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Pittsburgh Steelers News & Rumors

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 10/3/16

October 3rd, 2016 at 6:23pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Today’s practice squad moves:

Arizona Cardinals

  • Signed: LB Nordly Capi (Twitter link via Darren Urban of AZCardinals.com)

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

Philadelphia Eagles

Pittsburgh Steelers

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

  • Cut: QB Jake Heaps (Twitter link via Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times)

Tennessee Titans

Washington Redskins

Steelers Activate Le’Veon Bell

September 29th, 2016 at 3:31pm CST by Zachary Links

As expected, the Steelers have activated running back Le’Veon Bell to the 53-man roster (Twitter link via Ian Rapoport of NFL.com). In a corresponding move, running back Daryl Richardson has been released, as Mark Kaboly of DKPittsburghSports.com tweets. Le'Veon Bell (vertical)

The Steelers got a roster exemption for Bell this week, giving them until this afternoon. Bell, of course, was suspended for violating the league’s substance abuse policy. Typically, that would carry a four-game ban, but Bell had the suspension bumped down to three games upon appeal. In his stead, veteran DeAngelo Williams has been exceptional running for more than 250 yards and two touchdowns on 66 carries with 14 receptions.

As good as Williams has been, the Steelers are obviously excited to have Bell back in the lineup. In Bell’s six game campaign last year, he averaged a career-best 4.9 yards per carry with 24 catches for 136 yards. With both Bell and Williams incorporated in the offense, the Steelers will look to get back on track when they face the Chiefs on Sunday night.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 9/27/16

September 27th, 2016 at 5:26pm CST by Zachary Links

Today’s practice squad moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Buffalo Bills

  • Signed: WR Ed Eagan, C Terran Vaughn
  • Cut: LB Carlos Fields, S Damian Parms

Green Bay Packers

  • Cut: CB Robertson Daniel (Twitter link via Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com)

Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars

Kansas City Chiefs

Los Angeles Rams

  • Signed: LB Lynden Trail (Twitter link via Alden Gonzalez of ESPN.com)

New England Patriots

  • Signed: WR Da’Ron Brown (Twitter link via Mike Reiss of ESPN.com)

New York Giants

New York Jets

Oakland Raiders

  • Signed: DL Demetrius Cherry (Twitter link via Vic Tafur of the San Francisco Chronicle)
  • Cut: LB Korey Toomer (Twitter link via Tafur)

Seattle Seahawks

  • Signed: RB Zac Brooks (Twitter link via ESPN.com’s Sheil Kapadia)
  • Cut: WR Antwan Goodley (Twitter link via Bob Condotta of The Seattle Times)

Philadelphia Eagles

  • Signed: G Darrell Greene
  • Cut: CB JaCorey Shepherd (Twitter link via Adam Caplan of ESPN.com)

Pittsburgh Steelers

  • Signed: DB Jacob Hagen (Twitter link via Aaron Wilson of The Houston Chronicle)

Tennessee Titans

Washington Redskins

NFL Waiver Priority Now Based On 2016 Record

September 27th, 2016 at 2:15pm CST by Zachary Links

We’re coming up on Week 4 of the NFL season and that means that waiver claim priority will be based on the current league standings instead of last year’s. Of course, waiver priority is based on the inverted NFL standings, which have built in tiebreakers to sort out the many logjams that naturally occur.

Throughout the offseason and the first three weeks of the regular season, the Titans enjoyed top priority thanks to their 3-13 finish last year. Now, we have a brand new pecking order. Here is a full rundown of the current waiver claim priority, which will change from week to week:

1. Jaguars
2. Saints
3. Bears
4. Browns
5. Chargers
6. Lions
7. Jets
8. Cardinals
9. Bills
10. Colts
11. Dolphins
12. 49ers
13. Buccaneers
14. Bengals
15. Titans
16. Redskins
17. Panthers
18. Falcons
19. Cowboys
20. Giants
21. Raiders
22. Packers
23. Chiefs
24. Rams
25. Seahawks
26. Texans
27. Steelers
28. Ravens
29. Eagles
30. Broncos
31. Vikings
32. Patriots

