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Pittsburgh Steelers News & Rumors

Steelers Notes: Weddle, Bell, DeCastro

June 14th, 2016 at 5:57pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

Safety Eric Weddle spurned other teams’ offers to sign a four-year, $26MM with the Ravens during the winter. One of the clubs that had interest in Weddle was the hated AFC North rival Steelers, and the three-time Pro Bowl defender revealed today that he and Ben Roethlisberger talked throughout the free agent process (via Jamison Hensley of ESPN.com). “Hopefully I get a lot of wins and interceptions against him,” said Weddle. “And maybe sprinkle in a few touchdowns.”

  • Steelers star running back Le’Veon Bell shot down a Twitter rumor that he failed a drug test, telling reporters, including Mark Kaboly of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, “I haven’t missed any drug tests, failed any drug tests. I am fine.” Bell, of course, sat out three regular-season games in 2015 for a violation of the NFL’s substance abuse policy. He also missed seven more contests because of a torn MCL. Bell passed along a positive update on his knee today, per Kaboly (Twitter links). Now entering a contract year, Bell – arguably the league’s premier RB – will try to bounce back from a tumultuous 2015.
  • Steelers guard David DeCastro says his reps have talked a “little bit” with the team about contract negotiations, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com writes. With one year left to go on his contract, DeCastro figures to be a priority for Pittsburgh to address, along with Bell.

Steelers Must Address DeCastro, Bell Contracts

June 14th, 2016 at 9:26am CST by Zachary Links
  • The Steelers have lots of offseason work ahead of them, as Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com writes. Several important players are scheduled to hit the open market after the 2016 season, including guard David DeCastro and running back Le’Veon Bell. Fowler sees the Steelers first focusing on DeCastro, then moving on to their marquee running back. When it comes to Bell, things could take a while to unfold as his knee issues could complicate talks. After those two, Pittsburgh can be expected to look into new deals for receiver Markus Wheaton and linebackers Jarvis Jones, Lawrence Timmons, James Harrison, and Arthur Moats.

Steelers Sign DT Javon Hargrave

June 10th, 2016 at 1:57pm CST by Zachary Links

The Steelers announced that they have signed third-round defensive tackle Javon Hargrave. Now that Hargrave is inked, the Steelers have successfully signed every player in their 2016 draft class. Javon Hargrave (vertical)

Hargrave, a product of FCS program South Carolina State, offers major strength with his 6’1″, 309 pound frame. While Hargrave did not face the best of the best in college, his dominating performances and strong showing at the combine ensured that he would be a third or fourth-round draft pick. In 2014, Hargrave tallied 16 sacks and followed it up with 13.5 sacks last year.

The Steelers’ draft class was headlined by first-round cornerback Artie Burns who signed earlier this week. When his name was called in April, the former University of Miami standout became the first corner selected by Pittsburgh in the first round since Chad Scott in 1997.

Here’s the complete rundown of the Steelers’ 2016 class:

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

Steelers Sign First-Round Pick Artie Burns

June 8th, 2016 at 6:46pm CST by Sam Robinson

6:46pm: Burns will receive a $5.2MM signing bonus to go along with his No. 25 slot-mandated $9.59MM deal over four years, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com reports.

4:36pm: The Steelers agreed to terms with their first-round pick, cornerback Artie Burns, and now have signed six of their seven 2016 selections to their rookie contracts, James Palmer of NFL.com reports.

Third-round defensive tackle Javon Hargrave remains unsigned, as do several third-rounders due to the complex nature of their negotiations.

As for Burns, he’ll be a participant in Pittsburgh’s mandatory minicamp set for June 14-16. The rookie corner will be tasked with contributing immediately to a secondary that resided as one of the few weak points on a talented team last season.

The Steelers don’t possess much experience beyond William Gay, although Ross Cockrell graded out well, according to Pro Football Focus last season. Pittsburgh has not elected to re-sign UFA Brandon Boykin and did not receive any contribution from 2015 rookie Senquez Golson after an injury sidelined him for the entire season.

An early-entry draftee from Miami, Burns led all ACC defenders with six interceptions last season. Burns also represents the first corner the franchise selected in the first round since Chad Scott in 1997.

Photo courtesy USA Today Sports Images.

