According to the official website of the Chicago Bears, the team released former Pittsburgh Steelers tackle Jonathan Scott late Tuesday evening.
Now, before any of you get too excited about Scott possibly returning to Pittsburgh for a second tour of duty, you should know that he has recently had issues with one of his knee and just recently returned to practice. According to Brad Biggs of the Chicago Tribune, Scott had arthroscopic surgery on his right knee in the middle of August and wasn’t likely to play Sunday in the Bears season opener.
Briggs speculates that the Bears decision to release Scott, a vested veteran, prior to the start of the season could be because the team doesn’t want to guarantee his contract for the entire season. He also thinks the Bears might be planning to bring Scott back in a week or two when his knee is fully healthy.
Scott, who was with the Steelers during the 2010 and 2011 season, is now 30 years-old and his knee problem is certainly concerning. The Steelers could certainly use an upgrade over tackle/guard Guy Whimper, but I’m not sure Scott would be considered one at this stage of his career.
In addition to his bad knee, the Steelers would also have to fully guarantee the contract of Scott if he were to be signed and be on the roster for season opener. Those two reasons alone make it easy to speculate that the ass blocker will not be returning to Pittsburgh this week.
