Pittsburgh Steelers Add Jerricho Cotchery; Rookie Running Back Injured

After meetings with the Steelers and the Baltimore Ravens, released Jets wide receiver Jerricho Cotchery has agreed to a one-year deal with Pittsburgh.

While it is yet unknown how much playing time Cotchery will receive, his veteran presence and ability to rally the locker room together are a perfect match for the Steelers, who often look for experienced, high-character guys to round out their roster (such as bringing Antwaan Randel El back last season). This is a much smarter pickup for the Steelers than bringing Plaxico back would have been; I expect Cotchery to succeed, but in a limited role.

In other Steelers news, rookie running back and training camp standout Baron Batch tore his left ACL in practice yesterday, making a cut on FieldTurf and catching his foot in a seam.

While the Steelers have suitable depth at running back for this to not be a roster concern, the fact that Batch, a seventh-round pick, had been impressive during camp causes a major emotional blow for the team. Or for the fans. Or, rather, myself. Either way, seeing a rookie blow out his ACL in camp (or rupture his Achilles, in the case of Detroit Lions rookie RB Mikel LeShoure), no matter the team, is a disappointing piece of news to hear.

And of course, preseason NFL football begins tonight. Stick with F*BALL, as well as my Twitter feed @FBALL_Andrea. I am lucky to have access to NFL.com’s Preseason Live League Pass, so you can trust me to be the up-to-the-minute, as-it-happens, breaking-the-news kind of person you always knew I was.