Steelers pare roster, cut Bloom, 2 others
PITTSBURGH (AP) – Wide receiver-kick returner Jeremy Bloom, the former World Cup skiing star and two-time Olympian, was among three players cut Monday in the Pittsburgh Steelers’ first preseason roster cutdown. Also released were former William and Mary quarterback Mike Potts and defensive lineman Martavius Prince. The Steelers, who play the Carolina Panthers on Thursday in their final exhibition game, must make one more roster cut by Tuesday.
Punter Daniel Sepulveda, who was lost for the season with a knee injury on the first full day of camp July 28, was placed on the reserved-injured list.
Bloom, a fifth-round pick by Philadelphia in 2006, was trying to make the Steelers as a kick returner but could not win the job.
The former Colorado wide receiver and three-time world champion skier made the 2002 and 2006 Olympic ski teams and won a record six consecutive World Cup races in 2005.
Also Monday, Justin Hartwig was named by coach Mike Tomlin as the starting center for the Sept. 7 opener against Houston.
Hartwig, cut by Carolina at the end of last season, beat out former Tampa Bay lineman Sean Mahan, who was signed to be the starting center after Jeff Hartings retired at the end of the 2006 season.
“We have a level of comfort with his size, speed and range,” Tomlin said of Hartwig.
At 6-foot-4 and 312 pounds, Hartwig is slightly bigger than the 6-3, 301-pound Mahan, who lost some weight during the 2007 season and had problems at times blocking larger defensive tackles.
Copyright Associated Press 2008