The Steelers have released running back Najeh Davenport.  Davenport played in 4 games for the Steelers this season and he carried the ball 2 times for 5 yards (2.5 ypc).  He also returned 10 kickoffs for 217 yards (21.7 avg).  Look for Davenport to have little trouble hooking on with another team soon with teams like the Broncos needing help pronto due to injuries.

The Steelers have to be upset with WR Santonio Holmes who they suspended for tomorrow’s game with the Giants due to his arrest on marijuana possession.  Holmes has caught 22 passes for 360 yards (16.4 avg) with a TD grab so far this season and the Steelers will miss his ability to stretch the defense.  Nate Washington will replace him in the starting lineup and he should do a decent job for the Steelers against the Giants.  He has caught 15 passes for 225 yards (15.0 avg) with 2 TD grabs so far this season.  Rookie Limas Sweed (1 rec, 11 yards) or Dallas Baker (0 catches) will have to step up and be the #3 WR for the Steelers this week replacing Washington.  Hopefully Santonio Holmes learned his lesson and won’t be so stupid and selfish in the future.

Mewelde Moore has moved from #3 on the depth chart to the starting lineup against the Jaguars due to injuries.  Moore has carried the ball 9 times for 19 yards (2.1 ypc) and he has caught 3 passes for 37 yards (12.3 avg) so far this season.  He also has returned 2 punts for -2 yards (-1.0 avg) and 4 kickoffs for 73 yards (18.3 avg) but he will give up those jobs to Najeh Davenport on kickoffs and Santonio Holmes on punts.  Gary Russell has been brought off of the practice squad to back up Moore and Najeh Davenport has been brought back.  Moore gets a tough first start against the Jaguars as the O-Line of the Steelers has been awful this season.

The Steelers have lost starting right guard Kendall Simmons for the season due to a ruptured Achilles tendon that he suffered in the Monday Night game with the Ravens.  Trai Essex and Darnell Stapleton will battle for Simmons’ old job and that’s not a good thing for the Steelers who are only averaging 3.4 yards per carry this season in the running game and the O-Line has got the QBs sacked 16 times this season.

The Steelers will be without All-Pro NT Casey Hampton on Monday Night against the first place Baltimore Ravens due to a groin injury.  Despite the fact that Hampton only has 3 tackles this season he’s very valuable to the defense because he demands a double team inside which often leaves the linebackers open to roam the field.  Chris Hoke will start in Hampton’s place and he has 1 tackle this season.  This will be a huge dropoff for the Steelers’ interior defense against the Ravens.