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PITTSBURGH (AP)—The Steelers reacquired quarterback Byron Leftwich(notes) by dealing a seventh-round draft pick to Tampa Bay, a sign they expect Ben Roethlisberger(notes) to be suspended for the start of the season.

Leftwich backed up Roethlisberger in 2008, when the Steelers won the Super Bowl. He knows offensive coordinator Bruce Arians’ system and could be ready to play Sept. 12 when the Steelers open against Atlanta.

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Well, the organization has been raving about Dixon's development...Charlie Batch is a staple there and is loved by the city and the team/owners/coaches....and Leftwich has done well in relief of Big Ben before and knows the system.

One thing is almost certain, they won't carry 4 QB's on their roster the entire year.

Either one guy will get cut when Big Ben returns(likely Leftwich) or one guy will get traded...

Which keeps the anticipation up. Tomorrow's suspension ruling should be telling. I'm expecting a 4 or 6 game conditional, that can/will be reduced to 2 or 3, respectively.

Regardless...an interesting move, and as a Steelers fan, I'm just fine with wasting a 7th rounder on a guy who could possibly lead the team the first few games of the year in Ben's absence.

i'd drop batch out of those guys. i think leftwich has shown he can play better with that team than batch, and could be a spot starter much better than batch could be. they're obviously not dropping dixon. but again, it depends on the big ben suspension.

I agree I'd cut Batch too...but he has serious ins with the organization and the city and has been very committed to the team. I'd be extremely surprised if he were the one to go. He just signed a 2 year deal a few months back too, I believe.

i think Big Ben gets 4 games.

mort and schefter said this morning it's 4-6 conditional, which is exactly what I thought. Only thing is...would it be 6 games reduced to 4? or 6 reduced to 3/4 reduced to 2?

not sure yet....

Steelers have a BYE week in week 5, so he'll likely be back week 6.

[This message has been edited by J Peterman (edited 4/21/2010 10:13a).]