--J.B. Smith, a venture capitalist from Detroit, met with Steelers president Art Rooney II to discuss becoming a possible investor in the team as part of its ownership restructuring.
NFL owners unanimously approved the restructuring, which includes three new primary investors in the Steelers. Two of the five Rooney brothers who owned, collectively, 80 percent of the team, are getting out altogether and two others are selling roughly half of their stock.
--After spending his first nine years with the Steelers, left tackle Marvel Smith likely will head elsewhere as a free agent. He received no offer from the Steelers this year.
"I don't think he's disappointed," agent Ken Zuckerman said. "Listen, if you look at the track record, the Steelers keeping guys going into their third deal, they don't keep many. They've paid Max Starks over two years probably more than Alan Faneca made over two years."
--The Steelers hope to get more production from their 2009 draft class than they did from 2008. Few played much -- top pick Rashard Mendenhall was knocked out for the season in the fourth game -- and a free agent special-teamer won their rookie of the year award.
"We look at this draft class as a red-shirt year for the majority of the year," Colbert said. "Part of that was health, part of that was needing further development."
QUOTE TO NOTE: "When the Steelers called me and said 'We're going to draft you with the next pick and you'll play outside linebacker,' I definitely wasn't going to say no." -- LB LaMarr Woodley, who converted from Michigan DE after he was drafted in 2007.
