FA: Day One

Its being reported that the Steelers will host former Bears tight end, Kellen Davis, in the coming days. The Steelers recieved some much needed cap space after the NFL lobbied fines against the Redskins and Cowboys; and then allocated that money to the other 30 NFL teams.

Now, Kellen Davis.

Davis is a big tight end, standing 6'7 and weighing in at 262lbs. He was drafted by the Bears in the fifth round, 158th overall out of Michigan State.

In four years with the Bears he has accumulated 25 catches for 279 yards and 8 touchdowns. In 2011, Davis started 15 of 16 games and finished with 18 catches, 206 yards and five touchdowns.

Davis is a big capable tight end; he is an upgrade over David Johnson but is no where near the caliber of Heath Miller or even Weslye Saunders. I don't expect the Steelers to use any of their little cap space here.

Even with the suspension to Saunders the Steelers have Johnson and Miller on the roster; they also have the very capable Jamie McCoy on the practice squad. Even bigger is the fact that the Steelers could bring up McCoy for nearly five hundred thousand dollars less than any other tight end.

But hey, free agents in Pittsburgh always generates news.

Draft Peek

Now, its a little early for mock drafts on my behalf but I figured I would take a look at what everyone else was saying and put some thoughts to those. I have taken a few websites first round suggestions and figured I'd take a quick once over and give some quick thoughts on them.

To start here are a few of the 1st round prospects: Dont'a Hightower, ILB, Alabama; Mark Barron, S, Alabama; Mike Adams, OT, Ohio State; Dontari Poe, DT, Memphis; Peter Konz, G, Wisconsin; Cordy Glenn, OL, Georgia; Dre Kirkpatrick, CB, Alabama.

I think there are a few that can instantly be removed from the list:

Mark Barron is a huge reach for us. With an aging defense and a poor offensive line there are too many glaring holes to waist this pick on a safety when the Steelers still have All-Pro Troy Polamalu and Pro Bowler Ryan Clark.

Peter Konz is another questionable one. He is more of a center than a guard and the Steelers don't need another average convert like Legursky. They also don't have the time to breed him into an NFL guard when there are plenty of good lineman in this draft.

Dre Kirkpatrick is in a similar boat, they need more help on the lines than the secondary and the Steelers never really get that big named glamor pick.

Mike Adams stock has been plummeting because of his questionable character and work ethic. At the combine he bench pressed 225 an abysmal 19 times; couple that with his college suspensions tallying seven games and he would not be Colbert's first pick.

So, who fits best? With the string of releases and the aforementioned issues, they have so many needs to fill. Personally I like Dont'a Hightower. A lot. Hightower has great size at 6'2 265lbs. Great athletic ability and there is no record of any character issues. With Farrior gone he can step right into the starting ILB spot and have huge success.

Now, its even harder to pick the second round than the first, but I have fallen in love with Alameda Ta'amu, DT, Washington and he could be there for us in the second round. Ta'amu is a massive lineman standing 6'3 and weighing in at a solid 337lbs. At Washington he recorded 109 tackles, 19 for loss and 9 sacks. He is a thick cog and could he could take up multiple blockers to free up our linebackers.

Only 54 days left to find out.

Cleaning House

All great things come to and end, or at least that is what we are led to believe. It should be no shock to any Steeler fan out there that our team is following that same creed.

The Steelers, coming off a 12-4 season, began the process of cutting the nearly 25 million dollars they were over the cap. The team started with a series of contracts restructures and since then they have begun cutting veteran players to get clear of their negative cap.

Two days ago the Steelers announced that their all-time leading receiver and Super Bowl XL MVP, Hines Ward, would be the first major cut in an attempt to save four million dollars. Hines was drafted in the third round, 92nd overall during the 1998 draft out of Georgia. Fourteen years later he will leave with a Hall of Fame resume; 1000 catches, 12,083 yards with 85 touchdowns.

Yesterday the team announced that former starting left guard, Chris Kemoeatu and former starting defensive end, Aaron Smith would be cut as well. Kemoeatu was drafted in the sixth round, 195th overall during the 2005 draft; he played in 75 games starting 53 of them. Aaron Smith was drafted in 1999 in the fourth round, 109th overall. He was a long time staple on the Steelers defense recording 453 tackles, 44 sacks and an interception.

Today was no different than the previous two days as James Farrior became the latest veteran to fall victim to the Steelers clean up. Farrior was drafted in the first round, eighth overall in 1997 by the New York Jets. He joined the Steelers prior to the 2002 season and during that decade he recorded 742 tackles, 30 sacks and eight interceptions while starting 154 of 154 games.

This is part of the game, but don't ever say it's part of the buisness. Fans see these people as members of their family and to see any of them go is depressing. I will say though that we better get ready for more cuts because the team isn't done yet.