28-year old Sean McHugh and 24-year old Frank Summers will duke it out in training camp for the starting job at fullback.  McHugh is a converted TE who didn’t get into any games last season.  He has played in 40 games (17 starts) in his NFL career and he has caught 23 passes for 301 yards (13.1 avg).  Summers is more of a blocker so he may have the edge on McHugh.  Summers played in 2 games (1 start) for the Steelers as a rookie last season but he didn’t get to touch the ball.  The fullback job for the Steelers is basically a blocking gig.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE STEELERS FBs in 2010:  D-

The Steelers have lost starting OT Willie Colon for the 2010 season.  He tore his ACL at practice earlier today and he will soon have surgery to repair it.  The 27-year old Colon played in 16 games (all starts) for the Steelers last season.  In his four years with the Steelers he has played in 50 games (all starts).  This is a huge blow to the Steelers’ offense as Colon was the best lineman on their team last season.

22-year old RB Rashard Mendenhall won’t have to look over his shoulder to Willie Parker anymore as he’s off to the Redskins for 2010.  Mendenhall played in 16 games (12 starts) for the Steelers last season in which he carried the ball 242 times for 1,108 yards (4.6 ypc) with 7 TD carries.  He also caught 25 passes for 261 yards (10.4 avg) with 1 TD grab last season.  He has now played in 20 games (13 starts) in his two years with the Steelers carrying the ball 261 times for 1,166 yards (4.5 ypc) with 7 TD runs.  Mendenhall has also caught 27 passes for 278 yards (10.3 avg) with 1 TD grab in his career with the Steelers.  The Steelers are confident that Mendenhall can handle carrying the ball 20+ times per game in 2010.

27-year old Mewelde Moore will enter training camp as the Steelers’ #2 RB.  He played in all 16 games (0 starts) for the Steelers last season in which he carried the ball 35 times for 118 yards (3.4 ypc).  Moore also caught 21 passes for 153 yards (7.3 avg) with 2 TD grabs last season.  Moore has now played six years in the NFL appearing in 86 games (15 starts) in which he has carried the ball 439 times for 1,991 yards (4.5 ypc) with 6 TD runs.  He has also caught 177 passes for 1,566 yards (8.8 avg) with 6 TD receptions in his career.  With his new role on offense Moore will probably play a lot less on special teams in 2010.  Moore has returned 83 punts for 792 yards (9.5 avg) with 2 TD returns and he has also returned 40 kickoffs for 732 yards (18.3 avg) in his career.

Rookie RB Jonathan Dwyer somehow slid to the 6th round.  But he was a excellent inside runner at Georgia Tech and he can handle a heavy workload if pressed into duty for the Steelers.

PROJECTED GRADE FOR THE STEELERS RBs in 2010:  B

The Steelers have signed 30-year old LS/LB Matt Stewart to a 1-year deal.  Stewart is trying to reinvent himself as a long snapper to extend his career and the Steelers are going to give him that chance.  He last played in a game in 2006 with the Cleveland Browns.  Stewart has played in 93 games in his NFL career in which he has 291 tackles, 8 passes defensed, 8 sacks, 5 forced fumbles and 1 interception.  It never hurts to take a chance on a player like Stewart as the Steelers could just cut him if he doesn’t pan out.