Steelers sign Stepanovich for line depth

[fordfixer]

Steelers sign Stepanovich for line depth
Posted by Gregg Rosenthal on August 10, 2009 11:45 AM ET

[url="http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2009/08/10/steelers-sign-stepanovich-to-for-line-depth/"]http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/20 ... ine-depth/[/url]

The Steelers received good news when they learned that guard Darnell Stapleton will not miss the season after undergoing knee surgery recently.

Stapleton had "exploratory" arthroscopic knee surgery and it's unclear how long he'll be out, but the usual period is two-to-four weeks.

To help build the team's depth in the meantime, Pittsburgh signed veteran center Alex Stepanovich Monday. He was last with the Falcons.

The Steelers have also been without starting center Justin Hartwig, who has a toe injury.

[SteelerNation1]

Re: Steelers sign Stepanovich for line depth

who'd they release?

[steelblood]

Re: Steelers sign Stepanovich for line depth

They released Reffert, I believe.

[RuthlessBurgher]

Re: Steelers sign Stepanovich for line depth

who'd they release?

I think it was Roethlis-something. He was making a lot of money, so they dumped him.

Seriously, though, it was Jordan Reffett.

[url]http://news.steelers.com/article/107660/[/url]

Stepanovich signs; Reffett waived
Monday, August 10, 2009
By BOB LABRIOLA
Steelers.com

LATROBE, Pa. – Even though the news about Darnell Stapleton’s knee was pretty good, the time he is expected to miss created something of a numbers crunch along the offensive line at this stage of training camp.

With that reality facing them, the Steelers signed veteran center Alex Stepanovich on Monday. To make room on the roster, the team waived defensive end Jordan Reffett. Stepanovich was due to practice with the Steelers for the first time on Monday afternoon and will wear #67.

Stepanovich, 6-foot-4, 296 pounds, came into the NFL after a career at Ohio State as a fourth-round draft pick of the Arizona Cardinals in 2004. While it often takes rookie offensive lineman time to adjust to the NFL, Stepanovich was thrown right into the mix, and he started all 16 games of his rookie season.

From there, he saw less action with the Cardinals, primarily because of injuries. Stepanovich injured his hand in the Cardinals preseason scrimmage and missed the entire 2005 preseason and the first regular season game. Then he injured a shoulder on Nov. 20 and went on the injured reserve list on Dec. 6.

After his third season in Arizona, the Cardinals opted not to tender him and he became an unrestricted free agent. He signed with the Cincinnati Bengals in 2007 and appeared in 12 games with four starts there, and then he played in Atlanta in 2008. The Falcons released him on June 17, 2009.

With Stapleton sidelined and Justin Hartwig still recovering from a broken toe, the Steelers were down to 11 healthy offensive linemen and only two of those – first-year player Doug Legursky and rookie A.Q. Shipley – played center.

Reffett, a 6-4, 292 pound defensive end from Washington, originally signed with the Steelers as an undrafted rookie on April 28, 2008. He was waived at the end of training camp that summer and spent two weeks in October on the team’s practice squad that season. He was re-signed by the team after Super Bowl XLIII.

[Shoe]

Re: Steelers sign Stepanovich for line depth

Probably doesn't bode well for the kid Shipley.

[phillyesq]

Re: Steelers sign Stepanovich for line depth

Probably doesn't bode well for the kid Shipley.

I think, as mentioned in the articles, the signing is purely for depth. I don't think this has any reflection on Shipley one way or another.

[RuthlessBurgher]

Re: Steelers sign Stepanovich for line depth

Probably doesn't bode well for the kid Shipley.

I think it was just a numbers game...I wouldn't read anything into this signing regarding the rookie one way or the other. With Hartwig and Stapleton out with extended injuries, Legursky and Shipley are the only two centers on the roster. They needed another body in camp that could snap, because the first pre-season game is this Thursday night already, and Justin and Darnell should both be in street clothes for that one at the very least.

[MeetJoeGreene]

Re: Steelers sign Stepanovich for line depth

Probably doesn't bode well for the kid Shipley.

I think it was just a numbers game...I wouldn't read anything into this signing regarding the rookie one way or the other. With Hartwig and Stapleton out with extended injuries, Legursky and Shipley are the only two centers on the roster. They needed another body in camp that could snap, because the first pre-season game is this Thursday night already, and Justin and Darnell should both be in street clothes for that one at the very least.

I somewhat agree (although it could be wishful PSU thinking.

But I wish it were the case that they were so blown away by Ship and Legursky that they decided they didn't need to bring anyone else in.

[RuthlessBurgher]

Re: Steelers sign Stepanovich for line depth

Probably doesn't bode well for the kid Shipley.

I think it was just a numbers game...I wouldn't read anything into this signing regarding the rookie one way or the other. With Hartwig and Stapleton out with extended injuries, Legursky and Shipley are the only two centers on the roster. They needed another body in camp that could snap, because the first pre-season game is this Thursday night already, and Justin and Darnell should both be in street clothes for that one at the very least.

I somewhat agree (although it could be wishful PSU thinking.

But I wish it were the case that they were so blown away by Ship and Legursky that they decided they didn't need to bring anyone else in.

They started camp with 4 QB's and 4 potential centers to snap the ball to them. Now that 2 out of the 4 potential centers are out of commission for an extended period, it was inevitable that they bring in someone else who can snap, expecially with games against others now on the horizon.

I have no more connection to Shipley than I have to Legursky or to Stepanovich for that matter. Whoever can do the best job for this team is the guy I want to win the job, regardless of where he went to college (although I suppose if they drafted someone from Cornell , I might root for him to make the team more than some others).

[Lebsteel]

Re: Steelers sign Stepanovich for line depth

I was at training camp on Friday night and Saturday afternoon and Hartwig had his pads on and was practicing both days. He may not be able to run hard, (I didn't see him do that), but he was out there with the first team line.

[buckeyehoppy]

Re: Steelers sign Stepanovich for line depth

Considering the nature of Hartwig's and Darnell's injuries, I'm not surprised here. The Steelers can't go into any game (pre-season included) with Shipley and Legursky as their options. Not saying anything bad about these guys, but they are simply too green at this point. Picking up Stepanovich is a good insurance policy at this point since he has some experience and, if Hartwig's injury lingers, he can play a little bit. I don't know how this will bode for Ship and Legursky because, let's face it, injuries happen and they seem to be happening with the Steeler's OL during this camp.