Starks contract is reasonable

According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, the four-year contract extension signed by offensive tackle Max Starks is worth a total of $26.3 million, and includes a signing bonus of approximately $10 million. At an average of less than $6.6 million per season, that's actually a reasonable contract from the Steelers' perspective. Recall that Starks earned $6.9 million as a transition player last season, and was slated to earn more than $8 million in 2009. Now the team can turn its attention to extending the contracts of one or two other key veterans, with tight end Heath Miller most likely at the top of the list.

Mr. Irrelevant, Irrelevant Week has surprising connections to the Steelers

My new Failure magazine feature on the history of Irrelevant Week reveals several surprising connections to the Pittsburgh Steelers, many of which I was unaware of before researching the article. Not only was the very first Mr. Irrelevant [Kelvin Kirk, 17th round, 1976] chosen by the Steelers, the creator of Mr. Irrelevant [Paul Salata] was a Steelers draft pick, taken in the tenth round in 1951. Not only that, Salata was a two-year NFL veteran when he was selected by Pittsburgh, having already played for the San Francisco 49ers and Baltimore Colts.

Steelers sign 3 draft choices, cut Dirk Johnson

The Steelers must be optimistic about the progress Daniel Sepulveda is making in terms of coming back from his pair of knee surgeries as the team has released fellow punter Kirk Johnson. Meanwhile, the club also recently announced the signing of a trio of draft choices - third-rounder Keenan Lewis, as well as fifth-rounders Joe Burnett and Frank Summers. All were inked to three-year contracts.