mil is fully guaranteed. There is a $2 Mil roster bonus due in 2014- $2 Mil of his 2014 salary is fully guaranteed.

Looking at the other contracts the Jaguars are issuing, it appears that they are on a spending spree. There is just no way the Steelers would give Hood this kind of deal.