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Taking care of business
[url="http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/steelers/viewfromthepressbox/"]http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsbu ... epressbox/[/url]
Posted June 19, 2009 2 :58 PM
The signing of tight end David Johnson leaves the Steelers with just two of their 2009 draft picks unsigned, and there is still more than a month before the team opens training camp.
Look for guard Kraig Urbik, the Steelers' second pick and the first of three they made in the third round of April's draft, to sign soon. As for first-round pick Ziggy Hood, his deal probably won't get done until closer to the start of camp for a simple reason: The Steelers will probably allow the teams that drafted just ahead of them in the first round to set the framework for a deal with Hood.
And so far only two first-round picks have signed: quarterbacks Matthew Stafford (No. 1 overall with the Lions) and Mark Sanchez (No. 5 with the Jets).
The Steelers still have to make a couple more moves to pare their roster down to 80 players before the start of camp. There were no surprises among the six players the team released Thursday, and not a whole lot to read into the cuts.
The release of Mark Estermyer, however, is a pretty strong indication that the Steelers are satisfied with where long snapper Greg Warren is from a health standpoint.
Warren is coming back from a gruesome knee injury that ended his season last October. The Steelers found out the hard way after Warren tore his ACL against the Giants how important a steady long snapper is in the NFL.
The fifth-year veteran is currently the only long snapper on the Steelers' roster, so his knee doesn't appear to be a big concern for the team.
[url="http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/sports/steelers/viewfromthepressbox/"]http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsbu ... epressbox/[/url]
Posted June 19, 2009 2 :58 PM
The signing of tight end David Johnson leaves the Steelers with just two of their 2009 draft picks unsigned, and there is still more than a month before the team opens training camp.
Look for guard Kraig Urbik, the Steelers' second pick and the first of three they made in the third round of April's draft, to sign soon. As for first-round pick Ziggy Hood, his deal probably won't get done until closer to the start of camp for a simple reason: The Steelers will probably allow the teams that drafted just ahead of them in the first round to set the framework for a deal with Hood.
And so far only two first-round picks have signed: quarterbacks Matthew Stafford (No. 1 overall with the Lions) and Mark Sanchez (No. 5 with the Jets).
The Steelers still have to make a couple more moves to pare their roster down to 80 players before the start of camp. There were no surprises among the six players the team released Thursday, and not a whole lot to read into the cuts.
The release of Mark Estermyer, however, is a pretty strong indication that the Steelers are satisfied with where long snapper Greg Warren is from a health standpoint.
Warren is coming back from a gruesome knee injury that ended his season last October. The Steelers found out the hard way after Warren tore his ACL against the Giants how important a steady long snapper is in the NFL.
The fifth-year veteran is currently the only long snapper on the Steelers' roster, so his knee doesn't appear to be a big concern for the team.
