The Steelers have signed 31-year old TE John Gilmore.  Gilmore played in all 16 games (11 starts) for the Buccaneers last year and he caught 13 passes for 160 yards (12.3 avg) with 1 TD grab.  He has now played in 131 games (33 starts) in his first 9 years in the NFL and he has 52 grabs for 524 yards (10.1 avg) with 5 TD grabs.  Gilmore will likely replace Matt Spaeth on the Steelers’ roster this year, but don’t expect big numbers out of him in 2011.

UPDATE:  (9/4/2011) – The Steelers have released John Gilmore.

The Steelers have lost 26-year old punter Daniel Sepulveda for the rest of the season due to a torn right ACL.  Sepulveda played in 12 games for the Steelers this season and he punted the ball 56 times for 2,250 yards (45.5 avg).  He also pinned opponents inside their own 20-yard line 16 times (28.6%) and he had 8 touchbacks (14.3%).  The Steelers have signed 26-year old Jeremy Kapinos to replace Sepulveda.  Kapinos played in 1 game earlier this year for the Colts and he punted the ball 4 times for 178 yards (44.5 avg) with 1 touchback and 2 punts downed inside the opposing 20-yard line.  Kapinos has now played in 22 games in his NFL career and he has punted the ball 92 times for 3,944 yards (42.9 avg).  Kapinos has also pinned the opposition inside their own 20-yard line 26 times (28.3%) and he has 13 touchbacks (14.1%).  The Steelers were lucky to find a guy like Kapinos sitting at home on his couch.

The Steelers have signed 28-year old kicker Shaun Suisham to replace Jeff Reed.  Suisham played in 14 games for the Redskins & Cowboys last season and he made 20 of 24 field goals (83.3%) and 25 of 26 extra points good for 85 points.  He has played in 57 games in his six years in the NFL and he has made 87 of 110 field goals (79.1%) and 101 of 103 extra points good for 362 points.  The Steelers hope that Suisham will be a huge improvement over Jeff Reed who was leaving too many points on the field.

The Steelers have signed 35-year old OT Flozell Adams to a 2-year deal.  Adams played in 16 games (all starts) for the Cowboys last season.  He has now played in 182 games (178 starts) in his 12 years in the NFL.  At 6’7″, 338 pounds Adams is still a very good run blocker but he has slowed down as a pass blocker.  With the Steelers wanting to run more in 2010, Adams should help the O-Line more than he hurts it.

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.

The Steelers have signed 29-year old linebacker Larry Foote to a 3-year, $9.3 million dollar deal.  Foote played in 14 games for the Lions last season in which he made 99 tackles, 9 tackles for a loss, he had 2 sacks, forced a fumble and he defensed 4 passes.  Foote has now played in 124 games in his NFL career and he has made 531 tackles, defensed 22 passes, has 16.5 sacks, forced 8 fumbles and he has 3 interceptions.  This was a smart move to bring Foote back as he played really well for the Lions last season showing that he still has a lot left in the gas tank.

The Steelers have signed 30-year old WR Antwan Randle El to a 3-year deal.  Randle El played in all 16 games for the Redskins last season and he caught 50 passes for 530 yards (10.6 avg).  He also returned 17 punts for 102 yards (6.0 avg) last year.  Randle El has now played in 127 games in his NFL career and he has caught 348 passes for 4,214 yards (12.1 avg) with 15 TD grabs.  He also has carried the ball 78 times for 436 yards (5.6 ypc) in his NFL career.  Randle El has also completed 20 of 25 passes (80%) for 281 yards with 4 TD passes and 0 INTs (153.1 QB Rating) in his NFL career.  That’s not all either as Randle El has returned 297 punts for 2,501 yards (8.4 avg) with 5 TD returns and he has returned 79 kickoffs for 1,759 yards (22.3 avg) with 1 TD return.  I like this signing for the Steelers as Randle El can fill a lot of roles for them in 2010 and beyond.

The Steelers have signed 30-year old WR Arnaz Battle to a 3-year deal.  Battle played in 15 games for the 49ers last season and he caught 5 passes for 40 yards (8.0 avg).  Battle also returned 3 kickoffs for 68 yards (22.7 avg) and 21 punts for 61 yards (2.9 avg) last season.  Battle also helps out on coverage teams as he had 9 tackles and he forced a fumble last season.  Battle has now played in 88 games in his NFL career and he has caught 178 passes for 2,150 yards (12.1 avg) with 11 TD grabs.  Battle also returned 64 punts for 446 yards (7.0 avg) with a TD return and 22 kickoffs for 441 yards (20.0 avg) in his NFL career.  Battle has 33 tackles and he has forced a fumble in his NFL career.  Battle is no more than a #4 WR but he is a hell of a lot better than Limas Sweed.  The Steelers really inked Battle for his special teams work and for that reason I like this signing.

The Steelers have signed 27-year old OT Jonathan Scott.  Scott played in 10 games (8 starts) with the Bills last season.  He has now played in 30 games (14 starts) in his four years in the NFL with the Lions & Bills.  Scott has nice size at 6’6″, 318 pounds but if he wasn’t good enough to be a full-time starter for the Lions or Bills I wonder what makes the Steelers’ front office think that he was worth signing?  The Steelers could have and should have done better.

The Steelers have signed 27-year old safety Will Allen to a 3-year deal.  Allen played in 8 games for the Buccaneers last season and he made 20 tackles and defensed 1 pass.  He has now played in 84 games in his NFL career and he has made 195 tackles, defensed 8 passes, forced 2 fumbles and he has 4 interceptions.  I really don’t like this signing much as Allen wasn’t good enough to play much for the Buccaneers and that says quite a bit about his talent level.