– The Steelers meeting with free agent RB LeGarrette Blount has been moved to this coming Friday. Originally scheduled for this Sunday, the meeting has been pushed back to allow Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin and General Manager Kevin Colbert to attend. Both will be attending league meetings this week, forcing the rescheduling. Blount is also drawing interest from the Baltimore Ravens and his former team, the New England Patriots.
– The team re-signed TE Michael Palmer on Friday. The deal is a one-year contract, with terms undisclosed. We can assume it is for close to league veteran minimum. Palmer immediately becomes the fourth tight end on the Steelers depth chart- behind Heath Miller, Matt Spaeth and David Paulson. Palmer did very little in 2013 to suggest that the Steelers view him as any more than a special teams player, but with four tight ends on the roster for 2014, this may cross the position off the teams list for the 2014 NFL Draft.
– The Steelers now-famous visit with free agent RB Maurice Jones-Drew last week got the hopes up of many Steelers fans. While Jones-Drew would not fit into the role the Steelers could offer him, it was fun to think about what the diminutive running back would have looked like in the black and gold. On Thursday, CBS Sports insider Jason LaCanfora reported that Jones-Drew is seeking a deal for around $3.5 million per season. That should pretty much shut the door on the issue for Steelers fans.
– No updates today on the status of free agent DE Alex Carrington, who spent his week meeting with the Cleveland Browns and Oakland Raiders. The Steelers maintain interest in the free agent. Carrington has history with new Browns head coach Mike Pettine, playing under him in Buffalo when Pettine was the defensive coordinator there. Should Carrington sign elsewhere, it could be the beginning of a Steelers return for long-time DE Brett Keisel. Keisel has not met with any teams as of yet.
– Free agents who are left from the Steelers include WR Plaxico Burress, FS Ryan Clark, RB Felix Jones, LB Stevenson Sylvester, C Fernando Velasco, and DB Curtis Brown. Only Clark has received interest from other teams. The Steelers stated that they would like to re-sign Velasco once they see how his injured Achilles heals.
