Pittsburgh Steelers sign six new players to roster with future contracts – NFL News
The Pittsburgh Steelers confirmed on Friday, January 20, 2012, to have signed at least six new players at various positions to their roster on future contracts.
It is for the first time since ending of the 2011 National Football League (NFL) regular season that the team has added more players to its line-up.
Those who are signed include the wider receivers, Jimmy Young, Tyler Beiler, Derrick Williams and David Gilreath. The team has also taken corner back, Walter McFadden, on its squad.
The most notable among the new signees is the quarterback, Troy Smith. The Steelers have added the QB to their future contracts.
Smith is a winner of the 2006 Heisman Trophy and has spent as many as three seasons at the Baltimore Ravens. He was a part of the Ravens to beat the Steelers back in 2007.
He has also spent some time at the San Francisco 49ers. As of the latest, he played in the United Football League (UFL) with the Omaha Nighthawks.
The terms of the deals of the players were not disclosed by the team and the signings are reported to aim at creating additional depth in the squad to give more options to the team in the selection of players.
The signing of a new quarterback coincides with the reports of the Steelers’ two QBs, Byron Leftwich and Charlie Batch, becoming unrestricted free agents in the offseason.
Troy Smith is expected to bridge the gap created by their move.
Charlie Batch is a veteran QB and reports have earlier hinted at his moving elsewhere or in a rare possibility, calling it quits. All those rumours were denied by him.
The player has played at the QB position in absence of the Steelers’ star, Ben Roethlisberger, on a couple of occasions and proved his performance on the field.
It was a rare chance that Roethlisberger missed a game leaving the starting space open for another player, who in the most cases was, Charlie Batch.
One of those chances was the Steelers game against the St. Louis Rams. Big Ben did not play the game due to an ankle injury and the starting role was left to Charlie Batch, who performed well in his place.
Batch also replaced the player at many occasions during the game due to the same injury. It was again his performance that impressed the team’s coaching staff, especially head coach, Mike Tomlin.
After his decision of becoming a free agent, the team felt lacking in depth at its starting position and it is now expected that the Troy’s singing will fill the gap.
The Steelers finished the 2011 NFL regular season tied with the Baltimore Ravens atop the American Football Conference (AFC) North Division.
They lost out on their progress in the playoff round by losing their first game against the Denver Broncos.
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