Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that the Steelers apparently were ready to cut Holmes had they not been able to find a trade partner for him and thus called all around the league in an effort to trade him. The fifth-round pick from the Jets was the best they could do, no doubt because Holmes is going to be suspended for the first four games of the 2010 season for a violation of the league's substance abuse policy and is one strike away from facing a year-long suspension. Wake and bake, baby!! If you ain't first, you're last!
And what does it say about Holmes that the best the Steelers could get for a 26-year-old receiver who two seasons ago was the Super Bowl MVP and last season had over 1,200 receiving yards was the 155th pick in the draft?
It's also worth noting that Holmes is about to enter the final season of his contract. Given the numerous legal troubles he has had throughout his short career, and knowing that the Steelers have only occassionally committed big-time money, long-term to players, there is no doubt Holmes would not have been with the team in 2011. It's questionable whether the Steelers would have paid him what he feels he is worth even had he been a model citizen, given the way the Steelers do things.
My big question is this: what is the point of no return for Ben Roethlisberger? District attorney Fred Bright will announce today his decision regarding whether to press charges against Big Ben regarding an alleged sexual assault that took place last month at a Milledgeville, Ga. nightclub. ESPN's Kelly Naqi reported on Friday that he will not be charged. Still, Roethlisberger does face a potential civil suit and potential discipline from Roger Goodell, who is expected to meet with Big Ben this week. Will Goodell suspend Roethlisberger for violating the league's personal conduct policy? Or does he give him one more strike to work with, given this incident following a claim of sexual assault by Roethlisberger last summer in Nevada?
And how many more chances will the Steelers give him? The franchise is very proud of its pristine image and takes it very seriously but incidents in the past couple of years involving Holmes, Roethlisberger, James Harrison, Jeff Reed and the released Cedrick Wilson have caused some in the Pittsburgh media to start comparing the franchise to the Bengals, a team notorious for arrests in recent seasons. This no doubt doesn't sit well with the Rooney family. And I'm sure it wasn't lost upon them that Roethlisberger's favorite receiver was Holmes; the two clearly had on-field chemistry over the last three seasons. Was dumping Holmes a sign to Roethlisberger that a player's stature doesn't really matter and that Roethlisberger will be next if he fouls up again? Or was this another case of the Steelers cutting the more replaceable player, as many alleged when they cut backup receiver Wilson for his issues while keeping defensive player of the year Harrison who had issues of him own at the same time?
It's a key point in the organization's history. No franchise--none--has maintained higher standards of integrity over the years than have the Steelers. It's why they are the model organization in the NFL. That is being severely tested now.
No comments:
Post a Comment