HEADLINES

Pittsburgh Steelers News & Rumors

Practice Squad Updates: Wednesday

November 19th, 2014 at 11:40am CST by Luke Adams

We’ll round up today’s practice squad signings and cuts in this space, with the latest moves added to the top of the list throughout the day….

  • The Packers have filled the lone opening on their practice squad by signing guard Rishaw Johnson, the team announced today. Johnson previously spent time this season on the Buccaneers’ active roster and the Cowboys’ practice squad.

Earlier updates:

  • The Steelers, who cut LeGarrette Blount and promoted running back Josh Harris to their roster yesterday, have added another back to the practice squad to replace Harris. LaDarius Perkins, an undrafted rookie out of Mississippi State who spent the summer with the Packers, is the newest member of the taxi squad, per Burt Lauten (via Twitter).
  • Defensive end George Uko, who spent three weeks on the Buccaneers‘ practice squad earlier this year, has been re-signed to the unit, the team announced today in a press release. Tampa Bay cut punter Jacob Schum to make room for Uko.
  • After cutting him earlier this week to accommodate the activation of guard Geoff Schwartz, the Giants have re-signed linebacker Justin Anderson to their practice squad, tweets Dan Graziano of ESPN.com.

AFC North Notes: Blount, Sheard, Rice

November 19th, 2014 at 10:10am CST by Luke Adams

The Steelers parted ways with disgruntled running back LeGarrette Blount yesterday, and it doesn’t sound like his teammates were too upset about the decision. As Ray Fittipaldo of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette writes, center and team captain Maurkice Pouncey referred to Blount’s release as a “blessing in disguise.”

“We’re fine,” Pouncey said. “We have our starting running back. It’s probably a good thing that it happened. At the end of the day, if it was a cancer, he ended up leaving on his own. That’s a blessing for us. At the end of the day, we’re good. We don’t need him.”

As we wait to see whether or not Blount clears waivers later today, here are a few more notes from around the AFC North:

  • Head coach Mike Pettine indicated on Monday that Browns linebacker Jabaal Sheard may be out for the rest of the season with a foot injury, but the team has received some good news on Sheard, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com. Rapoport tweets that Sheard, who got a second opinion on the injury, won’t require surgery and should be back in a week or so.
  • Now that the NFL has announced Adrian Peterson‘s suspension and arbitrator Shyam Das made a decision on the NFLPA’s grievance related to the Vikings running back, the next issue on the legal docket for the league is a ruling on Ray Rice, writes Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. A decision is expected within the next week, and could come at any time, and it appears likely that the former Ravens running back will have his indefinite suspension overturned.
  • In the wake of Blount’s release from the Steelers, Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette wonders why the team signed him in the first place, given his history of off-field incidents.
  • Earlier this morning, I asked whether Blount or Ben Tate will be the better pickup of the two AFC North running backs cut yesterday.

North Notes: Steelers, Tate, Peterson

November 18th, 2014 at 6:56pm CST by Zachary Links

Aditi Kinkhabwala of NFL.com reported earlier today (via Twitter) that someone on the Steelers staff called someone with the Browns to ask about Ben Tate‘s release, but Scott Brown of ESPN.com (Twitter link) hears that Pittsburgh has no interest in picking up Tate to replace LeGarrette Blount. More out of the North divisions..

Luke Adams contributed to this post.

Steelers Release LeGarrette Blount

November 18th, 2014 at 1:52pm CST by Luke Adams

1:52pm: The Steelers have officially promoted Harris from the practice squad to replace Blount, tweets PR man Burt Lauten.

12:32pm: The Steelers have released running back LeGarrette Blount, opening up a spot on the 53-man roster, the team announced today (Twitter link). Pittsburgh becomes the second AFC North team today to cut ties with a notable recently-signed running back, with the Browns waiving Ben Tate earlier in the day.NFL: Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Pittsburgh Steelers

Blount, who signed with the Steelers in March after a successful postseason reason with the Patriots, came into the season expecting to share the workload with Le’Veon Bell. However, Bell has emerged as one of the top backs in the NFL, relegating Blount to backup duty — the former Buccaneer and Patriot has carried the ball just 65 times this year for 266 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

Things came to a head in Tennessee last night, when Blount left the field before the end of the Steelers’ win over the Titans, as Bell was in the midst of racking up more than 200 yards on the ground. The display didn’t sit well with other players on the roster, as Ray Fittipaldo of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette details. Gerry Dulac of the Post-Gazette (Twitter links) suggested this afternoon that some from of discipline – at least a suspension – would be handed down by head coach Mike Tomlin, but the club elected to go ahead and cut Blount instead.

