Now that we have confirmed the Al Woods practice squad signing, I have done a little research on him and compiled a few nuggets and video on him.
First you can read New Orleans Saints Head Coach Sean Payton comments on the release of Woods.
The Saints traded with the Cardinals and moved up to take the former LSU standout defensive tackle in the 2010 draft by trading their pick in the fourth round and their sixth-round pick.
You can read his Saints bio right here while it is still up. Make sure to hit the MORE button to expand it.
You can see his NFL combine highlights right here.
Here is his draft profile on CBS Sportsline.
In my limited reading up on Woods, it seems that he was drafted way too high by the Saints and a reach of sorts. He is young with no real technique and seems to have gotten by on merely his size to this point. I think the Steelers see him as a project right now and have nothing to lose by working with him on the practice squad until the end of the season. The Steelers need to start thinking about an heir to Casey Hampton at nose tackle in a few years and do not have much invested in him to see if he could be the answer as a backup next year. I would not expect to see Woods on the active roster this year unless several injuries happen. I will be watching the Saints preseason games tonight to see if anything jumps out on me on Woods, but the Saints clearly did not have the patience to even sign him to their own practice squad. I would not hold my breath on him, but am also not ready to rule him out as being the future at nose tackle if defensive line coach John Mitchell thinks he might have some clay to mold and work with. The Steelers may also try to convert him to a defensive end as well from nose tackle. No real risk here in signing him as the Steelers only dumped their 7th round pick in Doug Worthington who was not very impressive in the preseason. This might be a sign that Steve McLendon is healthy and could be another future candidate inside on the line.
UPDATE: The Steelers list Al Woods as a defensive end so it seems the Steelers might try to spend time converting him to a 3-4 end.
