The Steelers Mike Adams experiment must come to an end

When you fail a drug screen at the NFL combine, you're getting off on the wrong foot. And for an offensive lineman in the NFL, your footing is a key component in being successful at what you do. As Pittsburgh Steelers tackle Mike Adams enters his 4th NFL season, he has not been very consistent. In fact, the only thing he's been consistent at is the sporadic nature of his play and contributions to the team.

Adams has battled a variety of on-field and off-field issues since the Steelers decided to draft him with the 56th pick in the 2012 draft. This after his failed a standard drug screen in Indianapolis, and after he personally drove to meet with head coach Mike Tomlin and GM Kevin Colbert, assuring them he would make good if they chose him.

Adams, a Farrell, Pa native dreamed of playing in the NFL for his favorite team, that being the Steelers. His words during those conversations were enough for a franchise known for being a good judge of character, decided to give him a shot. And why not. At 6-feet 7-inches and 320 pounds, he was built to play tackle in the NFL.

But it really hasn't gone well for him has it?

His rookie year was a mixed bag, starting six games while appearing in 10. Overall, nothing jumped off the page in terms of his play that said all-pro, but with such a small sample size the hope was to see some improvement in year two.

But his offseason between those years was not a good one. Like so many professional athletes, they tend to find themselves targets of people looking to cash in on the fortune of others. Adams was stabbed in an apparent car jacking attempt at 3 a.m. on the South Side of Pittsburgh. Adams claimed to have had a gun pointed at him and was also stabbed.

Three men were eventually charged with the crime, too bad the story turned out to be a lie.

At trial, it was determined that Adams, who had been at Nakama earlier in the evening, was drunk and apparently picked a fight with one of the three charged.

"Its perfectly appropriate that Mike Adams would lie," said attorney Fred Rabner, who represented Dquay Means, one of the three men charged. "He had a million reasons to lie," added Rabner.

As it would turn out, Adams failed to give specific details about what really took place. He lied and three men were wrongly accused of something they didn't do.

That is a credibility issue.

Instead of the Steelers cutting ties with him, the club gave him a second chance. It didn't take long in year two for the club to bench him after four starts.

I was almost certain the Steelers would cut him after a rocky 2013 and coming off the embarrassment of his lying about what took place on East Carson Street. But this is the NFL, and if you have physical abilities that most men only experience playing Madden, you get several chances before a team turns its back on you.

Its time for the Steelers to turn their back on Adams. Much like Paulie did to Henry Hill when he got caught dealing junk in the movie "Goodfellas."

I understand Adams had surgery on his back. I know that this would be a hard way to treat a guy who's injured. I realize the Steelers are already thin on the offensive line, but this move would be for the good of this team. For what the franchise has clearly stated it stands for when it comes to integrity and work ethic. The only move they should be considering come the end of camp and final cuts is a fairly simple one.

Mike Adams must go.

John Phillips is the author of this article and also works as a reporter/anchor for CBS Pittsburgh - 93.7 The Fan. You can follow JP on Twitter @JPOnTheFan