Back in Business

by: Jason Harding

As rumors flew around Twitter and Facebook the NFL Lockout coming to an end fans were ecstatic. Although I’m not so sure Pittsburgh fans really even noticed the Lockout due to the success of the Pirates.

However, the thought of not even losing a preseason game was still unbelievable. Then the thought of the chaos coming in the next week crept in.

As a football fan you had to be excited, for what may go down as one of the most exciting off seasons.

The crazy part is that it all happened within a week. I found myself checking ESPN and following Adam Schefter on twitter more than ever. It was non-stop action at all hours of the day.

After the draft for the Steelers one thing became evident; We must resign Ike Taylor. There was simply no way around it and luckily Pittsburgh and Taylor came to terms.

The Steelers knew there would have to be a lot of personnel moves coming around the league and needed to make a few of their own. Unfortunately that meant releasing a few guys to get under the $120.4 million cap. Antwaan Randle El, Max Starks and Flozell Adams were the big names that didn’t make the cut. Adams allegedly refused to take a pay cut to remain on the team.

According to Yahoo! Sports, Ben Roethlisberger has agreed to restructure his contract to aid the Steelers cap relief.

Perhaps the biggest news in Pittsburgh was looking at Plaxico Burress. A move I’m personally glad didn’t happen. While Burress would have added a big target for Roethlisberger, more cuts would have been imminent.

I was however disappointed that Pittsburgh didn’t get in the chase for Nate Clements. He signed a big contract in Cincinnati, but was definitely overpaid. I think given the opportunity he would have considered coming to Pittsburgh for less. He had already claimed he wanted a chance to win.

We may not have the Madden roster that the Eagles added, but we have never had that big name roster. Yet the Pittsburgh Steelers are a winning franchise. For that my ultimate respect goes to Kevin Colbert.

Overall, I think Pittsburgh knew where the big move was and it was right here within the organization the whole time. They got it done and therefore I think the offseason was a success.