Pittsburgh Steelers cut guard Chris Kemoeatu, linebacker James Farrior -NFL News
In continuation of the roster cleansing drive, Pittsburgh Steelers, confirmed on Friday, March 02, 2012, to have let go guard, Chris Kemoeatu, and linebacker, James Farrior.
Both players have been told by the management that they will be cut before the National Football League (NFL) trade deadline of March 13, 2012, which also marks the beginning of next season.
The recent releases have come a day after the team announced waiver of the defensive end, Aaron Smith, to create further space on the pay roster.
The team’s president, Art Rooney II, said:
"Both Aaron and James have given their all during their time in Pittsburgh, and we appreciate their efforts and leadership they gave us.”
Farrior’s agent, Ralph Cindrich, also confirmed the release, but refrained from commenting on the player’s chances of pursuing another team while being on the free agency.
Hines Ward is the only player to have shown determination of moving elsewhere on the NFL following his release by Steelers and it is not clear if Farrior will make the same choice.
The only comments from the agent were the praise of Farrior over his contribution to Steelers.
He wrote on his Twitter account:
"James Farrior has been a rock for the Steelers but the Turk takes no prisoners-he's gone."
The player had a great role in the team’s defence and often was labelled as the defence captain by his teammates.
Now after the move, Steelers are expected to bring in the linebacker, Larry Foote, as his replacement for the position.
Foote is also a good starter and the team has hoped that he will perform well and grow into his role at the position.
Moreover, they are expected to further save on the players’ salary expense, which was well above the cap at the time Steelers came out of the 2011 NFL season.
This will also help them consolidate the roster, which has become rather aged, with a number of veterans taking chances year after year.
Some of them including Hines Ward have drastically gone down in their form into later part of their careers and were considered worthy of release. Although, Ward’s was the toughest but right call to make.
In addition to the waivers, the management has planned to retain wide receiver, Mike Wallace, who has been placed on tender by the team in hopes to bring him back.
Meanwhile, veteran quarterback, Ben Roethlisberger and linebackers, Lawrence Timmons and LaMarr Woodley, have agreed to get their deals redone and might accept to work on less financial benefits.
Hines Ward had also offered revising his deal with Steelers, but the team did not give him the chance. His release is expected to save Steelers $8 million in the remaining two years of his contract.
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