Category Archives: Steelers News

greg warren

Greg Warren Says He’s Cleared To Return Week 1

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After the game tonight, LS Greg Warren told Steelers Nation Radio producer Adam Crowley that he has been cleared to return week one for the home opener against the Cleveland Browns.

https://twitter.com/adamcrowleySNR/status/505182328965332992

https://twitter.com/adamcrowleySNR/status/505187804700499968

This is great news obviously. Warren suffered a meniscus tear during the last week of training camp. When Tomlin made the announcement, he said Warren’s projected recovery was approximately four weeks, so this would put him ahead of schedule. The Steelers were never going to carry two long snappers on the roster to start the season, but this certainly makes decision making a lot easier on September 7th.

jordan-zumwalt-steelers

Jordan Zumwalt And Shaq Richardson Not Playing Tonight

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The Steelers are just about to kickoff against the Carolina Panthers at Heinz Field. Draft picks Jordan Zumwalt and Shaq Richardson will not be playing tonight. Zumwalt (groin) and Richardson (knee) have hardly played during preseason, and the Steelers may likely not want to give other teams more film on the two if they hope to stash them on the practice squad next week.

Cortez Allen and Cody Wallace are also out. Both have finger injuries. With Wallace out, expect Wes Johnson to get lots of snaps at center tonight.

Alejandro Villanueva

Report: Steelers Hosted Army Ranger Alejandro Villanueva For Workout

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The Steelers had Army Ranger and former Eagles DE Alejandro Villanueva in for a workout today according to ESPN. Villanueva was waived by the Eagles on Saturday during their first round of cuts. The 6’9, 290 lb defensive end saw limited playing time against the Steelers on Thursday, but recorded two tackles.

Villanueva is pretty easy to root for. He performed at the regional and super regional combines this spring before getting signed by the Eagles and competing for a roster spot this summer. Having played defensive end, offensive tackle, and wide receiver at West Point, the Eagles saw the 25 year old best suited for defensive end. Villanueva has served 3 tours in Afghanistan, received the  Bronze Star Medal for Valor, and was promoted to captain this year.

If he doesn’t catch on with a team, he says he’ll return to serving his country. “The four years I’ve had in the Army have been the best four years you could ask for,” he said via NFL.com. “The guys I served with … above me and under me … were phenomenal guys. They were good experiences that made me the man I am today. But now, I see this as a win-win situation. Obviously, I’m trying to get to a team and contribute. But if I can’t, then I can’t wait to get back to the Army and serve in the same manner that I have.”

Steelers Preseason

Steelers Trim Roster Down To 75

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The Steelers have made the remainder of the necessary cuts to get the roster down to 75. After waiving 9 this morning, the team needed to waive another 6 by 4:00 this afternoon to get in compliance. Here are the cuts-

OL Chris Elkins, RB Tauren Poole, LS Luke Ingram, OL Emmanuel McCray, DE Brian Arnfelt, and NT Hebron Fangupo.

Not really any huge surprises there, though I didn’t expect Tauren Poole to be cut today. The others were just a coin toss between today and Saturday. The team has until 4:00 pm on Saturday to get down to the final 53 man roster.

Steelers news

Steelers Waive 9 On Way To Cutting To 75

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The Steelers announce the first of their roster cuts this morning as they work their way towards trimming down to 75. All teams have until 4:00 pm today to reduce their rosters to 75 players. Here is the list of the preliminary cuts.

RB Miguel Maysonet
RB Jordan Hall
WR CJ Goodwin
WR Kashif Moore
TE Eric Waters
S Jordan Dangerfield
CB Devin Smith
CB Lew Toler
LB Vic So’oto

The only real surprise here is Vic So’oto. Hopefully he’s still available when the team builds their 10 man practice squad next week. Currently the Steelers are carrying 81 men on their roster. The remaining 6 cuts will be announced later today.

Steelers 53 Man Roster

Predicting The Steelers 53 Man Roster

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The Steelers have until 4:00 pm on August 30th to trim their roster down to the final 53. Here is my final roster prediction.

Quarterbacks (3)

Ben Roethlisberger
Bruce Gradkowski
Landry Jones

I could see the team waiving Jones and signing him to the practice squad, but I don’t think they will.

Running Backs (4)

Le’Veon Bell
LeGarrette Blount
Will Johnson
Dri Archer

No real surprises here. I don’t see the team disciplining either of the 2 LB RBs, so I don’t think they keep another back, especially since none of them has shown enough to warrant the spot. I expect Tauren Poole to be added to the practice squad, and the position can easily be addressed in free agency if the need arises.

Tight Ends (3)

Heath Miller
Matt Spaeth
Michael Palmer

This could go either way, but I think the team throws in the towel on the David Paulson project.

Wide Receiver (6)

Antonio Brown
Markus Wheaton
Lance Moore
Darrius Heyward-Bey
Martavis Bryant
Justin Brown

There’s some room for error here as Justin Brown is a coin toss, Martavis Bryant has been pretty disappointing in preseason, and DHB hasn’t shown a whole lot aside from hauling in a deep touchdown pass from Ben Roethlisberger against the Eagles. Plays like that were exactly what the Steelers were envisioning when they signed him. Bryant isn’t going to the practice squad, but Justin Brown very well could. Notable cut- Derek Moye.