Like Tate and other players cut after the trade deadline, Blount will have to pass through waivers before becoming a free agent. For teams in need of a running back, Blount will have appeal because of his talent and his inexpensive price tag, but after Monday’s incident, his impact on the clubhouse may be a concern.

As for the Steelers, Dulac (Twitter link) indicated that releasing Blount would likely open up the door for the team to give Dri Archer a larger workload and to sign Josh Harris from off the practice squad.

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports.

Extra Points: RGIII, Brooks, Steelers

November 16th, 2014 at 10:40pm CST by Ben Levine

Let’s check out some leftover notes to wrap up the weekend…

  • If Washington decides to exercise the fifth-year option on Robert Griffin III, the quarterback’s 2016 salary will be worth about $18.4MM, calculates Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com. If the former second-overall pick doesn’t improve quickly, Florio says it’s hard to imagine the team picking up the option.
  • The 49ers reportedly shopped linebacker Ahmad Brooks close to the trade deadline, and it appears like that relationship continues to deteriorate. Mike Garafolo of FoxSports.com reports that the 30-year-old pulled himself from Sunday’s win over the Giants because he was upset about playing time. Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com (via Twitter) guesses that the 30-year-old and his $7.3MM contract won’t be around next season.
  • The dominant defense that the Steelers featured in the past is much harder to construct nowadays, writes Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com. Previously, the team’s 3-4 strategy was unique and exclusive, meaning the team could target specific types of players for significantly less money. However, many teams have switched over to the Dick LeBeau-styled defense, and Pittsburgh is now being forced to bid against teams with larger pockets.

Cardinals Sign Josh Mauro

November 14th, 2014 at 2:32pm CST by Zachary Links

FRIDAY, 2:32pm: The Cardinals have officially added Mauro to their roster, cutting linebacker Thomas Keiser to clear room on the squad, per Darren Urban of AZCardinals.com (via Twitter).

THURSDAY, 4:54pm: The Cardinals will pluck defensive end Josh Mauro from the Steelers’ practice squad and add him to their 53-man roster, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter).

Mauro, 24 in February, offers tremendous size at 6’6″ and 271 pounds. With a frame reminiscent of Texans star J.J. Watt, the Steelers actually put a No. 99 jersey on Mauro in practices leading up to their October showdown with Houston. The Stanford product played mostly defensive end in college but is said to also have the ability to play on the interior.

Mauro could have made the Steelers’ final cut in August, particularly with question marks surrounding their defensive line, but he had to settle for a practice squad slot after he didn’t make the 53-man roster. Now, he’ll have his NFL opportunity elsewhere.

Minor Moves: Friday

November 14th, 2014 at 10:30am CST by Luke Adams

Since Fridays are relatively quiet days for in-season NFL transactions, we’ll round up today’s minor 53-man roster changes and practice squad signings and cuts in the same space. Here’s the latest:

  • After having lost Josh Mauro to the Cardinals, the Steelers filled their newly-opened practice squad spot by re-adding defensive lineman Ethan Hemer to their practice squad, tweets Ray Fittipaldo of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Hemer returns to the unit after having been cut earlier this month.
  • Linebacker Jeremy Grable, who was just added to the Buccaneers‘ practice squad on Wednesday, has been placed on the squad’s IR list, according to Scott Smith of Buccaneers.com, who adds (via Twitter) that punter Jacob Schum has replaced Grable.

Poll: Which Team Will Win AFC North?

November 11th, 2014 at 9:52am CST by Luke Adams

Coming into the season, the AFC North was expected to be one of the league’s more competitive divisions, with the Bengals viewed as the slight favorites and the Ravens and Steelers expected to challenge Cincinnati for the top spot. However, through 10 weeks, the division as a whole has significantly outperformed expectations. Not only are the three aforementioned clubs still in the hunt for the AFC North title, but the upstart Browns are actually leading the way with a 6-3 record.

Of course, while Cleveland may be clinging to the division lead now, the team could also be a week or two away from falling to last place. With the Bengals at 5-3-1 and the Steelers and Ravens both at 6-4, all four teams in the North are separated by just a half-game. As the league noted on the weekend (Twitter link via Aditi Kinkhabwala), it’s the first time since 1935 that every team in an NFL division is at least two games over .500.

With all four teams bunched up and seven weeks still to play, it’s anyone’s division, and there’s no clear-cut favorite to earn a home playoff game. Even Vegas is at a loss when it comes to picking a frontrunner — betting site Bovada.lv gives Baltimore, Cleveland, and Cincinnati equal odds to finish in first place, while Pittsburgh is a very marginal underdog.

