Steelers sign 13 free agents
Sorry for the delay in posting this, but after that draft weekend marathon, I needed to take a little break.
Once the draft ended, that opened the doors for all of the players who went undrafted to sign with any team that they wanted to. The Steelers used this opportunity to add 13 undrafted free agents to their roster.
The Steelers signed the following players:
Steven Black (6’2″, 200 lbs.), WR, Memphis
Jeff Bradley (6’3″, 280 lbs.), DT, Western Carolina
Mark Estermeyer (6’1″, 251 lbs.), LS, Pittsburgh
Ramon Foster (6’5″, 328 lbs.), OT, Tennessee
Cedric Goodman (6’2″, 189 lbs.), WR, Georgia
Tyler Grisham (5’10″, 184 lbs.), WR, Clemson
Tom Korte (6’0″, 239 lbs.), LB, Hillside
Kevin McCabe (6’2″, 209 lbs.), QB, California (PA)
Steve McClendon (6’3″, 305 lbs.), DT, Troy
Isaac Redman (5’10″, 228 lbs.), RB, Bowie State
Mike Reilly (6’3″, 214 lbs.), QB, Central Washington State
Derrick Richardson (5’11″, 201 lbs.), S, New Mexico State
Andrew Schantz (6’1″, 234 lbs.), LB, Portland State
With the Steelers signing 3 wide receivers, in addition to drafting one, and potentially bringing in Ashley Lelie, the Steelers’ receiving corps shouldn’t miss a beat.
I was glad to see them bring in a safety, since they didn’t draft one, and we are woefully short on safeties. I do think that Deshea Townsend would be a very good candidate to convert to safety. He is very disciplined, and would make a good backup free safety. I also believe that Keenan Lewis would make a good safety, but the Steelers have not said that they plan to try him at the position.
Both of the defensive tackles that they drafted are too small to play nose tackle, so I assume that they plan to convert them both to 3-4 DE’s.
I was a bit surprised that they brought in two free agent quarterbacks. I don’t think either of them has a chance to beat out Charlie Batch or Dennis Dixon. However, the Steelers are tight on cash, and if they think Dixon is ready to move up to #2, they may release Batch and keep one of these cheaper options as #3 quarterback.
I am completely baffled by the long snapper signing. Sure, Mark Estermeyer is from Pitt. But Greg Warren will be back from injury, and Jared Retkofsky is still on the roster. Do we really need that much competition for the long snapper position? Maybe I’m missing something. Wouldn’t we have been better served bringing another safety into camp? Or perhaps a big, fat kid who can someday develop into a nose tackle? Or how about a center. All three of the long snappers are too small to ever play center. I’m confused.
If you have any thoughts on the Steelers’ free agent signings, please leave a comment to let me know your reaction.
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