The following are Tweets from the agent of Ben Roethlisberger, Ryan Tollner, who posted them shortly before the Steelers and Bills kicked off Sunday.

In no uncertain terms, Tollner denies the report, and reaffirms his client's commitment to remaining in Pittsburgh.

Statement from agent Ryan Tollner RE: this morning's report about Ben Roethlisberger coming in next few tweets...

Ian Rapoport's apparent sources seem to be guessing what Ben feels about the Steelers and being traded. This is completely wrong (Cont)

"and inaccurate. Ben has always said he wants to play his entire career for the Steelers, and his roots are set firmly in Pittsburgh (cont)

he has a lot left in the tank & is 100% committed to winning more championships with the Steelers." --Agent Ryan Tollner, Rep1 Sports

BehindTheSteelCurtain.com

 Van Dyke was waived with an injury during training camp, unable to get past a hamstring issue that held him out of nearly all of the preseason.

Van Dyke was often listed as a cornerback, but he's gotten work as a free safety with the Steelers. The poor play of the Steelers' safeties in a 55-31 loss at New England bolsters the notion he'll get a look in that role, as opposed to cornerback, as he was drafted by Oakland in 2011.

However, considering cornerback Curtis Brown missed practice all last week, and has been deactivated from the last two games, added in with the fact Van Dyke served as an effective punt gunner for some of last year, the move could be the first step toward a release of Brown. Brown's absence was explained as being for personal reasons.

BehindTheSteelCurtain.com

PITTSBURGH -- If things would have gone a little differently this year, the Pittsburgh Steelers could be traveling to New England to face former teammate Emmanuel Sanders this week.
It appears that Steelers coach Mike Tomlin intervened after the Patriots signed Sanders to an offer sheet work $2.5 million for one year. The Steelers matched that deal, and Sanders remained with the team that selected him in the third round during the 2010 NFL Draft.

So, it's Sanders and the Steelers (2-5) moving on to face the New England Patriots (6-2) Sunday at 4:25 p.m. at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass.

"It definitely came down to the wire," Sanders said. "It came down to the last couple hours. But Mike Tomlin called me and said the Steelers appreciated my work ethic and what I bring to the table and that they wanted me back, and they were going to match the offer."

Sanders talked about his contract situation a little bit during training camp, but the reality is the Steelers still must sign the wideout to a long-term contract after this season or they will lose him in free agency. As his agent intimated that he would do, it's difficult to imagine that Sanders would remain with the Steelers even if they offer him a multi-year, multi-million dollar deal. And there also is no guarantee that they'll offer him anything.

"What happened this (past) offseason happened," Sanders said. "I had an opportunity to go over there, but the Steelers matched that tender. I'm happy in the black and yellow. Right now, I'm playing for the Pittsburgh Steelers, and we're searching for win No. 3. That's all that's on my mind.

"It was pretty cool what took place this offseason of, not only the New England Patriots wanting me, but the other teams that were also involved with the deal. I work extremely hard and when Mike (Wallace) and Antonio (Brown) were here, I was the No. 3 (wideout). I felt like I was hidden a little bit, but it felt good to know that other teams recognized my talents."

Sanders isn't hidden this season. He clearly is the Steelers No. 2 receiver, behind Brown, with 31 receptions for 396 yards and two touchdowns. Brown is among the NFL leaders with 56 catches for 630 yards and two scores. Sanders also would be second on the Patriots in catches, as Julian Edelman leads with 48 for 462 and two scores. Aaron Dobson is next with 26 for 324 and two TDs.

"People kept saying Tom Brady doesn't have any receivers, but those two rookie receivers (Dobson and Kenbrell Thompkins), are playing good ball," Sanders said. "They got (tight end Rob) Gronkowski back. And they got Julian Edelman. He has plenty of options."

Still, Sanders might have flourished with Brady and the Patriots. Just ask Pats coach Bill Belichick about the player's talents.

"I think Emmanuel's done a good job in the time that he's been in Pittsburgh, and he's doing it again this year," Belichick said. "He's an outstanding player. The kickoff return against the Ravens was a potentially game-changing play.

"It was. It set up the winning field-goal drive. The play he had last week on the two-point play. He's fast. He runs well with the ball in his hands. He gets open. He's a hard guy to cover, a hard guy to tackle and has value in the kicking game. I think he's got a lot of things going for him."

