Posted without comment.

Says Jason LaCanfora:

"Roethlisberger's suspension is 4 games. He has left the NY area and is en route back to Pittsburgh."

Discuss.

Ed Bouchette reports:

"The Steelers came to terms on a two-year contract with veteran tackle Flozell Adams this afternoon and he will arrive in training camp with them this weekend."

The o-line battle in training camp just got even more interesting.

Discuss.

(Props to naynaynay1, WVPiratesfan, and mojo88 for catching this first. If I could frontpage your posts, I would have.)

Jason LaCanfora and Adam Schefter, two key NFL insiders, are both reporting that the Steelers plan on Roethlisberger being their QB in 2010, and that it is "extremely unlikely" that he will be traded.

Discuss.

ESPN is reporting that Roethlisberger will be suspended 4-6 games.

According to ESPN, the suspension "will contain conditions that will allow it to be reduced based on Roethlisberger's behavior and compliance with clinical evaluators."

Another interesting tidbit, they claim Steelers were expecting 8 games.

NOTE: Tip of the hat to SteeladyinVA and WolfpackSteelersFan for reporting this in fanshots and fanposts.

UPDATE: From nlevine34 in the comments, Adam Schefter is reporting that the Steelers have begun contacting teams to trade Roethlisberger for a top 10 pick. Things just got more interesting.

Adam Schefter is reporting that the Steelers have traded a 7th round pick to the Buccanneers for Leftwich.

Lefty performed well in limited action with the Steelers during their Super Bowl run in 2008, but left for Tampa Bay and the chance to become a starter. He went 0-3 and ultimately landed on injured reserve.

I like this move. It's a potential sign that the Steelers expect Ben Roethlisberger to be suspended for a significant length of time and/or, following on the heels of OTAs, that the coaching staff doesn't have 100% confidence in Dennis Dixon.

But I will try not to read too much into it. At the very least, it gives us a valuable backup -- Dixon is still fairly unproven, Charlie Batch is past his prime, and both have struggled with injuries -- and creates competition at a critical position.

Editor's Note: I'm not so sure that this move doesn't at least suggest that the Steelers are willing to entertain trade offers for Ben Roethlisberger. Given what we saw out of Dennis Dixon last year, I see no reason why they'd need to bring back extra 'insurance.' Not saying I think it's likely Big Ben will be traded, but I don't think it's out of the realm of possibility whatsoever if this report is indeed true. -Michael Bean-

Sounds like it was the coaching staff's call:

"After discussing whether Roethlisberger's presence on Monday would create too much of a distraction, the decision was made for him not to attend the team's offseason program."

I suspect too much will be made of this in terms of its impact on next season. That said, it's a glimpse of insight into how the coaching staff feels about the situation -- and at the end of the day, whether it will have a big impact or not, you want your franchise QB there with the team.

ESPN is reporting that Steelers will sign one of Tomlin's old players:

"Free agent safety Will Allen will sign a three-year contract with the Pittsburgh Steelers on Monday, according to a source close to the situation."

This means it's more likely than not that Ryan Clark will not be returning -- instead following former teammate Joey Porter's footsteps and getting a big deal from Miami.

Allen was All-American at Ohio State and a ST captain and ST Pro Bowl alternate with the Bucs. Also, he's the dude who broke Willis McGahee in the 2003 Fiesta Bowl.

UPDATE: After a few quiet days, the Steelers have really jumped into free agency. The Post-Gazette reports that the Steelers are reuniting a pair of FA players with their old coaches, hiring WR Arnaz Battle from SF and OT Jonathan Scott from Buffalo.

Battle is a veteran WR and former special teams captain for new Steelers ST coach Al Everest. He'll also be in the mix as a backup slot receiver, a position where the Steelers are thin.

Jon Scott is a 6-6, 318 offensive tackle who is following Oline coach Sean Kugler from Buffalo and could be in the mix at OT or RG.

The Post-Gazette is reporting that the Steelers are close to hiring former 49ers ST Coach Al Everest to replace Bob Ligashesky.

