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Putting the Band Back Together: Steelers Sign Clark, Randle El

Mar 8, 2010 – 7:17 PM
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Adam Gretz

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If you thought Monday's addition of Will Allen signaled the end of Ryan Clark's tenure in Pittsburgh, you were mistaken.

It would have been a logical thought, and it certainly would have made sense, but the Steelers continued to pursue their starting free safety from the past four seasons and managed to re-sign him to a four-year deal according to Aaron Wilson of National Football Post.

Clark was identified by the Steelers at the start of the offseason as one of the three unrestricted free agents they wanted to keep, and along with nose tackle Casey Hampton and kicker Jeff Reed, they were successful. With Clark back in the mix it's likely that Allen's role will be to replace Tyrone Carter as the primary backup at both safety positions, and hopefully improve a special teams unit that was historically bad in 2009.

The Steelers didn't stop there on Monday, as they also signed Antwaan Randle El for what will be his second stop with the team, and former San Francisco 49er wide receiver/special team standout Arnaz Battle.

Randle El was originally a second-round draft pick of the Steelers back in 2002, spending the first four seasons of his career in Pittsburgh as a punt return specialist, gadget play weapon and No. 2 or 3 wide receiver. He's likely to be no better than the No. 4 receiver this time around due to the presence of Hines Ward, Santonio Holmes and Mike Wallace, who is coming off an extremely impressive rookie season.

If they're thinking of bringing him back to return punts, it's not a great idea as Randle El has been among the worst in the NFL the past two seasons and would not be an upgrade over Stefan Logan. He will, however, be an improvement over Limas Sweed or Tyler Grisham for the No. 4 receiver spot, which he'll likely be competing for with Battle.
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