The Steelers have signed 27-year old QB Troy Smith to a reserve/future contract.  Smith didn’t play at all in 2011.  He last played in 2010 with the San Francisco 49ers.  Smith has played in 20 games (8 starts) in his first four years in the NFL and he has completed 121 of 234 passes (51.7%) for 1,734 yards with 8 TD passes and 5 INTs (78.5 QB Rating).  He also has carried the ball 52 times for 230 yards (4.4 ypc) with 3 TD runs so far in his career.  Smith is 4-4 (50%) as a starting QB in the NFL.  This signing likely ends Dennis Dixon’s run on the Steelers’ roster.

The Steelers have signed 25-year old WR Derrick Williams and 25-year old CB Walter McFadden to future/reserve contracts.  Neither of these guys played in any games in 2011.  Williams last played in 2010 with the Detroit Lions.  Williams has played in 18 games in his first two years in the NFL and he has caught 9 passes for 82 yards (9.1 avg).  He has also returned 42 kickoffs for 931 yards (22.2 avg) so far in his NFL career.  Walter McFadden is Steelers’ CB Bryant McFadden’s brother.  He has played in 4 games in his NFL career and he has 5 tackles.  Neither of these guys have much of an upside but they will be given chances to win jobs in training camp next year.

The Steelers have signed 30-year old CB Anthony Madison.  Madison played in 5 games for the Lions this year and he had 3 tackles.  Madison has now played in 71 games so far in his NFL career and he has 81 tackles, 1 sack, 1 interception and 1 pass defensed.  Madison will give the Steelers depth while helping them out on special teams.  This was a good move for the Steelers.

The Steelers signed 27-year old punter Jeremy Kapinos prior to last Sunday’s game with the Ravens and he played.  Kapinos punted the ball 3 times for 100 yards (33.3 avg) against the Ravens.  He also pinned the Ravens inside their own 20-yard line 1 time and he didn’t have any touchbacks.  Kapinos played in 4 games for the Steelers last year and he punted the ball 14 times for 576 yards (41.1 avg).  He also had 2 touchbacks (14.3%) and 5 placed 5 punts (35.7%) inside the opposing 20-yard line last year.  Kapinos is no Sepulveda, but he should be better than he was against the Ravens moving forward.

The Steelers have re-signed 29-year old OT Max Starks and they have waived 24-year old OT Chris Scott.  Starks played in 7 games (all starts) for the Steelers last year.  He has played in 95 games (68 starts) in his first 7 years with the Steelers.  The Steelers could sure use Starks’ help on the O-Line and they were darn lucky that he didn’t sign with another team.  Starks will replace Chris Scott, who has been cut loose.  Scott was a 5th round pick of the Steelers in the 2010 NFL Draft.  The 2 games (0 starts) that Scott played in this year were the first two games he has played in his NFL career.  The Steelers won’t miss Scott at all as he really didn’t show much in his 1+ year with the team.

The Pittsburgh Steelers have signed 25-year old OT Jamon Meredith.  Meredith played in 5 games (0 starts) for the Giants, Lions and Bills last year.  He has now played in 13 games (4 starts) in his first two years in the NFL.  Meredith has nice size at 6’5″, 312 pounds so it makes sense for the Steelers to give him a shot.

The Pittsburgh Steelers have inked 25-year old CB/S Macho Harris.  Harris played in 3 games for the Redskins last year and he had 3 tackles.  He has now played in 18 games in his first two years in the NFL and he has 44 tackles, 3 tackles for a loss and 2 passes defensed.  Harris should be able to help the depth of the secondary in 2011 as he can handle playing either safety or cornerback.

The Steelers have signed 27-year old cornerback Kevin Dockery.  Dockery played in 10 games for the Rams last year and he had 22 tackles, 1 tackle for a loss, 1 interception and 1 tackle for a loss.  He has now played in 61 games in his first five years in the NFL and he has 171 tackles, 5 tackles for a loss, 2 forced fumbles, 2 fumble recoveries, 29 passes defensed and 4 interceptions (1 returned for a TD).  This was a good signing for the Steelers who needed to add some depth to the defensive backfield for 2011.

UPDATE:  (8/29/2011) – The Steelers have released Kevin Dockery.

The Pittsburgh Steelers have signed 29-year old WR Jerricho Cotchery.  Cotchery played in 14 games (5 starts) for the Jets last year and he caught 41 passes for 433 yards (10.6 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  He has now played in 103 games (65 starts) in his first seven years in the NFL and he has caught 358 passes for 4,514 yards (12.6 avg) with 18 TD grabs.  He has also carried the ball 19 times for 79 yards (4.2 ypc) with 1 TD run.  Cotchery will likely be the Steelers’ #5 WR, which is amazing because he’s a pretty darn good football player.

The Steelers have signed 26-year old WR Kenneth Moore.  Moore played in 2 games for the Colts last year but he didn’t catch any passes.  Moore did however return 6 punts for 36 yards (6.0 avg) and 5 kickoffs for 102 yards (20.4 avg) last year.  Moore has now played in 14 games (1 start) in his first two years in the NFL and he has caught 6 passes for 59 yards (9.8 avg).  He has also returned 8 punts for 40 yards (5.0 avg) and 15 kickoffs for 321 yards (21.4 avg) so far in his NFL career.  Moore will have a much better chance of making the Steelers on special teams than he will at WR.