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Sunday, April 05, 2009

Leftwich, Skins talking

Steelers quarterback Byron Leftwich met with the Washington Redskins over the weekend and the Washington, D.C., native could soon sign with his hometown team.

The Steelers would like to have Leftwich back for another year as Ben Roethlisberger's backup. Of course, they'd also like to bring Charlie Batch back as well.

Washington tried hard to make a trade for Denver quarterback Jay Cutler, who was later dealt to Chicago. The move has put quarterback Jason Campbell's status with the Skins on thin ice. Campbell is reportedly ticked off about the team trying to deal him.

Signing Leftwich would give the Redskins options.

The Steelers, meanwhile, like second-year quarterback Dennis Dixon, a fifth-round pick last season. Despite coming off a major knee injury that ended his college career, Dixon looked good in training camp and the preseason.

He may not, however, be quite ready to hold down the No. 2 job with the Steelers. Hence the team's interest in bringing back Leftwich and/or Batch.

20 comments:

Anonymous said...

batch will be fine, he has enough left to be a good backup for one more season.

Anonymous said...

Leftwich... In a west-coast offense.... WAT.

Patrick said...

I don't see Batch going anywhere else.

If Ben were lost for an extended period of time, maybe there would be a cause for concern. But even if Dixon had to play a game or two, I think with this defense and a strong gameplan the Steelers could overcome that.

Hey Dale, any chance of a Mock Draft from you?

Also, if a good inside LB fell to 32, do you think the Steelers might jump? Foote is on his way out, Timmons obviously is blossoming and Farrior is solid as can be, but not getting younger. There is Fox and some other guys, but I think in a 3-4, this position is a thin one the team too.

Anonymous said...

If the steelers want to keep him, why haven't they made him or Batch an offer?

other_patrick said...

Re ILB: As of now there is NOT Fox.

If the Steelers are interested in keeping Leftwich, you would think they might offer him a contract perhaps?

Anonymous said...

Steelers just re-signed Keyaron Fox to a 2-year deal.

other_patrick said...

good news!

Let's see if the trend holds....

James Harrison's contract is NOT done.

Patrick said...

dear alter ego,

NEVER doubt me

nah I had no clue that Fox was not signed, I thought that happened weeks ago and I was mistaken, but that would have furthered my point.

I still think a young ILB would be good. If Farrior went down, it would not be good. And it usually takes a few years to learn that position. See Timmons as a good example.

datruth4life said...

According to the Post-Gazette and ESPN.com, Keyaron Fox has agreed to a 2-year, $1.8M deal with the Steelers, which includes a $380,000signing bonus. A good deal for the Steelers since Fox is a good special teams player and is good enough to be a starter at ILB for this team if anything ever happened to Timmons, Farrior or Foote.

Resigning Leftwich would be great, but it is no secret here in the D.C. area that Leftwich has long wanted to play for the team that he grew up rooting up. Plus he has his ring to boot and Campbell isn't on the most solid of ground right now.

Still, Leftwich is a much better player than Batch is at this stage. Batch has lost a lot from his fastball, which was very noticeable this past preseaon, and I'm sure dislocating your right throwing shoulder isn't going to help that problem.

Everything turns to the draft right now, where I think the Steelers pick at no. 32 will be either: DE Jarron Gilbert, CB/KR Darius Bulter, C/G Eric Wood (I hope that it will be Gilbert).

Alex Mack or Vontae Davis could drop a little and be available when the steelers pick at no. 32.

Thoughts?

Anonymous said...

Leftwich would be smart to sign with the Skins, he is better than Campbell anyways IMO

And no, we should NOT draft a LB early in the draft. That would be stupid, we have much greater needs

Anonymous said...

Every guy we sign makes the likelyhood of us getting a new contract done with harrison less likely and we still have to sign our picks.

Patrick said...

I guees that Timmons pick was stupid then too, we had other needs that year as well

And when is the last time a rookie started, besides Ben? You can have all the needs you want, chances re the rookie isn't going to play. In a year from now, ILB could be just as thin as Oline or CB.

Anonymous said...

Timmons was a great pick, dont be an idiot.

Many 1st round picks start

ILB is not thin. We have Timmons and Fox

OL, DL, CB, WR are our main needs. LB is our deepest position.

Anonymous said...

"I guees that Timmons pick was stupid then too, we had other needs that year as well"

Big Ben was a good pick too, should we draft another QB?

Patrick said...

how many QB's play per game as opposed to LB's in a 3-4 smart guy?

All I'm saying is that if the Steelers want to go BPA and an ILB falls, they might be tempted. It would be even more tempting if Mack was off the board, which I think he will be. I guees we should all hope for another WR or reach for an OL or CB then? Doesn't make sense to me.

Patrick said...

also, for the Ben comment genuis, if we had 2 QB's, one with one year left on his deal and the other 33 years old, would you consider maybe picking up a new one?

That is the situation with our ILB's. And if for some reason the Harrison deal doesn't get done, Timmons could be playing OLB

Dale Lolley said...

I'll be doing some mocks in the couple of weeks leading up to the draft.

other_patrick said...

I agree that ILB is a need. Maybe more of a target for the 3rd or 4th round area (McKillop maybe)

Not sure who would be worth picking in the event of a draftee sliding. Laurinitis is possible but not worth our 1st rounder. I would consider Maualuga if he dropped that far but I just don't see it.

VCTMbrian said...

Tough to imagine the Steelers investing in a first round ILB considering their other needs.

Anonymous said...

Laurinitis is garbage. He won't get drafted in the first round. I would be pissed if the Steelers drafted him, he is vastly overrated.

Rey Maualuga however is a total stud and would be a perfect fit for our D. I doubt he will last till 32 though