The Freeman McNeil verdict, which brought free agency to the NFL, also ushered in the era of the NFL as a year-round sport. Between training camp, prep for the draft, free agency, the draft, mini-camp, and well, the season itself, about the only slow month for NFL news June.

This trend is pretty universal in the NFL, and Pittsburgh is no exception.

But perhaps Pittsburgh will the exception this year, because of, you guessed it, Anthony McFarland.

For those of you haven’t been following it closely, the Anthony McFarland saga is perhaps the biggest story, or non-story to be precise, of the off season short of the Ben Roethlisberger signing and the draft.

Here’s a quick recap. In March McFarland visited the Steelers. All sides agree that the meeting went well. The Post-Gazette even erroneously reported that McFarland had signed a contract. A few days later Nick Eason resigned with, and the Post-Gazette reported that event signified the end of the Steelers interest in McFarland.

Not so fast. During the spring owners meeting Mike Tomlin confirmed that McFarland was physically not ready to play yet, but that the Steelers definitely remained interested.

The Tribune-Review’s John Harris, who has been diligently reporting the McFarland story, now informs us that Anthony McFarland is set to give a private workout in Tampa, Florida.

Harris clearly thinks the Steelers should sign McFarland. McFarland will not inject much youth into the Steelers defensive line, but he could provide valuable depth.

Regardless of whether or not the Steelers sign him, regardless of whether or not that turns out to a good decision or good non-decision, the date of the workout is June 4th. Which, if nothing else, means that McFarland will provide Steelers Nation with yet another story/non-story….