The Pittsburgh Steelers continue to prepare for free agency by making additional moves at the bottom of their roster the most significant of which saw the Steelers cut Rob Branchflower, a tight end from UMass who was their 7th round draft pick in the 2014 NFL Draft.
Steelers release 2014 seventh-round pick Blanchflower https://t.co/uo8cWXGASD pic.twitter.com/zoxVNltAcO
— Pittsburgh PG (@PittsburghPG) February 17, 2016
Branchflower did not make the Steelers final roster in 2014, but spent the entire 2014 season on their practice squad and figured to get a serious look during 2015’s training camp. However, he was injured during camp, and the Steelers placed him on the waived-injured list. When no other NFL team claimed him, he reverted back to the Pittsburgh Steelers as an exclusive rights free agent.
- The Pittsburgh Steelers however are moving ahead without Branchflower.
This means that Jesse James and Matt Spaeth will provide depth behind Heath Miller, and also signals that the Steelers could look to tight end in the draft. The Steelers also waived offensive lineman Kelvin Palmer and Mitchell Van Dyk, both of whom were injured in training camp and who were exclusive rights free agents with the Steelers.
Steelers Add Bodies at Defensive Line and Long Snapper
The Steelers continued to build their training camp roster by signing defensive lineman Lavon Hooks and long snapper Matt Dooley.
The Steelers invited Lavon Hooks to their rookie mini-camp last spring, but opted not to bring him to St. Vincents. Hooks did catch on with the Green Bay Packers training camp, although he neither made the team nor the practice squad. Hooks played his college ball in the SEC, where he played his junior and senior years for Ole Miss, registering 3 sacks while appearing in 15 games.
Given that the Steelers just resigned veteran long snapper Greg Warren, Matt Dooley figures to be little more than a training camp body.
