The Steelers have signed undrafted QB Mike Reilly.  Reilly will compete with Dennis Dixon for the #3 QB job on the Steelers in 2009.  Reilly has nice size at 6′2″, 215 pounds but he’s more of a dropback passer.  He has a very quick release which makes up somewhat for his lack of arm strength.  In his 4-year career at Central Washington, Reilly played in 46 games (all starts) in which he completed 995 of 1,553 passes (64.1%) for 12,448 yards with 118 TD passes and 40 interceptions.  He is a longshot to make the Steelers out of training camp.

The Steelers have released 28-year old inside linebacker Larry Foote.  Foote played in all 16 games for the Steelers last season and he made 63 tackles, defensed 3 passes, had 1.5 sacks and he forced 1 fumble.  In his 7 years with the Steelers, Foote played in 110 games making 423 tackles, he defensed 18 passes, had 14.5 sacks, forced 7 fumbles and he picked off three passes.  Foote was a salary cap casualty who will be replaced in the starting lineup by Lawrence Timmons.  Foote quickly was signed by the Detroit Lions after his release.

The Steelers have signed 27-year old WR Shaun McDonald.  He is on the small side at 5′10″, 183 pounds but he’s not scared to go over the middle to make a catch.  McDonald played in 12 games for the Lions last season and he caught 35 passes for 332 yards (9.5 avg) with 1 TD grab.  He also returned 11 punts for 104 yards (9.5 avg) last season.  McDonald has now played in 84 games in his 6-year NFL career catching 220 passes for 2,490 yards (11.3 avg) with 11 TD grabs.  He has also returned 72 punts for 452 yards (6.3 avg) in his career.  This was a good signing for the Steelers as McDonald will have a good chance of being their #3 WR in 2009.

The Steelers like Johnson as more of a H-Back.  He is 6′2″, 260 pounds and he runs a 4.7 40.  He caught 45 passes for 760 yards (16.9 avg) with 9 TDs in his 4-year career at Arkansas State.  Look for Johnson to have a hard time getting a lot of playing time as a rookie.

A.Q. Shipley won the Rimington Award in 2008 at Penn State which is given to the nation’s top center.  Shipley gets by on effort and smarts because he isn’t the strongest center around.  He is only 5′11″, 290 pounds.  In four seasons at Penn State, Shipley played in 51 games (39 starts).  This was a good pick for the Steelers as Shipley will likely be the backup center in 2009 and maybe more than that down the road.