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Steelers come to terms with OLB Bruce Davis and quarterback Dennis Dixon

The Pittsburgh Steelers came to terms with two more draft picks yesterday, when they signed outside linebacker Bruce Davis from UCLA to a three-year, $1.65 million dollar deal, and quarterback Dennis Dixon, to a three-year, $1.28 million dollar deal. The deal with Tony Hills, which was reported here last week, was also made official.

All three players essentially signed for the same contract, the NFL league minimum, which pays $295,000 in 2008, $385,000 in 2009 and $470,000 in 2010. The differences in the final contract details came in the form of the bonus money. Davis’ deal, as a third rounder, came with a $506,000 signing bonus, while Dennis Dixon, a fifth rounder, had a $130,000 bonus. Fourth rounder Hills’ signing bonus was smack in the middle at $304,000.

Davis was drafted as a rushing outside linebacker, and made his name at UCLA as a speed rusher. He was a defensive end at UCLA for most of his career, but at 250-ish pounds, will never play that in the pros. His specialty was his first step, which he could use from a three-point stance to blow around most college linemen. He also was the rare lineman that could drop back into coverage. This makes him perfect as a Steeler, and could make him valuable as an outside, or inside backer. There’s more to this kid than I initially thought. As I’ve said since my draft coverage, I think this kid is the 2000’s version of former Steeler Mike Merriweather. Maybe they should have given him Merriweather’s #57 (now worn by Keyaron Fox), instead of Brian Hinkle’s old #53. He’s a comer, and if any of the linebackers falter, inside or outside, I think he may make a push, if not this season, then next, on being the heir apparent. He is a sleeper in the draft, since nobody is talking about him.

Dennis Dixon could be an incredible star in this league. I still believe that Pittsburgh is salivating at having the new ‘Slash.’ Dixon was on his way to the Heisman Trophy, before his college career ended with a severe knee injury. You know the rest. He became a question mark, because nobody knew if he was a qb, or a wr, or a rb. At Pittsburgh, he may be all of the above. When he’s 100%, he becomes Ben’s back-up in the long-term, and will most definitely bring a wrinkle to the offense in the short-term. When the Steelers cut Jared Zabransky, I took this as a good sign for Dixon. No, Zabransky isn’t exactly Joe Montana here, but there has been some scuttlebutt that he had a bunch of potential, which is perfect for the role of 3rd QB. His release certainly means that Dixon has looked good at best, and looked better than originally thought he could based on health at the worst. Look for Dixon to make some waves at some point during the season.

I don’t want to spend a lot of time on this, but it is worth taking note that the Steelers have yet to come to terms with No. 1 pick Rashard Mendenhall, No. 2 pick Limas Sweed, No. 6a pick Mike Humpal. and No. 6b pick Ryan Mundy.

Tomorrow, I plan to take a look a bit more in depth on the contracts being signed…

This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 8th, 2008 at 8:01 am and is filed under Steel Tradition, Mike Humpal, Mike Merriweather, Ryan Mundy, Jared Zabransky, Brian Hinkle, Bruce Davis, Tony Hills, Rashard Mendenhall, Pittsburgh Steelers, James Pete, Dennis Dixon, Limas Sweed, Joe Montana. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.