Tight End Matt Spaeth Re-Acquired By The Pittsburgh Steelers

Move over William Gay.

Another member of Pittsburgh’s 2007 Draft Class is set to return to “The Steel City.”

Spaeth spent two seasons in Chicago. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Wierzbicki-USA TODAY Sports

Yesterday, Pittsburgh’s Front Office signed Tight End Matt Spaeth to provide the franchise with some insurance at the position while Heath Miller is on the mend.

Rarely utilized in Pittsburgh’s passing-attack during his four years with the Steelers, the former Minnesota Golden Gopher was not much of a pass-catching threat as a member of the Bears either.  Overall, Matt caught only 13 passes for 78 Yards and 3 TD’s, and was more of a “Tackle Eligible” than a Tight End in Chicago’s “Matt Forte-centric” Offense.

At least to me, the biggest thing that I can take away from the Spaeth signing is that it basically seals Leonard Pope’s fate with the franchise.  At one time, Pope was thought to be a solid pickup for Pittsburgh due to his familiarity with Todd Haley from his days in Arizona and Kansas City.

Unfortunately, Leonard was less than stellar as a run-blocker, almost non-existent as a Red Zone target, and eventually passed on the depth chart by Rookie David Paulson towards the end of last year.  Thus, unless more injuries occur, Pope is likely one-and-done as a member of the Steelers.

Until Miller can return to the lineup healthy, Pittsburgh will likely line up with Paulson and Spaeth as #1 and #2 on their Depth Chart.  Behind those two, I would have to think that David Johnson would be utilized in some type of flex-FB/TE backup role.

Regardless of how the Depth Chart shakes out between those three players this Summer, the onus will be on them to “hold down the fort” until the the Steelers’ Pro Bowl Tight End comes back from his knee injury.

Stats Courtesy of: Pro-Football Reference and ESPN.com

Players Contract Info. Provided By: Spotrac.com