Steelers Receive Exemption For Le’Veon Bell

September 26th, 2016 at 1:49pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The Steelers have received a roster exemption for running back Le’Veon Bell as he makes his return from a three-game suspension, tweets team PR man Burt Lauten. Pittsburgh will need to clear a roster spot for Bell by 3pm CT Thursday.Le'Veon Bell (Vertical)

[RELATED: No Extension For Lawrence Timmons]

Veteran DeAngelo Williams has been the Steelers’ workhorse in the absence of Bell, as he’s rushed for more than 250 yards and two touchdowns on 66 attempts while adding 14 receptions through the air. If Pittsburgh takes the same approach as last year — when Bell returned following a two-game ban — Williams is unlikely to see much action in the coming weeks. From Week 3 to Week 7 of 2015, Williams averaged only three carries per game, letting Bell handle the workload until the latter suffered a season-ending injury in Week 8.

If the Steelers simply want to cut a fellow running back to create a roster spot, they seemingly have two options — Fitzgerald Toussaint and Daryl Richardson. Neither has been a factor on offense (they have six carries combined), but Toussaint has been with the club since 2015 and plays a large role on special teams, which could give him the edge.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Eli Rogers Set For Expanded Role In Offense

September 18th, 2016 at 11:17am CST by Rory Parks
  • Steelers wideout Eli Rogers, a former UDFA out of Louisville, seemingly came out of nowhere to post six catches for 59 yards and a score in his debut against Washington last week. Rogers spent all of 2015, his rookie season, on IR, but he has earned the trust of coaches and teammates and is set for an expanded role with the team, as Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports writes. Pittsburgh OC Todd Haley is an especially big fan of Rogers, and one member of the organization said Rogers has “kind of been [Haley’s] pet project for a while now and I give him a lot of credit. He’s worked very closely with him and brought him along, and he really thinks he can be an impact guy.” Rogers could be the latest in a long line of receivers not drafted in the early rounds that become an integral part of the Steelers’ offense.

PFR’s Impact Rookies Series

September 15th, 2016 at 1:49pm CST by Zachary Links

All summer long, longtime scouting consultant Dave-Te Thomas of The NFL Draft Report has been breaking down the draft class of every team in the league and identifying the players that can immediately make a difference. The Impact Rookies series, which wrapped up today with a look at the Seahawks, provides unique insight to this year’s NFL freshman class from a veteran guru who worked closely with several teams around the league leading up to the draft.

Here is the full rundown of the Impact Rookies series:

AFC East

AFC North

AFC South

AFC West

NFC East

NFC North

NFC South

NFC West 

No Extension For Steelers’ Lawrence Timmons

September 12th, 2016 at 2:19pm CST by Zachary Links

Linebacker Lawrence Timmons and the Steelers are not expected to get an extension done before kickoff tonight, a source tells ESPN.com’s Jeremy Fowler (Twitter link). Per team policy, the Steelers shut down all negotiations with their players once the season starts, so Timmons will play out his walk year. Lawrence Timmons (vertical)

Timmons inked a $48MM contract with Pittsburgh in 2011 and he has restructured that deal three times since then. By moving those numbers around, the Steelers wound up with a $15.1MM cap hit for the linebacker this season. Timmons certainly had leverage for extension talks heading into this season, but the Steelers did not blink. Now, the 2007 first rounder could wind up wearing something other than a Steelers jersey for the first time in his NFL career.

Over the last nine seasons, Timmons has tallied 33 sacks including five last season. He also led the team with 119 tackles. Despite his age, Timmons could score a decent payday next spring if he has a strong showing in 2016.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

DeCastro Would Have Considered Other Options

September 11th, 2016 at 7:51pm CST by Sam Robinson
  • Signed to a five-year, $50MM deal earlier this week, Steelers All-Pro guard David DeCastro called the commitment “a weight off his shoulders,” according to Ralph Paulk of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. The fifth-year guard who was previously entering a contract year also said he would have considered other options had the Steelers and his camp not come together on the extension. “I tried not to think about it early on, but I was really hoping I could stay here,” he said. “Obviously, when we were getting close, it was harder to push back. Now we can move forward and worry about what’s important.”
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