Pittsburgh Steelers Trade for Quarterback Byron Leftwhich

Rather than rely on Dennis Dixon, Charlie Batch, or a late-round rookie to step in for Ben Roethlisberger during the month or month and a half he’s suspended, the Steelers have instead decided to bring back Byron Leftwich.

Leftwich was still under contract with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, so the Steelers gave them a seventh-round pick as compensation and the deal is done. The Steelers get the guy they wanted to keep after the 2008 season, and the Bucs have cleared out any potential competition for second-year quarterback, and former first-round pick, Josh Freeman.

Leftwich played well in relief of an injured Roethlisberger back in ’08, but he wasn’t spectacular. He managed the game well enough for them to win, and that’s likely what he’ll be asked to do the second time around.

Batch and Dixon will provide some competition for Leftwich during the offseason, but it would be incredibly surprising to see either of them starting in Week 1. Batch is there to help out the younger guys and is more like having another coach, and Dixon doesn’t play the way the Steelers would like him to play.

He’s a guy who can get out of the pocket, move around, and free-lance a big play. However, the Steelers would prefer a guy to hand off to Rashard Mendenhall and throw a dump pass every once in a while, which is exactly what Lefwich brings to the table.

Leftwich will be the starter when the Steelers open up the season. The only question now is for how long.