Steelers Say Bye-Bye To Santonio Holmes
By chris
The Pittsburgh Steelers have one less criminal on the roster.
Santonio Holmes, a 2006 first round draft pick and Super Bowl XLIII MVP, has been traded to the New York Jets for a fifth round pick in this year’s draft.
This marks a stunning turn of events in the Steelers’ relationship with Holmes, who just one year ago was cradling his MVP trophy while basking in the adulation of 250,000 screaming fans. With Hines Ward nearing the end of his career, it was assumed that Holmes would be the Steelers #1 receiving threat for years to come. He was expected to have a breakout season in 2009 and he did set career highs with 79 catches for 1,200 yards while only catching 5 TDs (the same as in 2008). ‘Tone would’ve been a free agent after the 2010 season and it was widely speculated that he would be the sacrificial lamb to pay for an off-season where the Steelers reputation as a classy and respectful organization took a massive hit.
Which is ironic because taking hits is likely what contributed to Santonio being run out of town. Pro Football Talk reported on Saturday that there is a rumor that Holmes either failed or didn’t take an NFL mandated drug test and therefore is subject to an automatic four game suspension come next season. On top of that, Holmes is currently involved in legal drama revolving around allegedly throwing a glass at a woman in a Florida night club. Of course, run-ins with the law are nothing new to this lowlife thug as he has been cited for drug possession and beating the crap out of his baby mama in the recent past.
Even with a possible four game suspension and the fact he can be a free agent at year’s end, I’m stunned that all the Steelers could get for a player with his resume is a fifth round draft pick. This tells me one of two things. Either everybody knew he was damaged goods and wouldn’t offer them anything good. Or they are so desperate to repair their tattered image among TRUE STEELER FANS who are growing more and more angry about turning into the Bengals 2.0 that they basically shipped him out of town as quickly as they could for the first offer they could get.
While this move doesn’t exactly restore my faith in the Rooney family and the Steeler organization as a whole, I am pleased that they are at least making an effort to do the right thing. Antwaan Randle El and Mike Wallace aren’t players the caliber of a Santonio Holmes (at least in Wallace’s case, NOT YET) but they aren’t habitual criminals who tell people to go drink Drain-O on Twitter, either. I would rather go 7-9 with those two on my team than make another playoff run with that idiot. Thank you, Steelers, for finally doing the right thing.
Are you listening, Benjamin?