Pittsburgh Steelers Sign Byron Leftwich

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The Pittsburgh Steelers signed free agent quarterback Byron Leftwich today. When backup QB Charlie Batch went down with a broken collarbone (he’s out 4-6 weeks) in Friday night’s game against Philadelphia, the Steelers went right to work on obtaining a veteran signal caller to backup Ben Roethlisberger. Enter free agents Byron Leftwich and Daunte Culpepper. Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin said:

“We made an agreement with Byron Leftwich to sign and be a quarterback with the Pittsburgh Steelers. We have some familiarity there, because Ken Anderson, our quarterbacks coach, worked with him down in Jacksonville. He’s a young guy, had a great workout here this afternoon, is very lean, looks to be in great shape. He’s a smart guy, a been-there, done-that guy. He’s been a franchise quarterback for a playoff-caliber team. We’re fortunate to be able to add a guy like him to the mix, and we look forward to putting him in the group as quickly as we can. Hopefully we can have him up to snuff so he can participate as soon as Thursday night in Toronto (vs. the Buffalo Bills).”

Both Byron and Daunte were in Latrobe, PA to work out at Steelers camp, but only Byron signed. Apparently, Daunte is still looking for a starting spot and didn’t want to join the team in a reserve role. That baffles me because with that attitude, he’ll most likely be sitting out this season. If he would just get himself onto a team and start learning a system, he stands a much better chance of getting into a starting role than he does sitting at home. I mean, did he really travel to Pittsburgh thinking he was going to unseat Big Ben as the starting quarterback of the Steelers? I stand as good a chance.

As for Byron, he brings some quality experience to the Steelers should Ben be injured. He’ll also provide great tutelage for rookie QB Dennis Dixon. But what do the Steelers do in 4-6 weeks when Charlie Batch is ready?

Sources: Steelers.com, ESPN.com