The Bengals may have the most challenging remaining schedule, with five of seven contests on the road, including this weekend in New Orleans and Week 17 in Pittsburgh. But each North team has one difficult stretch of games still on its schedule — the Ravens play the Saints, Chargers, and Dolphins following their bye; the Browns host the Colts and have road games in Atlanta, Buffalo, and Baltimore, all difficult places to win; and the Steelers still face the Saints and Chiefs, as well as the Bengals twice.

So what do you think? Will the Bengals repeat as division champs? Will the Ravens or Steelers knock them off? Or will the Browns be this year’s surprise division winner?

Which team will win the AFC North?
Pittsburgh Steelers 29.29% (128 votes)
Cincinnati Bengals 27.69% (121 votes)
Cleveland Browns 24.26% (106 votes)
Baltimore Ravens 18.76% (82 votes)
Total Votes: 437

AFC North Notes: Roethlisberger, Hoyer, Eifert

November 7th, 2014 at 11:32am CST by Luke Adams

At age 32, Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is playing at an elite level. In the last two weeks, he’s torched the Colts and Ravens for 12 total touchdown passes, and on the season, his 20.4 overall Pro Football Focus rating is tops in the NFL. While Roethlisberger isn’t a free agent until 2016 and there are no extension talks taking place, Bleacher Report’s Jason Cole believes the veteran quarterback will seek approximately $24MM per year on his next deal, which would make him the league’s highest-paid player by average annual value. While it remains to be seen whether Big Ben will receive – or even ask for – that kind of money, he’s certainly in line for a big payday if he keeps up his current torrid pace.

Let’s round up a few more items from around the AFC North….

  • After the Browns dismantled the Bengals in Cincinnati last night, Brian Hoyer‘s record as Cleveland’s starter over the past two seasons improved to 9-3 — in games he didn’t start, the Browns posted a 1-12 record. Hoyer’s continued success is great for the Browns’ playoff chances, but it’s pushing the team further into a corner when it comes to making a decision on the signal-caller’s future, writes Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk.
  • Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis told reporters today, including Coley Harvey of ESPN.com (Twitter link), that while tight end Tyler Eifert is on the mend, there’s a chance he misses the rest of the season. Eifert is currently on injured reserve with the designation to return, and is eligible to be activated as soon as next week.
  • Even before his domestic violence incident, former Ravens running back Ray Rice appeared to be on the decline, says Tom Pelissero of USA Today. So if he’s reinstated, will Rice even get another shot in the NFL? One personnel director tells Pelissero he believes the running back has “played his last game,” while a GM cautioned to “never say never,” and a veteran scout said he’ll get another chance, but “maybe not right away.”

Matt Feminis contributed to this post.

Practice Squad Updates: Wednesday

November 5th, 2014 at 5:28pm CST by Luke Adams

We’ll keep tabs on today’s practice squad signings and cuts from around the league right here:

  • After waiting for him to clear waivers, the Ravens have officially signed tight end Phillip Supernaw back to their practice squad, a source tells Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun (Twitter link).
  • The Seahawks have signed defensive end Ryan Robinson to their taxi squad and are now back to the maximum 10 players, per Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times (Twitter link).
  • Having lost tackle Nick Becton off their practice squad when he signed with the Saints, the Giants have filled his spot by adding safety Kyle Sebetic, who was in camp with the team this summer.

Earlier updates:

  • The Patriots have re-signed wideout Jonathan Krause to their taxi squad, dropping defensive lineman Kona Schwenke from the unit to clear a spot, the team announced today in a press release.
  • Running back Michael Hill has been released from the Packers‘ practice squad, replaced by guard Jordan McCray, tweets Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
  • Heading into today with one open spot on their practice squad, the Buccaneers created another opening by cutting defensive end George Uko, then filled those spots by signing defensive tackle Matthew Masifilo and cornerback Quinton Pointer, tweets Scott Smith of Buccaners.com.
  • The Steelers have added safety Jordan Dangerfield to their practice squad, releasing defensive end Ethan Hemer, according to Aaron Wilson of the Baltimore Sun (via Twitter). Pittsburgh safeties Troy Polamalu and Shamarko Thomas are both dealing with injuries, so Dangerfield could be a candidate for promotion this weekend depending on the status of those players.
  • Defensive tackle Loni Fangupo has joined the Chiefs‘ practice squad, according to his representatives at ARN Sports (Twitter link).
Load More Posts