Steelers Exchange Linebackers

June 8th, 2016 at 6:35pm CST by Zachary Links
  • The Steelers cut pass-rusher Kevin Anderson and signed linebacker Mike Reilly, Wilson tweets. Originally a UDFA with the Browns in 2015, Reilly didn’t make the roster out of training camp and signed a subsequent reserve/futures deal with the Cardinals at this year’s outset. However, the Cards released him in May after signing its new crop of UDFAs.

Shaun Suisham Still Unable To Kick

June 8th, 2016 at 10:52am CST by Zachary Links

Steelers kicker Shaun Suisham is supposed to be in a roster battle with Chris Boswell, but there might not be much of a fight if Suisham doesn’t get healthy soon, as Mark Kaboly of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review writes. Suisham says he has yet to recover from a torn ACL that he suffered last year and he has not attempted a kick since then. Now, Suisham isn’t sure if he will be ready for training camp at the end of July.

Suisham signed a four-year, $12.5MM extension in 2014, making him one of the top 10 highest-paid kickers in the NFL. The Steelers would save $2.4MM by releasing him. Boswell, meanwhile, makes the NFL minimum $525K.

Steelers Sign Paul Lang, Kevin Anderson; Waive Jay Rome, Tyriq McCord

June 7th, 2016 at 7:26pm CST by Zachary Links
  • The Steelers waived former University of Miami linebacker Tyriq McCord, Greg Auman of the Tampa Bay Times tweets. McCord initially joined Pittsburgh as an undrafted free agent. The Steelers also signed TE Paul Lang and LB Kevin Anderson while releasing tight end Jay Rome, reports Mark Kaboly of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review (Twitter link)

Minor NFL Transactions: 6/2/16

June 2nd, 2016 at 5:15pm CST by Zachary Links

Here are today’s minor moves.

  • The Steelers have signed fourth-round offensive tackle Jerald Hawkins, as Teresa Varley of Steelers.com writes. Hawkins offers experience at both left and right tackle but he’s expected to play on the left side for Pittsburgh. “He can come in here and help right away by competing and pushing the guys and making them better,” said offensive line coach Mike Munchak. “It just makes the group better when you can bring in a good athlete and a good player that has the ability to compete and help us become better. “We feel this guy can come in and learn from the guys we have, push the guys that we have and now it’s just a matter of how quickly we feel he can contribute.”
  • The Cardinals signed wide receiver Marquis Bundy, safety Tyrequek Zimmerman, and guard Jake Bernstein to return to the 90-man roster limit, Kyle Odegard of AZCardinals.com tweets.
  • The Chargers have agreed to sign guard/tackle Brett Boyko, according to Adam Caplan of ESPN.com (via Twitter).
  • To make room, the Chargers waived offensive lineman Zeth Ramsay, as Eric Williams of ESPN.com tweets. The Bolts now have 17 offensive linemen on their 90-man roster.
  • The Lions announced that they have signed UDFA kicker Devon Bell and waived punter Kyle Christy. Bell, a Mississippi State product, played in all 13 games last year and averaged 62.1 yards per kickoff, while also punting nine times for 370 yards (41.1 avg).
  • The Jaguars have signed guard Patrick Omameh and released offensive lineman Patrick Miller, as Michael DiRocco of ESPN.com tweets. Omameh has played in 30 games over the course of his NFL career.
  • The Redskins signed UDFA wide receiver Jarvis Turner, Master Tesfatsion of The Washington Post tweets.
  • The Seahawks signed fullback Kyle Coleman, as Wilson tweets. A rookie with tight end experience who played at Arkansas State and Arkansas-Pine Bluff, Coleman will possibly audition at multiple spots in Seattle, Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times writes.
  • The Jets announced that they’ve signed guard Mike Liedtke, while adding that they’ve cleared a roster spot by waiving tackle Luke Marquardt.

2016 Could Be Lawrence Timmons' Final Season With Steelers

May 30th, 2016 at 8:41pm CST by Dallas Robinson

At more than $15MM, Lawrence Timmons‘ 2016 cap charge is the second-largest on the Steelers, yet the club hasn’t sought to extend the veteran linebacker (thus lowering that cap hit), as Mark Kaboly of the Pittsburgh Tribune writes. The Steelers have restructured quite a few contracts in recent years as more cap space was needed, but it seems like the team is trying to stave off such moves for the time being. As such, Timmons could be on his way to unrestricted free agency in March, and the 30-year-old needs to produce better results in his platform year — he graded among the 10 worst linebackers in the league last season, according to Pro Football Focus.

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