Sounds like Sanders is a guy who will be highly coveted when free agency rolls around in 2014.

BehindTheSteelCurtain.com

Writer/Dale Grdnic

The Steelers were left with an open spot on their practice squad yesterday after they waived Isaac Redman and promoted Kion Wilson. According to Ed Bouchette of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Pittsburgh’s brass made the following move today to fill the aforementioned spot:

 I for one am not surprised that the Steelers inked George Winn to a deal, especially since the rookie running back was a part of the Oakland Raiders‘ practice squad for most of the month of October until he was released yesterday.

As Bouchette alluded to in one of the tweets is likely that the former Cincinnati Bearcat was signed simply to provide some extra information on his former team is up for debate. Then again, the team could have signed Winn to push Alvester Alexander, the other running back on their practice squad.

Winn, who went undrafted this April, enjoyed an extremely productive senior season at the University of Cincinnati. After riding the pine behind Isaiah Pead for most of his career, Winn (5’10″ 218 lbs.) rushed for 1,334 yards and 13 touchdowns last fall.

Having depth at running back is never a negative thing, and it is a definite plus for the Steelers to have someone familiar with their upcoming opponent on their roster heading into Sunday’s game.

 Fansided

Steelers running back Isaac Redman appears unable to get out of the doghouse. With the emergence of RB Le'Veon Bell, and the frequency of usage of Felix Jones along with the presence of Jonathan Dwyer, Redman appears to be nothing more than insurance; something other teams may take a look at with eight days until the NFL Trade Deadline.
NFL Network's Ian Rapoport tweeted the notion the Dallas Cowboys are not sold on DeMarco Murray, and are discussing additions to the position.

Dallas, the league's 24th-ranked rushing team at 83.3 yards per game, have failed to establish a rushing presence for the better part of the last two years. Jones filled in there for a bit, but never found a niche as a featured back.

Redman, for a time, showed he could run in a power scheme - something Dallas may be willing to run more of, for which he may be suited. Seems they'd do a lot of things if it meant establishing a running game so their high-powered passing offense could take flight.

Perhaps they wouldn't be interested in Redman, but how about Jonathan Dwyer? The Steelers would ask for more in exchange for Dwyer, but he's the lesser expensive of the two. That would have to be an attraction for the cap-strapped Cowboys.

Dwyer has seen very limited action since his return to the Steelers in Week 2, but at least he's dressing. Redman hasn't suited up since Week 4 against the Vikings.

Teams have until 4 p.m. ET Oct. 29 to make any trades this season.

SBnation

It's a sad end to the Steelers career of a fan favorite.
Isaac Redman, the undrafted running back out of Bowie State, was released by the only team for which he's played in his career, failing to finish out his one season under a $1.3 million restricted free agency tender contract he signed this offseason.

To complete the move, the Steelers signed linebacker Kion Wilson off their practice squad to the active roster.

His release marks a complete turnaround from the Steelers' initial projections for the position in 2013. Both Redman and Jonathan Dwyer were offered $1.3 million one-year deals in RFA, and both signed them. Dwyer did not make the team out of training camp, but was re-signed before the Steelers' Week 2 game after Redman rushed eight times for nine yards against Tennessee in the season-opener.

It seems both players were there to compete for depth behind Le'Veon Bell, the second-round pick the Steelers looked to be the focal point of the running game. Bell was injured in training camp, and missed the first three games of the season. Since coming back in Week 4, he leads the team in rushing.

Along with a trade for Felix Jones, Redman went from the starting position to the doghouse, and now, to waivers.

Redman rushed for 120 yards in the Steelers' last playoff game, a 29-23 loss to the Denver Broncos at the end of the 2011 season. Previous starter Rashard Mendenhall had torn his ACL in Week 17 of that season, and running backs coach Kirby Wilson was badly burned in a house fire in the days leading up to the game. Still, Redman had one of the best performances of his career in the losing effort.

His best game was probably the same as the last game in which the Steelers had a 100-yard rusher. He cracked off 147 yards in a Week 9 win over the Giants last season. Since then, the Steelers running game has gone dry, by and large.

Bell had 93 yards on 19 carries against Baltimore, spearheading a 143-yard team rushing effort. Redman watched the game from the sideline, as Bell, Jones, Dwyer and fullback Will Johnson were activated.

BehindtheSteelCurtain