Marcus Gilbert Has Hyperextended Elbow
- An MRI has revealed that Steelers right tackle Marcus Gilbert is dealing with a “significant” hyperextended elbow, writes Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com. Gilbert, however, vowed that he won’t miss any action, telling Fowler that he’ll play in the regular season opener “no matter what.” Just last week, the 28-year-old offensive lineman agreed to restructure his contract and give Pittsburgh some financial breathing room.
Steelers Trim Roster To 79
The Steelers have placed rookie OT Jerald Hawkins on the reserved/injured list and have waived/injured quarterback Dustin Vaughan, as Ray Fittipaldo of The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports. Per Fittipaldo, the club has also cut the following players:
- LB Jordan Zumwalt
- LB Mike Reilly
- WR Levi Norwood
- WR Isaac Blakeney
- TE Michael Cooper
- DE Giorgio Newberry
- DT K.K. Mosley-Smith
- CB Julian Whigham
Zumwalt, the Steelers‘ sixth-round pick in 2014, spent the 2014 and 2015 seasons on injured reserve with a hip injury, and the hip surgery that ended his 2015 campaign before it started took over five hours to complete and included a brutal recovery/rehabilitation period. Zumwalt had been working exclusively at inside linebacker in offseason workouts, but he did not do enough to survive the first round of cuts.
The Steelers now have79 players on their roster and must get down to 75 by Tuesday at 4pm.
Steelers Notes: Brown, Williams
Agent Drew Rosenhaus, in New Orleans as the Steelers prepared for tonight’s preseason game against the Saints, discussed wide receiver Antonio Brown‘s contract with Pittsburgh general manager Kevin Colbert, tweets Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Brown, who has two years left on his deal, has been requesting a new contract for some time, but the Steelers have been insistent that they won’t negotiate right now. Universally considered an elite pass-catcher, Brown is ranked 18th among wide receivers in terms of average annual compensation ($8.4MM/year).
- Linebacker Vince Williams‘ new deal with the Steelers calls for him to earn $5MM in new money over the three-year span, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com tweets. His 2016 salary of $675K remains the same but he also gets a $1.5MM signing bonus with a $2MM salary in 2017 and 2018.
Latest On Harrison, Matthews, Peppers
This week, the NFL interviewed Packers linebackers Clay Matthews and Julius Peppers and Steelers linebacker James Harrison with regards to the allegations raised in the infamous Al Jazeera documentary. During those interviews, the league did not raise any new evidence or allegations, a source close to the situation tells Dan Graziano of ESPN.com. 
After weeks of will they/won’t they talk, the three players consented to interviews with the league office under threat of suspension. Peyton Manning was the first player of the bunch to agree to an interview and free agent Mike Neal stands as the last straggler.
If the league has no further proof of anything tying these players to the Guyer Institute, then a statement clearing all three of them could be forthcoming.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Steelers’ Marcus Gilbert Restructures Deal
Steelers right tackle Marcus Gilbert has restructured his contract to help give the team additional cap room. Gilbert’s salary for 2016 will dip from $3.95MM to $760K, as ESPN.com’s Jeremy Fowler tweets. Gilbert will likely get the leftover money in an alternate form, such as a signing bonus conversion. 
Gilbert’s concession actually marks the second time he has restructured his deal to help the team. Gilbert agreed to adjust his deal in February of 2015 shortly after inking his five-year, $30MM contract extension in August of 2014.
Last year, Gilbert was ranked as the 28th best offensive tackle in the NFL out of 77 qualified players, according to the advanced metrics at Pro Football Focus. The 6’6″, 329 pound lineman started in all 16 regular season games for Pittsburgh.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Steelers To Pass On Keenan Lewis?
On Wednesday, Keenan Lewis visited the Steelers and even took a tour through their locker room. Still, it doesn’t sound like we should expect Pittsburgh to sign the veteran cornerback. The Steelers did not like what they saw with regards to Lewis’ hip, Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette tweets. Lewis’ troublesome hip limited him to just six games in 2015. 
[RELATED: NFL To Interview James Harrison Today]
This week, a former teammate told one reporter that Lewis is still recovering from his hip injury and needs another six weeks before he can play football again. Apparently, Steelers coaches and medical personnel arrived at the same conclusion.
