From the P-G:
The Steelers granted linebacker Larry Foote his wish and released him today.
Foote had one year left on his contract with a salary of $2,885,000.
"Larry has been a big part of our success, but unfortunately the realities of the salary cap made this decision inevitable," Kevin Colbert, the Steelers' director of football operations, said in a statement. "We wish Larry and his family nothing but the best as he moves forward with his career."
Ya know, I don't like to see starters just released like this, but Larry Foote cried his way out and would have been a distraction had they have kept him. He wanted more playing time. Huh? He's a starter.
This will get Timmons on the field more, and that's not a bad thing. He can run really fast.
The worst part though is the timing. If Foote would've started his bitchfest a couple weeks ago, we could have maybe drafted Ray Maualuga in a draft day steal and had a completely sick LB corp. Oh well.
See ya Larry. Enjoy a trip somewhere into NFL anonymity.
UPDATE:
A take from ESPN:
The Pittsburgh Steelers officially released linebacker Larry Foote, the team announced Monday evening. As a result, the Steelers lose a veteran but will get to take Foote's $2.885 million salary off their cap.
This also means it's time for 2007 first-round pick Lawrence Timmons to make the jump to being a full-time starter. The coaching staff was preparing Timmons the past two years for this moment as he gradually took playing time from Foote. That is what caused Foote to want out of Pittsburgh in the first place.
There was a chance Timmons would have unseated Foote if the two had an open competition in training camp. But Monday's release puts an end to the speculation.
Now Timmons has a much bigger role in Pittsburgh's title defense. He has shown many flashes but never had the opportunity to prove he can be a consistent football player -- until now.
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