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The Pittsburgh Steelers are wasting little time getting their own free agents signed, and although they previously had only signed Exclusive Rights Free Agents (ERFA), they signed their first Unrestricted Free Agent (UFA) Wednesday afternoon when linebacker Steven Johnson signed a one-year deal with the organization.
The Steelers have re-signed LB Steven Johnson. Landed on IR this season.
— Ray Fittipaldo (@rayfitt1) February 15, 2017
Johnson was primarily a special teams player for the Steelers, but was also depth at the inside linebacker position. He was limited to six games this season, until landing on the injured reserve list due to a broken ankle.
Although the injury could have seen him return, the team’s injury situation after the first quarter of the season was dire enough it ended the years of Johnson, Senquez Golson and Ryan Harris, all who could have potentially returned.
The NFL is a numbers game, and the Steelers certainly are aware at how difficult it is to get, and keep, a 53-man roster from start to finish.
With NFL free agency set to begin March 9th, the Steelers will likely continue to make a push to sign many of their fringe free agents, and you can keep up-to-date on all those transactions with the BTSC Free Agency Tracker.