The Steelers resigned cornerback Anthony Madison yesterday, as they continued to bolster their special teams. To make room for Madison, the Steelers released cornerback Corey Ivy, whom they had only signed last week.

Madison, with the Steelers from 2006 to 2008, was released during the final roster cut down in a surprise move. This came a few short months after the Steelers had resigned Madison to a contract valued at one million dollars.

At the time, it was believed that Madison’s high cap value, and not his ability, was the prime determining factor in his release.

The Steelers special teams did improve the other night in Baltimore – they did not allow a kickoff return for a touchdown, but their punt return coverage units faltered.

Kudos to John Harris

John Harris of the Tribune Review lays a claim to some “bragging rights.”

99% of Steelers Nation’s attention on cut down day was focused on the fate of Isaac Redman. But John Harris apparently is smarter than the average bear.

Harris took Mike Tomlin to task for releasing Anthony Madison simply because of his salary. At the time Harris described Madison as “the heart and soul of the Steelers special teams.”

He went further, criticizing Tomlin for letting Carey Davis and Donovan Woods go in favor younger players such as Joe Burnett and Frank “The Tank” Summers.

Although I don’t think you’ll find anything about that on Steel Curtain Rising, but at the time the thought here was, “Tomlin knows how bad special teams were in 2007, and he knows how much better they were in 2008. He’s not going to make personnel decisions that undercut special teams….”

The Steelers actions speak for themselves. They almost immediately showed signs of buyers remorse in putting Frank Summers on IR and resigning Davis. They brought Donovan Woods back, albeit briefly, and now Anthony Madison has returned.

John Harris apparently knew something the rest of us, including the Steelers coaches, didn’t.