Steelers News: Ventrone, Harrison, Burns
By Kim Myers
The Steelers draft picks have been made and the offseason workout program is in full swing.
Steelers season never truly ends for Steeler Nation so while the team starts to put in the work to prepare for the 2016 NFL season we’ll be busy looking for mentions of your Black & Gold so we’ve got you covered. Here’s your Steelers Morning Huddle for Sunday, May 22nd.
Must be love
Since Steelers safety Ross Ventrone was signed as an undrafted free agent out of Villanova in 2010 by the New England Patriots he’s been released a total of 15 times. Teresa Varley explains how Ventrone’s love of the game of football is unparalleled in spite of the ups and downs it has given him.
Ventrone found a home on the Steelers’ 53-man roster in 2014 after spending some time on the practice squad. He was waived in October of 2015 with a hamstring injury and so that Martavis Bryant could be activated from suspension. He was re-signed in December and is hoping to make his hometown team his permanent one as he takes part in the team’s offseason program.
NFLPA response
Steelers linebacker James Harrison is enjoying some family time with his sons in Florida before OTAs begin but he still manages to keep the fans updated on the status of his ongoing struggle with the NFL about their inconsistency in regards to his rights to record the PED tests he is selected for.
The NFLPA explains that Harrison was within his rights to record parts of the process and that he made the right call in reaching out to the union. I’m sure there will still be hot takes about it anyway.
Waiting on Jackson
ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reminds us that cornerbacks William Jackson III and Artie Burns will forever be linked. Well, probably not forever. The theory that the Bengals purposely drafted Jackson just to dig the Steelers will die out eventually.
They’ll be linked mostly because they were drafted one right after the other and they’ll both play in the AFC North. Another thing that will link them is their contracts. Because of the rookie wage scale there’s not a whole lot more Jackson will be paid at the No. 24 pick than Burns will but you won’t see Burns’ contract done before Jackson is signed, if Burns’ agent is a good one, anyway.