Rumors may about as to whether the Steelers is not and/or will not enter into negotiations to extend Mike Tomlin’s contract before training camp, but the front office is certainly focused on getting the draft picks signed before the Steelers arrive in Latrobe on July 30th.
Last week the Steelers reached agreements with Doug Worthington and Thaddeus Gibbons, their 4th and 7th round picks, respectively, and yesterday they signed Emmanuel Sanders, one of their third round picks.
Today the Steelers announced that they had consummated two more deals.
Linebacker Stevenson Sylvester, whom the Steelers took with their third fifth round selection, signed with the team today. Sylvester played his college ball for the University of Utah, where he captained the team for two-years, won defensive MVP honors during the 2009 Poinsettia Bowl, and made the first-all-MWC team.
The Steelers picked Jonathan Dwyer, who played at Georgia Tech, with the first of their two sixth-round picks. Many draft observers were surprised that Dwyer fell so far in the draft, some commenting that he should have been a first or second round pick. Looking at his college resume, it is easy to see why.
Dwyer won first-all-ACC team honors for effort in his final two collegiate seasons. As a sophomore he led his team with 1,395 yards rushing and he earned the conference’s Offensive Player of the Year award, which also qualified him for All-America status. During his junior year campaign he equaled his 2008 total running for 1,395 yards on 235 attempts, which stands as Georgia Tech’s the fourth-best rushing total in school history.
The Steelers second selection was Antonio Brown, who played at Central Michigan and was the school’s all-time reception leader. With several wide outs ahead of him, Brown’s best shot to make the team is probably special teams, and last year he won his second consecutive MAC Special Teams Player of the Year award, as he also earned first-team all-MAC honors as both a receiver and punt returner.
The Steelers will not converge on St. Vincent for more than a month, but the team already has locked down six of their 10 draft picks.
Making Room on the Roster
The Steelers have been above the NFL’s off season roster limit for sometime, which has not been a problem as draft picks do not count until they sign.
To make way for their draft picks the Steelers released wide receiver Jason Chery, kicker Piotr Czech, linebacker Derrick Doggett, punter Adam Graessle, nose tackle Cordarrow Thompson, center Bradley Vierling and cornerback Trae Williams.
