Cardinals sign ex-Steelers linebacker Larry Foote to 1-year deal

One could make a fairly nice return on continuous bets that former Steelers players will sign with the Arizona Cardinals.

The latest is Larry Foote, the former Steelers and Lions linebacker who signed a 1-year deal with the team Tuesday, bolstering some depth amid the loss of Karlos Dansby to free agency and possible suspension of LB Daryl Washington, who pleaded guilty to aggravated charges assault this offseason.

Foote has 720 tackles in 172 career games along with 23 sacks and two Super Bowl championship rings with the Steelers. He was a fourth-round pick out of Michigan in 2002.

Foote is an example of the kind of player the Steelers often drafted in the middle rounds in the early part of the 2000s. He isn't the most physically gifted player in the world, but he's still signing contracts because he's a smart, intense player. The Steelers could have used that in 2013. Foote was lost for the year with a biceps injury in Week 1, and Pittsburgh suffered its worst run defensive statistics in two decades.

Pittsburgh released Foote and his $1.5 million contract in March, paving way for a group of younger inside linebackers, as well as another one possibly being added via the draft, which starts Thursday.