Steeler Nation did not take the dismissal of Jonathan Dwyer very well this holiday weekend. Dwyer himself did not take it very well either and in some ways, who could blame him? He returned as the leading rusher from last season and came into camp this summer in the best shape of his life but it wasn’t enough to save him.
I wrote earlier this week that Dwyer’s cutting was more than just his fumbles in the preseason. It also had to do with contractual issues and the fact that he never really seemed to be able to control his weight. With that said, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review Steelers’ beat writer Mark Kaboly tweeted late last night that this decision was not on the coaches.
What does that mean? It means this was a front office decision and likely about money but could it have been more than? Did Kevin Colbert or Art Rooney II feel that Dwyer was not the guy for this offense? Did they see the poor cutback decisions which cost the offense yards? Did they fall in love with recently signed Felix Jones?
Right now, its’ anyone’s guess.
Go back to the fumbles for a minute…. Dwyer has two career fumbles. Jones has 12. Isaac Redman has seven. Le’Veon Bell has zero NFL carries and therefor zero NFL fumbles.
What those numbers tell me is that the Steelers’ Brass wants more from a feature back and that also, Bell will be back sooner rather than later. As is usually the case in these situations, there is a lot more to this than we’ll ever know. Perhaps someone behind the grassy knoll had something to do with it.
Marc Uhlmann writes for and co-owns www.steelcityblitz.com. Follow him on Twitter @steeldad and follow the website at @SCBlitz. He can be heard Mondays on Trib-Live Radio at 4pm ET talking Steelers.
