Steelers dip into the past, sign LB Brown

Veteran Brown could play Sunday vs. Chiefs
Friday, October 13, 2006
By Gerry Dulac, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

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OK, so the locker room is now on the South Side, not the North Side, and none of the Steelers there yesterday were with the team when he was one of their pass-rushing linebackers.

But when he walked into a Steelers locker room yesterday for the first time in 10 years, Chad Brown had his old coach, his old defensive coordinator and even his old jersey waiting for him. His old role might not be too far away, either.

So what if all his former teammates, every last one of them, are missing.

"Jerome [Bettis] was the last guy, and he's gone," Brown said.

A decade after he made the Pro Bowl in his final season with the Steelers, Brown, 36, returned yesterday to help his former team, which has been beset with injuries at outside linebacker. He signed a one-year contract for the veteran minimum of $810,000 and confessed to an odd but exciting feeling to be back with the Steelers after a 10-year absence.

"I was pleasantly surprised how familiar it seemed," Brown said. "No matter what you do, 10 years later, it's going to be different if you're away from it. I got some work to do, but I think my experience 10 years ago will allow me to help the team much sooner this year."

It might be sooner than Brown thinks.

Pro Bowl linebacker Joey Porter, whose hamstring was injured in practice Wednesday, was ruled out for Sunday's game against the Kansas City Chiefs at Heinz Field. With backup James Harrison already out with a high ankle sprain, that means Arnold Harrison, a first-year free agent, will start at right outside linebacker.

Not only did that prompt the Steelers to sign Brown, who is in his 14th NFL season, but it also means Brown could play in some pass-rush situations against the Chiefs. To make room for Brown on the 53-man roster, the Steelers released tight end Tim Euhus.

"I'll know better as we get closer," said coach Bill Cowher, who drafted Brown in the second round (44th overall) in 1993. "It's kind of a crash course in everything. I know he's been here before, but that was 10 years ago.

"But he looked good running around there. He'll be out there Sunday, and we'll see what kind of participation he'll have based on how comfortable he is."

Brown was once one of the best pass-rushing linebackers in the NFL, registering 30 sacks in four seasons with the Steelers and 78 in his career. In 1996, his final season with the Steelers, he moved to outside linebacker because of an injury to Greg Lloyd and was selected to the Pro Bowl after registering 13 sacks, fifth most in franchise history.

But Brown left the Steelers to sign in free agency with the Seattle Seahawks, where he made the NFC Pro Bowl team in 1998 and '99. He played eight seasons with the Seahawks until they released him after the 2004 season.

Brown had a chance to return to the Steelers before the 2005 season, even visiting the team during the free-agency period. But he opted to sign with the Patriots because he probably would have been a backup with the Steelers.

"New England had the opportunity to start," Brown said. "That was probably the most exciting thing. This would have definitely been great, to come back here, but opportunity to start was very enticing for me."

Brown was released Sept. 1 by the Patriots after missing a lot of their preseason with a broken hand. He has been keeping in shape, working out at least four days a week, thinking the Patriots would call him back.

Instead, it was the Steelers who needed help at outside linebacker. It was his old team that called him Wednesday, while he was picking up his children from gymnastics class, and gave him his old No. 94 jersey.

"I can't say I'm in fantastic super shape," Brown said. "But I'm better than some guy coming off the couch."

And there he was yesterday, practicing with the Steelers in an indoor facility that wasn't standing the last time he wore a black-and-gold uniform. Sunday, he will play in Heinz Field for only the second time, but his first with the Steelers.

"I bring a body who can play on Sunday," Brown said, smiling. "That's what they need at the linebacker position."

"He knows this defense, and one thing I know he can do is line up as a third-down rusher," Cowher said. "Obviously, it's going to take some time. He hasn't played football in a while. I think you have to be careful how much you expect from him in a short period of time."

(Gerry Dulac can be reached at gdulac@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1466. )