Sep 1, 2007
The Steelers made a late day trade today among their final cuts for return specialist/cornerback Allen Rossum. They gave up a 2008 conditional pick to get him. Rossum is a 10 year veteran that was drafted in 1998 by the Eagles. He made the pro bowl as a returned in 2005. I guess Willie Reid’s performance in the Carolina game was not enough to erase any doubts Coach Tomlin has in him as a returner.
Rossum definitely has the resume of a great returner. He holds the Falcons record for career punt return yards (1,723), career kickoff return yards (5,489) and career punt returns for touchdowns (2). It will be interesting to see how he performs in that role for the Steelers.
Apr 25, 2007
Profootballtalk.com (or as we like to call it “gossip for guys”) is reporting that there is speculation in league circles that the Cardinals may have been in contact with Steelers’ guard Alan Faneca- which is, of course, a big no no:
PHOTO: Mike Fabus/Pittsburgh Steelers
There is growing suspicion in some league circles that the current contract conundrum between the Steelers and guard Alan Faneca might be the product of some wink-nod off-the-record conversations between Faneca and/or his agent and coaches and/or front-office employees with the Arizona Cardinals, regarding the possibility of Faneca landing in Arizona either this year via trade or next year via free agency.
There’s no hard proof that this is happening. And it doesn’t take a rocket surgeon to figure out the link between Faneca and current Cardinals offensive line coach/former Steelers offensive line coach Russ Grimm — especially since Faneca wanted Grimm to be the head coach of the Steelers.
The fact that the Cardinals have a crappy offensive line that became even crappier due to the departure of Leonard Davis to Dallas makes the possible link even stronger, as does the fact that the Cardinals have the cap room to pay Faneca. And the Steelers don’t.
Even if Faneca never lands with the Cardinals, any communications aimed at laying the foundation for a trade or a signing would constitute blatant violations of the tampering rules. Whether the Steelers would file tampering charges remains to be seen, and whether the league would do anything about it is a separate issue.
With all that said, there is suspicion (and, for now, suspicion only) that something could be happening. We’re not saying anything is happening or will happen. Yet.
This whole situation is really heating up. While we don’t doubt that some discussion has taken place, we’re not sure if something would ever come of it. But still, it is a just a rumor and needs to be taken with a grain of salt.
