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Wednesday, February 08, 2012

Steelers begin offeseason moves

The Steelers on Wednesday began the process of getting under the 2012 NFL salary cap by releasing veterans Bryant McFadden and Arnaz Battle.

McFadden, a starting cornerback at the beginning of the season, lost his starting job to William Gay after suffering a hamstring injury.

Battle, the team's special teams captain, also struggled through an injury-plagued 2011 season.

Their release, coupled with a restructuring of linebacker LaMarr Woodley's contract, saves the Steelers around $10 million in cap space.

The Steelers are still around $10 million over the 2012 cap, but have another three weeks to alleviate that issue.

Up next on the restructuring table could be linebacker Lawrence Timmons and nose tackle Casey Hampton.

Timmons' deal would be a straight restructure, with the team looking to lower his $9.1 million cap hit, while Hampton will likely have to take a pay cut from his $4.9 million salary to stick around.

© The St. Louis Rams have asked the Steelers for permission to speak to front office man Omar Khan regarding their general manager opening.

21 comments:

Anonymous said...

I expected them to release hampton as well. Might they still, or will they definitely try to restructure his deal?

Dale Lolley said...

They'll try to get him to take a lesser deal, I'm sure, based on his number of snaps.

Gold Mike Tomczak said...

And, with the shortage of D-Lineman, I would like Hampton to stay, given a solid discount.

Steve-O said...

Any chance Omar Khan jumps ship to the Rams? I'd hate to see him go.

Dale Lolley said...

Who knows, Steve-o, the opportunity to run his own show might be too hard to pass up

Nate said...

I'd be a little surprised if Khan took the STL job. With Jeff Fisher running the show, how much power would the GM actually have?

alexrkirby said...

Perhaps the Rooney's will give Omar a pay raise to encourage him to stay.

Anonymous said...

is Farrior gone?

I will quit being a Steelers fan if he comes back next year

Anonymous said...

it would be very unfortunate for the steelers to lose kahn. they have adeptly managed the cap for so long now it's become assumed they will be alright each year.

from a value added stand point, who is more important to the teams long term success than kahn? not many people, imo.

Patrick said...

If cowher has any interest in returning, khan should wait.

Dale you should do an article on khan. Never read much about him

Patrick said...

Returning to football.... Not the steelers

Patrick said...

WE should hite Cower for assistant offensice coordinater

joe said...

I saw this morning khan has been with the steelers for 11 years, for some reason it seems like he has been working his magic for longer than that. i hope randle el calls him and talks to him about how bad some other organizations are to work for. on the other hand, good luck to him if he wants more responsibility.

what's ron cooks problem with art 2 ? i just have to laugh out loud reading him take dig after dig at art2.

also, do you know who would step into omar's position if he does leave ? i would imagine there is someone on staff who would step in and keep the plan moving forward for what looks like one of the more involved off seasons in a long time

adamg said...

Does Cook even sleep these days? Seems like he's on radio/tv 24/7. No wonder all his print columns are 100% cranky.

It would be too bad if Kahn leaves, but you can't blame anyone for a chance at a promotion.

Anonymous said...

Thank you, Bryant McFadden, for breaking up the otherwise game-winning touchdown pass to Reggie Wayne in the divisional round at Indy after Bettis choked his sentimental Ring-ride away.

Dale Lolley said...

A gm job in the NFL is a gm job. There are only so many. You're right, Fisher would still be running the show, but Omar would still have a say on the financial end, which is what he excels at.

Tim said...

Agree with Anonymous. McFadden bailed us out against Indy in a way that we don't win the Super Bowl without that play.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A4C6cRPytfs

Thanks, B-Mac!

Anonymous said...

What is the "offeseason"?

Anonymous said...

(What is the "offeseason"?)

It means Dale slipped and just informed us that the NFL is expanding, the Steelers are moving to Denmark.

Anonymous said...

Nice for Ben to say publicly that he's heard "bad" (and "good," but still) things about Haley the day he shows up.

What was it that Brandon Jacobs said to Gisele?

adamg said...

BR should probably just shut up. I'll assume he's trying to say non-controversial stuff, but it rarely comes out that way.