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Steelers, QB Leftwich agree to terms on one-year contract
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Byron Leftwich
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The Steelers and quarterback Byron Leftwich have come to terms on a one-year contract, reuniting him with veteran Charlie Batch behind starter Ben Roethlisberger.
Batch signed a one-year contract with the team two weeks ago. Both backups were unrestricted free agents as is another, Dennis Dixon, who is not expected to resign with the Steelers.
Leftwich has spent three seasons with the Steelers, 2008, '10 and '11. He spent all last season, however, on injured reserve and played in only one game in '10, the last of the season.
He was scheduled to start the first four games of the '10 season when Roethlisberger was suspended, but a knee injury in the final preseason game put him out of commission and Batch and Dixon shared those four starts.
Last season, he again was to be the No. 1 backup until his left arm was broken in the preseason and he was placed on injured reserve.
Leftwich, who played at Marshall University, was the seventh player drafted overall in'03 and quickly became a starter for the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Jaguars released him in '07, and he played that season for Atlanta before signing a one-year contract in '08 with the Steelers. He signed with Tampa Bay as a free agent in '09 but returned to the Steelers in '10.
Leftwich has started 49 games in his career and passed for 10,260 yards and 58 touchdowns.
The signing likely means the Steelers will not pick a quarterback late in this draft. They also have former Heisman Trophy winner Troy Smith and former Texas A&M quarterback Jerrod Johnson on the roster.
First Published April 27, 2012 1:06 am
