The Steelers have re-signed long time long snapper Greg Warren. The signing is for one year, and while the financial details are not yet available, I can tell you it will almost certainly be for the veteran minimum including a minimal signing bonus.
Warren is 33 years old and has been the Steelers “old reliable” long snapper for ten seasons now.
Brett Keisel and James Harrison were adorning suits this morning as they and several others were in attendance to watch former Steelers defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau receive the key to the city. The City Council declared that February will be known as Dick LeBeau Month.
https://twitter.com/ScottBrown_ESPN/status/562638389048918016
You can see a video of LeBeau being honored in this forum thread: LeBeau at City Council.
According to reporters in attendance this morning, LeBeau got poetic about some of the players he coached during his time in Pittsburgh, and said the numbers put up by the 2008 defense may never be surpassed.
https://twitter.com/ScottBrown_ESPN/status/562641930258223104
https://twitter.com/RyanRecker/status/562637747002028035
https://twitter.com/KDPomp/status/562638645270945792
LeBeau closed his speech with a nod to his many “Twas The Night Before Christmas” recitations.
https://twitter.com/RyanRecker/status/562641961338019840
Keisel spoke briefly about LeBeau saying, “I will forever be grateful for Coach LeBeau’s influence on my life and I love you.”
https://twitter.com/PghIP/status/562642988099448832
The Steelers waived WR Justin Brown on December 30th, after the last game of the season. The team made the move to make room for the signing of RB Ben Tate, who was signed as a security blanket due to Le’Veon Bell’s knee injury.
Since the Steelers waived Brown after the final regular season game, any waiver claims wouldn’t be known until after the Super Bowl. Now that the Brady Bowl is behind us, those claims are now public information. The Buffalo Bills successfully claimed Brown off waivers. The Steelers drafted Brown in the 6th round of the 2013 draft.
Brown caught 12 passes for 94 yards last season, and was inactive for the last 10 games.
WR Lance Moore is asking the Steelers to release him from his contract according to Adam Schefter.
https://twitter.com/AdamSchefter/status/562205466508668928
Moore was signed to a two year deal last March. The contract was worth $3 Mil, and included a $645,000 guaranteed signing bonus. If the team does release Moore, which is likely to happen, the move would clear $1.5 Mil in cap space, and will bring $322.5 K in dead money.
The Steelers barely used Moore in 2014. He started the season with groin issues, and the Steelers reportedly liked Justin Brown better early on. Moore saw 264 snaps on offense last year, across the 14 games he was active for.
It seems like more than just 2 seasons ago when Moore had a 1,000+ yard season. He finished the 2014 season with just 198 yards and 2 touchdowns. Last month Moore said, “I just want to play whether that’s here or somewhere else. I’d love to be here, I’d love to be a part of this offense but I think those are decisions that have to be made down the line.”
The Bus will finally arrive in Canton this summer. Former Steelers Running Back Jerome Bettis has been elected to the Pro Football Hall of Fame on his fifth attempt.
https://twitter.com/steelers/status/561686676821377024
https://twitter.com/JeromeBettis36/status/561684406566670336
Bettis was with the Steelers for 10 years, and finished his career after winning Super Bowl XL. His 13,662 yards rushing yards were the 6th most in NFL history. He was a bruiser on the field who would get the tough yards, but was surprisingly nimble footed for such a big back. Over his career, he had 8 1,000 yard seasons (5th most in NFL history) and 61 100+ yard games (also 5th most in NFL history). 50 of those games were with the Steelers.
Bettis will be inducted into the Hall of Fame on Saturday, August 8th.
[xyz-ihs snippet=”Bettisvid”]
The Steelers have signed former CFL linebacker Ian Wild to a Reserve/Futures contract.
https://twitter.com/wild_ian/status/561218583712526337
Wild was with the Winnipeg Blue Bombers for the past two years. The 6’0, 210 lbs LB was set to be a free agent, but the team released him from his contract early so that he could sign with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Wild was a UDFA out of Mercyhurst in 2012. He was signed by the Buffalo Bills, but was released shortly after. He played strong safety and lacrosse in college, but shined as a linebacker in the CFL. The Steelers will bring him in as a safety and perhaps utilize his long snapping abilities, as he has experience there as well.
Here are some of his highlights from college, the regional combine in 2013, and in the CFL.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rsGJ7lM2j8s
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h5gOhd1aKxE
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=enVjxAmi5WQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mjyA8qtqaY0
Le’Veon Bell was featured on NFL Network yesterday in an interview with Marshall Faulk. During the interview, Bell tells Faulk that his knee is close to 1oo%.
“85 to 90 percent,” said Bell. “I’m able to run on it a little bit.”
When asked about his productive season, Bell credited his workout program and weight loss to his success. Losing weight helped with explosion and quickness, as well as making cuts.
The star running back said it was an honor to be selected to the Pro Bowl, and it hurt not being able to play. Bell joked that it was like tag and even with his knee he could have played.
Bell says he picks the Patriots to win the Super Bowl. He likes Tom Brady, and says that LeGarrette Blount is “his guy”. You can watch the interview by following the link below.
The Pittsburgh Steelers have entered a partnership agreement with the fantasy sports operator DraftKings, according to Eric Fisher of The SportsBusiness Journal.
https://twitter.com/EricFisherSBJ/status/560104141692108801
The Steelers are the 3rd NFL team to partner with DraftKings. The New England Patriots were the first to do so last October, and the Denver Broncos followed suit in November.
What Does This Mean?
Well, assuming it’s similar to the arrangements DraftKings has with the other two teams, it means you’ll start seeing DraftKings fantasy football content on the Steelers website and social media accounts at some point. It also means that DraftKings fantasy football content will likely be displayed during the games in Heinz Field, as well as in other Steelers media properties.
Contrary to previous reports out of Arizona, it appears that Dick LeBeau will not be joining the Cardinals coaching staff. Kent Somers of ArizonaSports reported that the former Steelers defensive coordinator will not be going to Arizona.
https://twitter.com/kentsomers/status/559453448513806336
This afternoon, Gil Brandt of NFL.com says that Coach LeBeau is headed to Tennessee.
https://twitter.com/Gil_Brandt/status/559813525296537600
It’s unclear what role he’ll be assuming with the Titans, or if the move to Tennessee is definite. We’ll know more in the very near future.
The Steelers have signed P Brad Wing to a one year extension.
https://twitter.com/steelers/status/558731458085285888
Wing was an exclusive rights free agent. As such, the signing carries no risk for the team (no guaranteed money). Wing had an up and down season last year. While many of his stats are underwhelming, and there was that one play that we shall not speak of, he did have some bright moments. His booming 74 yard punt against the Bengals was the 3rd longest among NFL punters this year.
The team also signed some camp competition for the Aussie born punter. Former Ravens punter Richie Leone has been signed to a futures contract after having a workout with the Steelers earlier in the week. Leone, a former Ray Guy award winner, was signed by Baltimore last spring as an undrafted free agent, and was with the Ravens last summer in training camp.