While the Steelers apparently have some reservations about inking Lewis, other clubs may be willing to sign him and give him the necessary time to get back to full health. In addition to the Steelers, the Lions, Jets, Cardinals, and an unidentified NFC South team have expressed interest in Lewis.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Keenan Lewis Still Injured?
Cornerback Keenan Lewis is drawing interest from several teams, but he might not be ready to help any of them in the first month of the season. A former teammate of the free agent claims that Lewis says he is still hurt and needs another six weeks to recover, Chris Adamski of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review tweets. 
Lewis is currently in the midst of his Steelers visit and walked through the Pittsburgh locker room on Wednesday morning. In July, the veteran insisted that he would be ready for the season opener. At this point, that seems to be in question and former coach Sean Payton implied that Lewis’ health was a main factor in his release.
“He’s 52 weeks post-surgery…Just availability, ultimately. We wish him well,” Payton said. “I think ultimately, it was just trying to get him on the field. It’s just been, it seems like, a long time.”
So far, we know that the Steelers, Lions, Jets, Cardinals and an unidentified NFC South team have expressed interest in Lewis. It remains to be seen what kind of deal Lewis can fetch if he is out until early/mid-October.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Williams Extension Could Affect Lawrence Timmons
- The Steelers extended linebacker Vince Williams through 2018 earlier today, and that deal could have an impact on veteran defender Lawrence Timmons, according to Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com. Timmons, 30, is entering the final season of his current contract, and recent reports have indicated that he isn’t close to a long-term extension with Pittsburgh. If the two sides can’t hammer anything out before next spring, the Steelers now have a ready-made replacement in the form of Williams.
- As part of its PED investigation, the NFL will interview Steelers linebacker James Harrison on Thursday, not Tuesday the 30th as originally reported.
NFL To Interview James Harrison On Thursday
While a prior report indicated the NFL would meet with Steelers linebacker James Harrison next Tuesday regarding recent PED allegations, the league will instead come to Pittsburgh this Thursday, according to Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. the NFL had always wanted to talk this week — and in fact set a August 25 deadline — but Harrison wanted to speak next week, per Tom Pelissero of USA Today (Twitter links).
Last week, the NFL stated that the four players involved in the PED scandal — Harrsion, Clay Matthews, Julius Peppers, and Mike Neal — would be required to submit to interviews by Thursday or face suspension. The NFL received written statements from the four players in question at the end of last month, and the NFLPA is of the opinion that those affadavits qualify as “cooperation.” The league disagrees, and is still requiring the individuals to partake in in-person interviews.
Harrison, for his part, has said he never denied any interview, but claimed he’d like for the meeting to be televised (and also referred to commissioner Roger Goodell as a “crook”). He, Matthews, and Peppers agreed to sit-downs, but Neal was of a different mind, at least originally. One report indicated that Neal had no intention of meeting with the NFL given that he’s considering retirement, but that notion was quickly disputed, and Neal will interview with the league.
Matthews and Peppers will meet with NFL officials in Green Bay tomorrow, while Neal is scheduled to sit down with the league in Chicago on Thursday.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Steelers Extend LB Vince Williams
The Steelers announced that they’ve reached a three-year extension with linebacker Vince Williams. The new deal will begin this season, meaning Williams is now locked up through the 2018 campaign.
[RELATED: CB Keenan Lewis to visit Steelers]
Williams, 26, started 11 games during his rookie season in 2013, but has since been relegated to a backup role — he’s appeared in all 32 contests over the past two years, but has started only two games during that time. Given the presence of Ryan Shazier and Lawrence Timmons at inside ‘backer, Williams doesn’t figure to see much action with Pittsburgh during the upcoming season, but that’s not to say he isn’t a valuable commodity.
Though he played only 192 defensive snaps in 2015, Willams saw time on 300 special teams plays, meaning he was on the field for more than two-thirds of the Steelers’ ST snaps. The former Florida State Seminole picked up 25 tackles a year ago, adding a half-sack and two fumble recoveries for good measure. And, as Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com tweets, Williams might boast the league’s best bio picture on NFL.com.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.