Defensive lineman Alameda Ta’amu, who faces multiple charges after an ugly alcohol-related incident last month, was the Pittsburgh Steelers’ problem. And he still is.
Released Monday, Ta’amu quietly has been added to the team’s practice squad, without press release or Twitter announcement or fanfare of any kind. Instead, a reader points out that Ta’amu now appears on the official roster as a member of the up-to-eight-man group of extra players who help a team have enough bodies for in-season practices.
This means that no team made a waivers claim for the 2012 fourth-round pick from Washington, and that he chose to return to the Steelers in a limited, less-paying role.
It also means that he wasn’t cut as further punishment for the allegations against him, but that the team decided that he simply wasn’t good enough to be one of the 53 players on the official roster, given the need to elevate a receiver because of the Antonio Brown injury. The team previously suspended Ta’amu two games without pay after his arrest.
Ta’amu remains free to sign with any team’s 53-man roster. Given that no one claimed him on waivers, however, it’s unlikely that he’ll be surfacing elsewhere.