Steelers Make Practice Squad Moves
Pittsburgh Steelers
Eli Rogers Set For Expanded Role In Offense
- 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
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
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. 
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
- 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.”
Steelers, David DeCastro Agree To Extension
5:09pm: DeCastro’s deal includes a $16MM signing bonus, tweets CBS Sports’ Jason La Canfora.
4:33pm: The Steelers and guard David DeCastro have agreed to a contract extension, reports Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (Twitter link). It’s a five-year, $50MM deal, according to Dan Graziano of ESPN, meaning DeCastro will be under Steelers control through the 2021 campaign. DeCastro now joins the Raiders’ Kelechi Osemele and the Bears’ Kyle Long as the only guards in the league with pacts that average $10MM or more per season.
Before receiving his massive contract, DeCastro established himself as one of the core pieces of the Steelers’ offensive line during his first four NFL seasons. DeCastro, a first-round pick in 2012, has ranked among Pro Football Focus’ 20 best guards in each of the previous three years, during which he started all but one game. He’s also coming off a year in which he earned Pro Bowl and All-Pro selections for the first time.
The ex-Stanford Cardinal is slated to be on the Steelers’ books this year for $8.07MM. That’s the cost of the fifth-year option that was included in the 24th overall pick’s rookie deal. His new accord will kick in next season.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Steelers To Sign David DeCastro To Extension
The Steelers and guard David DeCastro are close to a contract extension, a source tells ESPN.com’s Dan Graziano (Twitter link).
DeCastro, 26, has established himself as one of the core pieces of the Steelers’ offensive line since the team used a first-round pick on him in 2012. Starting in all but one game over the the last three seasons, he’s coming off a year in which he earned Pro Bowl and All-Pro selections for the first time. DeCastro was slated to be on the Steelers’ books this season for $8.07MM before being out of contract but the team wanted to make sure he was locked in for longer.
Pro Football Focus has graded DeCastro as one of the league’s 20 best guards in each of the last three years. PFF graded DeCastro as the league’s 14th-best guard in 2013, 18th in 2014, and 15th at his position last year with roughly equal grades for his pass blocking and run blocking.
Graziano notes that DeCastro’s agent, Tom Condon, also represents Drew Brees, who just signed an extension with the Saints. Last year, Condon clients Eli Manning, Luke Kuechly, and Anthony Castonzo all signed extensions just before the start of the season.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Steelers Sign David Cobb To Practice Squad
WEDNESDAY, 9;25am: The Steelers officially announced that Cobb is now a member of their practice squad.
TUESDAY, 9:15pm: The Steelers plan to sign former Titans running back David Cobb to their practice squad, according to Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com (Twitter link). Pittsburgh put Cobb through a workout yesterday.
Cobb, 23, was a fifth-round pick in last year’s draft. The ex-Minnesota Golden Gopher picked up 146 yards on 52 carries, good for a paltry 2.7 YPC, in seven games as a rookie.
With star Le’Veon Bell set to miss the first three games of the season because of a suspension, the Steelers are in search of backfield depth to work behind DeAngelo Williams. As of now, Fitzgerald Toussaint and former Ram Daryl Richardson are their top options behind Williams. Toussaint only has 24 carries to his name, though, and Richardson – the more experienced of the two – hasn’t appeared in a game since 2013.
Pittsburgh previously worked out Karlos Williams, though he’s suspended for the season’s first four games and wouldn’t be able to help fill Bell’s void.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Steelers To Work Out David Cobb
The Steelers will work out free agent running back David Cobb on Tuesday, tweets Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com. Pittsburgh will become the fourth team to audition Cobb, who visited with the Patriots, Chiefs, and Jets after the Titans waived him last week.
Cobb, 23, was a fifth-round pick in last year’s draft. The ex-Minnesota Golden Gopher picked up 146 yards on 52 carries, good for a paltry 2.7 YPC, in seven games as a rookie.
With star Le’Veon Bell set to miss the first three games of the season because of a suspension, the Steelers are in search of backfield depth to work behind DeAngelo Williams. As of now, Fitzgerald Toussaint and former Ram Daryl Richardson are their top options behind Williams. Toussaint only has 24 carries to his name, though, and Richardson – the more experienced of the two – hasn’t appeared in a game since 2013.
Pittsburgh previously worked out Karlos Williams, though he’s suspended for the season’s first four games and wouldn’t be able to help fill Bell’s void.
Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.
Sunday NFL Transactions: AFC North
Listed below are the Sunday roster moves for the four AFC North teams. Following the 53-man roster cutdown deadline yesterday, many teams will make slight tweaks to their rosters, claiming players off waivers or signing guys who clear waivers. Those transactions for the Ravens, Bengals, Browns, and Steelers are noted below.
Additionally, as of 12:00pm CT today, teams can begin constructing their 10-man practice squads. You can check out our glossary entry on practice squads to brush up on those changes, as well as all the other guidelines that govern the 10-man units, whose players practice with the team but aren’t eligible to suit up on Sundays.
Here are Sunday’s AFC North transactions, which will continue to be updated throughout the day. All links go to Twitter unless otherwise noted:
Baltimore Ravens
- Signed to practice squad:
- LB Brennen Beyer (Link via Jeff Zrebiec of The Baltimore Sun)
- WR Keenan Reynolds
- TE Daniel Brown (link via Zrebiec)
- C Matt Skura (link via Zrebiec)
- OT Blaine Clausell (link via Zrebiec)
- DE Kapron Lewis-Moore (link via Zrebiec)
- RB Stephen Houston (link via Zrebiec)
- QB David Fales (Link via Zrebiec)
Cincinnati Bengals
- Claimed:
- QB Jeff Driskel (Link via Adam Schefter)
- Waived:
- LB P.J. Dawson
- Placed on IR:
- Signed:
- CB Chykie Brown
- OL Trey Hopkins
- Signed to practice squad:
- DE Ryan Brown
- RB Tra Carson (Link via Jim Owczarski of the Enquirer)
- DT David Dean
- CB Darius Hillary
- WR Jake Kumerow (Link via Katherine Terrell of ESPN.com)
- TE Matt Lengel
- CB Tony McRae
- G Alex Redmond
- WR Alonzo Russell
Cleveland Browns
- Claimed:
- RB George Atkinson
- DB Briean Boddy-Calhoun
- DB Marcus Burley
- DE Tyrone Holmes
- LB Corey Lemonier (Link via Florio)
- Waived/released:
- DB Trey Caldwell
- LB Cam Johnson
- RB Raheem Mostert
- RB Terrell Watson
- DB Rahim Moore
- Signed to practice squad:
- Connor Hamlett (Link via Nate Ulrich of The Akron Beacon Journal)
- OL Dan France
- WR Darius Jennings
- OL Kaleb Johnson
- QB Kevin Hogan (Link via Ian Rapoport)
- DT Gabe Wright (Link via Mary Kay Cabot of Cleveland.com)
- OL Anthony Fabiano (Link via Cabot)
- DB Ed Reynolds (Link via Cabot)
Pittsburgh Steelers
- Placed on IR:
- LB Bud Dupree (story)
- Signed:
- LB Steven Johnson (story)
- Signed to practice squad:
- DL Johnny Maxey (link via Aaron Wilson)
- OLB Travis Feeney (link via Jeremy Fowler)
- RB Brandon Brown-Dukes
- RB Cameron Stingily
- WR Demarcus Ayers
- WR Cobi Hamilton
- TE Rashaun Allen
- OT Matt Feiler
- DE Caushaud Lyons
- CB Al-Hajj Shabazz