Larry Foote Rumor

[Finnegans Wake]

Steelers to release linebacker Larry Foote
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
By Ed Bouchette, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
The Steelers plan to release starting linebacker Larry Foote, the Post-Gazette confirmed today.

ProFootballtalk.com, citing a league source, broke the story late this morning and sources confirmed it for the Post-Gazette.

In a mysterious twist, however, the release is not planned over the next several days and Foote will be kept on the roster for this weekend's required minicamp, sources said.

Foote has one year left on his contract that was scheduled to pay him a salary of $2,885,000 in 2009. There was much speculation leading up to the Super Bowl that the Steelers might release him because of that salary and because 2007 first-round draft choice Lawrence Timmons is behind him.

However, coach Mike Tomlin said shortly after the season that he wanted to keep Foote around and had no plans to release him.

Foote, a fourth-round draft pick from Michigan in 2002, has been a starter at inside linebacker since 2004. He said during the Super Bowl week that he would not take a salary cut in 2009 to remain with the Steelers, and there were reports he wanted to play for his hometown Detroit Lions if he were released.

Foote did not attend the team's first two voluntary workouts last week. His agent, Ken Kremer, said at the time he was working out in Detroit and planned to attend this weekend's minicamps. Kremer also said there had been no contract discussions between him and the Steelers.

Ed Bouchette can be reached at ebouchette@post-gazette.com.
First published on April 28, 2009 at 2:03 pm

OK, that's weird.  Any possibility this signifies the FO is still trying to work a trade?

[jonzr]

That must be it, finman.  Why else the secrecy?  Wonder if the Lions signed any LBs?

[Finnegans Wake]

Wikipedia has become lightning fast on this shit. 

Lawrence "Larry" Edward Foote, Jr. (born June 12, 1980 in Detroit, Michigan) is an American football linebacker free agent of the NFL. He attended college at the University of Michigan and was a fourth round draft pick in the 2002 NFL Draft. Larry graduated from Pershing High School.

...

On April 28, 2009, Foote was cut by the Steelers, ending a 7-year career with the Steelers that included two Super Bowl championships.

[pensodyssey]

Man, too bad.  I always liked Foote's play, he was never the strongest or fastest but he knew how to tackle and worked hard.

My defining memory:  the tackle to preserve the shutout versus the Brownies in '07 on the last day of the season.  I think it was him, IIRC; if not, did I ever tell you guys I got mugged?

[Finnegans Wake]

Man, too bad.  I always liked Foote's play, he was never the strongest or fastest but he knew how to tackle and worked hard.

My defining memory:  the tackle to preserve the shutout versus the Brownies in '07 on the last day of the season.  I think it was him, IIRC; if not, did I ever tell you guys I got mugged?

Yes, that was him. 

No! You were mugged?!?

Agreed.  A solid and steady guy, sorta sad to see it come down to, seemingly, cold hard cash.

[jonzr]

Agreed.  A solid and steady guy, sorta sad to see it come down to, seemingly, cold hard cash.

Try to think of it as cap space.  A bit of abstraction often makes it easier.

[PghSteel-43]

I'm not so sure it solely comes down to a cash issue....

	Logged

[give'emthaboot]

WTF?  I can't see how they couldn't have at least squeezed a Day 2 pick out of somebody over the weekend, rather than outright cutting the guy.

Do they have a UDFA they really like who can make the team and add depth at the position or something?  Very puzzling indeed.

I always liked his MNF/SNF intro, from whatever the hell school he said he was from.

[msdmnr2002]

WTF?  I can't see how they couldn't have at least squeezed a Day 2 pick out of somebody over the weekend, rather than outright cutting the guy.

I agree.  With all the wheeling and dealing that goes on, I can't figure not one of the other 31 teams would think "we can have a 5 year starter for a two time SB winner that's under 30, or we can take our chances with our 5th rounder that has less than a 50/50 chance of making the roster.  Let's take the deal."  Heck, even a next year's fourth would have made sense.

Maybe it was Detroit or nothing, and they couldn't work a deal.

[jonzr]

It probably had to do with the salary hit of $2.8M which they'd have to honor in a trade.  Now watch the Patsies sign the guy.

With all those teams now implementing the 3-4 you'd think at least one would need an experienced inside LB.