Steelers football blog

WR Holmes arraigned on marijuana charge

Steelers wide receiver and Super Bowl MVP Santonio Holmes was arraigned Wednesday on a misdemeanor marijuana charge stemming from a traffic stop.

Holmes' attorney, Robert DelGreco Jr., appeared at the brief hearing where charges were formally presented. Holmes did not appear, nor was he required to.

DelGreco said he planned to challenge the constitutionality of the stop but did not elaborate.

"I will be filing a suppression motion. That will be a public record, and we'll go from there," he said.

Pittsburgh police said they found three marijuana-filled cigars in Holmes' car when he was pulled over Oct. 23. Holmes was stopped because his car was similar to one they were looking for in a drug sting. Holmes was cooperative and alerted officers to the drugs, police said.

Foote being released

Larry Foote played a lot of football as a starting inside linebacker for the Steelers the past five seasons, and in a strange twist, his search for more playing time will cause them to release him.

Sources close to Foote say he wants to continue his career as a starting linebacker where he can play more often and asked the Steelers to accommodate him. After reportedly finding no offers in a trade, sources on the club say they plan to release him sometime after this weekend's minicamp, which Foote will not attend.

Their delay in releasing him might be a last-ditch effort to try to trade him. Continue

Steelers take HS teammates on second day

A small swath of New Orleans just turned black and gold.

The Steelers selected wide receiver Mike Wallace of Ole Miss and cornerback Keenan Lewis of Oregon State, teammates at O.P. Walker High School in the Big Easy, within a dozen picks of each other Sunday.

"I'm sure they are excited," coach Mike Tomlin said. "That's kind of a neat story."

The Steelers picked eight players in the second day of the 2009 NFL draft to complement first-round defensive tackle Ziggy Hood of Missouri. The newcomers included Penn State center and seventh-rounder A.Q. Shipley of Moon.

"It's a good day for us," Tomlin said. "We're pleased."

Steelers take DT Hood in 1st round

Evander "Ziggy" Hood was so stunned at being selected with the final pick of the first round by the Steelers that the 6-foot-3, 300-pound defensive lineman from Missouri "almost fainted."

"I couldn't describe the feeling," Hood said in a teleconference call with reporters. "My stomach just tightened up. I choked. I almost fainted. ... When my name popped up, I almost dropped the phone."

Hood was chosen with the 32nd pick of the first round in a move that allows the Super Bowl XLIII champion Steelers to get younger on their defensive line, where all three starters are in their 30s.

"I feel excited, especially to be part of a Super Bowl team, just to be part of what's known as the Steel Curtain," Hood said. "It's a real honor."

Long wait for champs on draft day

If there is one downside to winning the Super Bowl -- and this is the equivalent of having to pay taxes on a winning million-dollar lottery ticket -- it's the long wait the Steelers will have to endure today at their South Side facility.

The Steelers aren't slated to pick until No. 32 in the first round of the NFL Draft. That means the Steelers, barring a trade, will take a lot of players off the draft board they have painstakingly put together before it is their turn to make a pick.

"The frustrating thing," Steelers director of operations Kevin Colbert said, "is just waiting that long."

Not that Colbert is disheartened by where the Steelers are picking in the first round.

He said the Steelers have identified 32 players they feel "comfortable" taking with their top pick, and the team has done well picking near the bottom of the first round. Continue

Taylor restructures deal

The Steelers continue to re-sign their players using a familiar formula.

For the second consecutive year, starting cornerback Ike Taylor has restructured his contract to create more salary cap space.

Agent Joel Segal confirmed that Taylor, a Pro Bowl alternate last season who signed a five-year, $23.75 million extension in 2006, reduced his 2009 base salary of $3.5 million recently.

"There was a minor restructure," Segal, Taylor's new representative, said Wednesday.

By converting some of Taylor's base salary into a signing bonus, the Steelers were able to come up with more money to sign players. Continue

Steelers to face some tough decisions

Wide receiver Hines Ward says he wants to retire as a Steeler.

Nose tackle Casey Hampton, who's also entering the final year of his contract, says he wants to stay in Pittsburgh beyond the 2009 season.

How many veterans such as Ward and Hampton that the Steelers can accommodate remains to be seen.

The Steelers are near the salary cap. Finding the wiggle room that would allow them to sign key players to multiyear contracts won't be easy, especially given the uncertain labor situation.

The Steelers have such limited room under the salary cap that they released running back Gary Russell last week to make room for backup quarterback Charlie Batch, director of football operations Kevin Colbert said Monday. Continue

Russell released by Steelers

A busy week at the Steelers' South Side facility produced a surprising development Thursday.

The team released Gary Russell, who scored the Steelers' first touchdown in Super Bowl XLIII and had shown promise as a short-yardage back.

The Steelers did not give a reason for the 22-year-old Russell's release. His agent, Brian Levy, could not be reached for comment.

Russell played in 15 games last season, including the postseason, and had five rushing touchdowns. The 5-11, 215-pounder led the Steelers in kickoff returns and averaged 22.3 yards per return.

Russell played parts of two seasons with the Steelers after signing with the team as an undrafted free agent. Continue

Steelers 2009 schedule

Steelers' 2009 schedule

Thursday, Sept. 10 — TENNESSEE, 8:30 p.m.

Sunday, Sept. 20 — at Chicago, 4:15 p.m.

Sunday, Sept. 27 — at Cincinnati, 1 p.m.

Sunday, Oct. 4 — SAN DIEGO, 8:20 p.m.

Sunday, Oct. 11 — at Detroit, 1 p.m.

Sunday, Oct. 18 — CLEVELAND, 1 p.m.

Sunday, Oct. 25 — MINNESOTA, 4:15 p.m.

Nov. 1 — Off

Monday, Nov. 9 — at Denver, 8:30 p.m.

Sunday, Nov. 15 — CINCINNATI, 1 p.m.

Sunday, Nov. 22 — at Kansas City, 1 p.m.

Sunday, Nov. 29 — at Baltimore, 8:20 p.m.

Sunday, Dec. 6 — OAKLAND, 1 p.m.

Thursday, Dec. 10 — at Cleveland, 8:20 p.m.

Sunday, Dec. 20 — GREEN BAY, 1 p.m.

Sunday, Dec. 27 — BALTIMORE, 1 p.m.

Sunday, Jan. 3 — at Miami, 1 p.m.

James Harrison re-signs for six years

The Steelers have signed linebacker James Harrison to a new contract that will pay him $51,175,000 over the next six years.

Harrison, the NFL's 2008 defensive player of the year, will receive $20 million in bonus money.

An official announcement will be made today at a news conference.

Harrison would have been going into the final year of a contract.

"We are quite happy, as you can imagine," said Bill Parise, Harrison's Beaver County-based agent. Continue