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Conway ends tryout, goes with Redskins Friday, November 13, 1998 By Gerry Dulac, Post-Gazette Sports Writer
Brett Conway made the decision to join a National Football League team in need of a kicker. But it wasn't the Steelers.
After sitting around the Steelers' locker room yesterday morning and waiting for a second audition in the afternoon, Conway abruptly left Three Rivers Stadium on the advice of his agent and headed for Washington, D.C., where he was expected to join the Redskins' practice squad today.
The move baffled the Steelers, who thought they had a deal with Conway. It sent them back to the clearance house in search of a temporary kicker for injured Norm Johnson.
Their next candidate: Matt George, who was with the Steelers in training camp until waived Aug. 24.
"Most competitors would rather be on the field than on a practice squad," said director of football operations Tom Donahoe, who defiantly emphasized the word "competitors."
Then he added, "If you went to any of our players on the practice squad and said, 'We want to dress you on Sunday,' they'd probably play for free. That's what you're in football for - to compete - not to be on the practice squad."
But Conway opted for the latter, said his Atlanta-based agent, Jack Reale, because the long-term situation with the Redskins appeared better than the short-term solution being offered by the Steelers. Reale said the Steelers would probably use Conway for one or two games then cut him once Johnson, who strained his right calf in Monday night's victory over Green Bay, was healthy.
Donahoe acknowledged that Conway, a No. 3 draft choice by the Packers in 1997 who has not kicked in an NFL game, likely would have been released when Johnson returned.
"It's a practice-roster spot that could evolve into a regular spot as soon as Sunday," Reale said, declining to mention the Redskins by name. "I think what we tried to take into account is playing with the Steelers is an honor for any player. They have an excellent shot to get to the Super Bowl. That's a hard thing to not accept.
"But in looking at this particular situation and weighing the options, looking beyond this year, the decision was to take the other option."
Also, Reale said if Conway signed with the Steelers and was released, his client could be claimed off the waiver wire by any NFL team, something Conway wants to avoid. As a member of a practice squad, Conway does not lose his free-agency status until he signs a contract with a team.
"That was a major concern," Reale said. "A team could dictate where he would play, and there are places he would prefer not to be."
Punter Josh Miller will handle the kickoff duties for Sunday's game against the Oilers in Tennessee, something he did in the preseason. But the Steelers would prefer not to use Johnson for placekicking if they could find a suitable replacement for one or two games.
Johnson, who strained his right calf on the team's final kickoff against the Packers, said he is "getting better by the day" and that there is a "very outside chance" he will try to kick today at practice.
But Johnson said he has been treating and rehabilitating his leg all week under the assumption he would not kick against the Oilers and would have an extra week to rest.
"I think that's what they were leaning toward - resting me, so I could come back strong," Johnson said.
But, Johnson added, "if they need to count on me Sunday, I think I can kick field goals. If the option is to rest me, that's what I prefer."
Conway auditioned for the Steelers on Wednesday in gusting wind conditions, and they wanted to take another look at him yesterday, in more favorable conditions, after the team left the practice field.
Conway had been waiting at his home in Long Island - sitting around, doing nothing. After being released from the New York Jets' practice squad, he worked out for Jacksonville, Baltimore, Washington and Oakland.
"I've traveled around a lot, just waiting for that certain window of opportunity to get in," Conway said.
It came yesterday ... but it wasn't with the Steelers.
"I know what he's trying to go through," Johnson said. "He's got some what-ifs; he's getting advice that this other direction is better for Brett Conway. He's kind of at a point where he's got to hold his breath that he did make the right decision. [But] I told him whenever you get NFL film in an NFL game, that speaks volumes for teams."
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