Similar to new O-line coach Sean Kugler, Everest is moving laterally and filling the same position with a new team after a mixed record in 2009.

Unlike Kugler, however, Everest was let go while other coaches were retained -- and while Kugler held together a line decimated by turnover, Everest was a source of controversy over his decision-making.

That said -- it couldn't get worse than this year, and Steeler Nation welcomes Al Everest to the black and gold family and hopes for the best.

Also, The Steelers have announced that WR coach Randy Fichtner has moved to QB coach. Fichtner, hired in 2007 by Tomlin to coach WR's, is well-regarded in the organization and coached collegiate QB's.

Whether or not this was a good move will be determined by Ben's performance next season, but the move does set up Fichtner as a potential candidate for offensive coordinator if Arians is not retained when his contract is up after next season.

Thanks to MelBlunt in the fanposts for noting this:

"The Steelers have fired offensive line coach Larry Zierlein and told Bruce Arians he will be retained as the team's offensive coordinator, the Post-Gazette has learned."

Discuss.

In today's end of season presser, Tomlin announced that the only Steelers coaching change as of yet is the retirement of QB coach Ken Anderson.

According to Tomlin, he and Anderson had discussed the former Bengals QB's possible retirement prior to the 2009 season.

As for other much-discussed changes including whether the team will release Offensive Coordinator Bruce Arians, Tomlin said he is still in the beginning of the off-season review process and it was not an appropriate time to announce any changes.

Still, his reference to an "appropriate time" left some observers thinking that at least a few changes to the Steelers staff are looming.

Jim Wexell is reporting via Twitter that Darnell Stapleton just told reporters he will be going on IR.

If so, as Wexell notes, Doug Legursky is all but guaranteed a roster spot.

It's a busy news day for the Steelers, with reports this AM that Brett Keisel is close to signing a 5 year extension (reported in this fanpost by SteelCage).

The first round of cuts are coming up -- who gets the ax?

S Derrick Richardson, LB Andy Shantz, and LB Tom Korte did not play Saturday, so that could be a good place to start.

Who else?

From the Steelers official site:

"Miller, who would have entered the final season of the contract he signed as a No. 1 choice in the 2005 NFL Draft, has a new six-year deal from the Steelers that binds him to the team through the 2014 season."

Terms have not been announced. This is a great move. We lock up a fantastic all-around TE and outstanding person. It is a credit to the Steelers organization that they are able to get deals like this done with fantastic players. And as the article says, it shows how much Miller means as a player and a teammate that they didn't bet on the CBA, but rather signed now.

I've long said Omar Khan is the most under-appreciated member of the Steelers organization - this is why. Fantastic news. What do you think -- and who should be next?

...President reportedly interested in James Harrison taking over as head of homeland security.

All seriousness, the Steelers have OTA's scheduled that day but a team spokesman says the trip to the White House will take priority. It will also be a homecoming of sorts for Nate Washington, Larry Foote, and Bryant McFadden.

Multiple outlets are reporting that the former Steeler has been cut by the Bengals along with former 1st round running back Chris Perry - and that the team plans to part ways with Levi Jones after picking Andre Smith this weekend.

I don't think the Steelers sign him unless he gets past his legal troubles AND someone gets hurt in the preseason. But if the Bengals think you aren't good enough / have too many off-field issues... you're probably not going to have much luck anywhere else.

Great news on draft day.

From ESPN:

"Ward agreed and signed a four-year, $22 million contract extension that will allow him to stay a Steeler the rest of his career, according to a source. Ward was scheduled to be a free agent after the season. He is now signed through 2013."

Bill Parise, agent for James Harrison, said that the Steelers are very close getting a contract done with the NFL Defensive Player of the Year.

A lot of Shipley fans around these parts, so this should make people happy. I'd only want us to take him in the 4th or 5th, maybe our late 3rd compensatory pick.

Shortest arms at the combine, but strong as heck and in the words of Mike Mayock, "all he does is block people!". Good character guy too.

I'd like to see a Guard in the 1st, Shipley a few rounds later, and a Tackle thrown in somewhere there too. That would be a solid draft for us.