Offensive Line (8)

Maurkice Pouncey
Kelvin Beachum
Ramon Foster
David DeCastro
Marcus Gilbert
Mike Adams
Cody Wallace
Wesley Johnson

Earlier in the year, I didn’t see Johnson making the roster, but I think the Vanderbilt stand out has shown enough to earn him a spot on the final 53.  If the team goes 9 here, Guy Whimper will be on the list. I see Chris Hubbard landing on the practice squad.

Defensive Line (7)

Cameron Heyward
Steve McLendon
Brett Keisel
Cam Thomas
Stephon Tuitt
Daniel McCullers
Josh Mauro

I think Mauro has shown enough to earn that last spot on the defensive line. While I don’t think McCullers is a roster lock by any means, his upside is greater than that of his peers. Notable cut- Hebron Fangupo.

Linebackers (9)

Jarvis Jones
Ryan Shazier
Lawrence Timmons
Jason Worilds
Arthur Moats
Terence Garvin
Vince Williams
Sean Spence
Vic So’oto

This is probably where I’ll find the most disagreement, but I think Vic So’oto’s play has earned him the last linebacker’s spot. You can’t make the club from the tub, and Jordan Zumwalt has been “in the tub” throughout summer. The team could decide not to move on from Chris Carter, but they should.

Cornerbacks (5)

Ike Taylor
Cortez Allen
William Gay
Antwon Blake
Brice McCain

This one’s pretty easy, though the team would be wise to try to upgrade here via the waiver wire/free agency. Shaq Richardson should have a spot on the practice squad.

Safeties (5)

Troy Polamalu
Mike Mitchell
Will Allen
Shamarko Thomas
Robert Golden

No surprises here.

Specialists (3)

Shaun Suisham
Brad Wing
Greg Warren

Unless Brad Wing is a surgeon in the preseason finale I can’t see him holding his roster spot. Like Drew Butler last year, I see Wing making it past the last round of cuts, only to lose the job shortly after when the team finds an upgrade. The team won’t need to carry 2 long snappers as some had once thought, and with Warren’s recovery time projection, the team could have Luke Ingram or Bryce Davis fill in briefly until he’s 100%.

Cam Newton Steelers

Cam Newton Has Rib Fracture, Won’t Play Against Steelers

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After the Panthers lost to the Patriots Friday night, Panthers head coach Ron Rivera told the media that he intended to play his starters against the Steelers on Thursday.

“To me it is very evident we’ve got to get (the starters) out there. We’ve got to get our quarterback out there on the field, and he’s got to get some timing with those guys,” Rivera said via the Charlotte Observer. “He missed a couple throws, we had some guys that were open he overthrew, and we’ve just got to continue to work with him. The more snaps he gets, the better.”

Regardless of Rivera’s plan, Newton won’t be facing the Steelers on Thursday now, as it was determined that he has a hairline fracture in his rib.

https://twitter.com/Panthers/status/503644900920135681

With the poor showing by the Steelers first teamers against the Eagles, it wouldn’t necessarily be a bad idea to give them some additional reps during the preseason finale, though, if history is any indicator, the starters will be wearing shorts and t-shirts on the sidelines.

David Decastro contract

Breaking Down Marcus Gilbert’s Contract Extension

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The Steelers extended Marcus Gilbert on Tuesday. The deal increased his 2014 cap number by almost $1.37 Mil. Gilbert’s five year extension has a total value of $30 Mil, and includes a $7.65 Mil guaranteed signing bonus.

The deal also includes a $3.5 Mil roster bonus which Gilbert can earn if he’s on the roster the 5th day of the 2015 league year. Lastly, the contract includes the option for Gilbert to earn a $50K workout bonus each year.

Here’s a breakdown of his contract, where SB, RB, and WB are signing bonus, roster bonus and workout bonus respectively.

[table]
Year, Base Salary, SB,RB, WB, Salary Cap Number, Dead Money, Savings If Cut
2014, “$650,000”, “$1,741,802”, “$0”, “$0”, “$2,391,802”, “$7,861,802”, “-$5,470,000”
2015, “$1,900,000”, “$1,530,000”, “$3,500,000”, “$50,000”, “$6,980,000”, “$6,120,000”, “$860,000”
2016, “$3,950,000”, “$1,530,000”, “$0”, “$50,000”, “$5,530,000”, “$4,590,000”, “$940,000”
2017, “$4,000,000”, “$1,530,000”, “$0”, “$50,000”, “$5,580,000”, “$3,060,000”, “$2,520,000”
2018, “$4,050,000”, “$1,530,000”, “$0”, “$50,000”, “$5,630,000”, “$1,530,000”, “$4,100,000”
2019, “$4,865,103”, “$0”, “$0”, “$50,000”, “$4,915,103”, “$0”, “$4,915,103”
[/table]

Sean-Spence

Report: Sean Spence Will Not Require Surgery On His Knee

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As you likely know, Sean Spence suffered an injury to his right knee during Thursday night’s loss to the Eagles. After the game, Coach Tomlin described it as a PCL, but didn’t have any further information. According to Jerry Dulac of the Post Gazette, Spence sprained his PCL, and it will not require surgery.

https://twitter.com/gerrydulac/status/503272493248155649

As I mentioned the other night, most PCL injuries do not require surgery. Thankfully for Spence, this appears to be minor. Goodness knows the kid has overcome enough in his short NFL career. Hopefully he makes a quick recovery. Assuming it is a low grade sprain, his recovery time should be relatively short.