Dom Errico —  The Steelers made a rare first-day jump head first into the free agency pool, and I think they got a guy in Mike Mitchell who could help them out in a lot of ways. This defense needed to get younger in a hurry, and I’m pretty excited to see the 27-year-old Mitchell take over the spot vacated by Ryan Clark, who is seven years older.  Anyone who watched the Steelers try to defend the pass last year noticed a lot of missed and blown coverage at the safety position, and Clark was ... Read More

The Jacksonville Jaguars signed free agent DE Ziggy Hood to a contract on Thursday.  The official terms have not been released as of this update.  Hood was the Steelers 2009 first-round draft pick out of Missouri, ideally pegged to be the replacement for DE Aaron Smith once the veteran retired.  Hood was never able to fully make the transition from interior lineman to 3-4 defensive end adequately, and last season he was passed on the depth chart by 2011 first-round pick Cameron ... Read More

The first full day of the 2014 NFL Free Agency period is in full swing.  Usually one of the quieter teams in the open market, the Pittsburgh Steelers have made a little bit of noise thus far.  Here is a quick round-up of the pertinent news and rumors coming out of the South Side complex today. On Tuesday, the Steelers made their first significant free agent move of the year, and the biggest since they plucked FS Ryan Clark on March 15, 2006.  The team found its immediate replacement for Clark ... Read More

The Steelers recently extended the contract of veteran TE Heath Miller, a sign that the organization believes Miller still has at least a few solid years left as a productive NFL tight end.  The Steelers do not get into the habit of simply handing out contract extensions beyond age 30 – especially for players coming off a significant injury less than one year ago – but chose to do so with “Big Money."  The two-year extension was a reward for allowing the team to reduce his salary hit in 2014 by ... Read More

Over the past six years, the Pittsburgh Steelers have used seven draft picks on the wide receiver position.  Out of those seven players, only Mike Wallace (2009, 3rd round), Emmanuel Sanders (2010, 3rd round) and Antonio Brown (2010, 6th round) have produced results worthy of being drafted.  Last spring, the team drafted WR Markus Wheaton of Oregon State in the third round.  Wheaton was limited by injuries in his rookie campaign, playing in just 12 games and catching six passes for 64 yards.  ... Read More

The Steelers did not waste much time in continuing with the transition to their linebacker core started by the signing of Jason Worilds. The team announced today their intention to release veteran OLB LaMarr Woodley on Tuesday. The team will technically designate Woodley as a post- June 1 cut, a designation which will spread his cap hit out over two years. The team will terminate ties to the 29-year old on Tuesday, however, to allow him to begin the free agent period and have the best chance to ... Read More

Pro Bowl WR Antonio Brown restructured his contract on Friday, saving the Pittsburgh Steelers $4 million in cap space for the 2014-15 season.  The story was first reported by ESPN's Adam Schefter. Multiple efforts have been made recently in order to get under the salary cap, as well as to provide space for free agency and the April draft.  Earlier this week, Larry Foote, Curtis Brown, and Levi Brown were cut in addition to the contract extensions of TE Heath Miller and S Troy Polamalu. Antonio ... Read More

The NFL Draft is still over two months away, but the anticipation and arm-chair general managing is in full throttle.  Last week, the 2014 NFL Combine drew huge ratings for the NFL Network – proving once again that the American hunger for football has absolutely no boundaries.  Major college pro days are in full swing, highlighted so far by the noteworthy workouts of sure-fire top ten picks like Auburn OT Greg Robinson and Buffalo LB Khalil Mack.  NFL team player development personnel will be ... Read More

Gar Bercury — OK, i'll be the one to say it, Troy Polamalu is not a first-ballot Hall of Famer. I understand that saying this means I am risking life and limb with many of our loyal readers, but it is still the truth. I want to be clear, I do believe Polamalu will eventually get a bust in Canton, it just won't happen in his first year of eligibility. There are different reasons why it won't happen, some can be attributed to Polamalu's career as a whole. Some of it is due to a simple numbers ... Read More