John McClain of the Houston Chronicle reports on Tuesday via Twitter that Houston Texans free agent offensive lineman Antoine Caldwell will be meeting with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
The Steelers need depth on their offensive line behind their five starters as tackle Max Starks and guard Doug Legursky are both unrestricted free agents and might not be re-signed. Currently, the starting five consist of Marcus Gilbert, Mike Adams, Maurkice Pouncey, David DeCastro, and Ramon Foster, who was re-signed just before the start of free agency.
Caldwell was originally drafted by the Texans in the third round of the 2009 draft out of Alabama where he earned All-American honors. Heading into that draft, Caldwell was regarded as the third-best center in the class behind Eric Wood and Alex Mack.
Caldwell has played in 39 games for the Texans during his four seasons in the league and started 19 of them. He is versatile as he can play guard in addition to center and right guard is where he has played mostly since being drafted.
Caldwell is accustomed to the zone blocking scheme, as that is what was predominantly run during his time with the Texans. New offensive line coach Jack Bicknell Jr. is expected to use more zone blocking in 2013, which requires linemen to be more athletic.
If indeed Caldwell were to be signed, it would severely lessen the chance that the Steelers would draft an interior lineman in the first few rounds of the draft.
