The Pittsburgh Steelers signed rookie free agent punter and Michigan State alum Aaron Bates today and in effect, gave the boot to 2007 fourth round draft pick Daniel Sepulveda.

Jeremy Kapinos, who was signed after Sepulveda injured his ACL yet again last year , remains on the roster and the roster spot is likely his to lose.

Mike Tomlin turned heads in his inaugural draft when he traded up in the fourth round to select a punter. Tomlin said he liked Sepulveda not only for his kicking, but because he was a good open field tackler, and he wanted to emphasize that special teams is part of the game.

Chalk that up to a nice idea on paper that never worked out in practice. Sepulveda was never a dominant punter, and spent two of his four years on IR.

In fact, the Steelers made their appearances in Super Bowl XLIII and Super Bowl XLV with Mitch Berger and Kapinos handling the punting chores.

Bouchette’s Bragging Rights

Post-Gazette Steelers beat writer Ed Bouchette can justifiably claim bragging rights. He spoke out against using such a high draft pick on a punter the day the pick was made — and on every occasion he could since then.

This Bud’s for you Mr. Bouchette. (Now, can we please stop bemoaning the pick?)

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