April 16th, 2009 
Matt Loede 
Posted in 
The Steelers today officially announced that QB Charlie Batch has been re-signed and is back with the team, but while they did that, they made somewhat of a surprise move, releasing running back Gary Russell. The bruiser also known as “The Muscle” scored a TD in the Super Bowl win over the Cardinals, and was a key part of kick returns late in the season.
The former undrafted free agent from the University of Minnesota played in 15 regular-season games and four playoff games for the Steelers. He rushed for 77 yards and three touchdowns on 28 carries in a 12 games last season. As a rookie, Russell rushed for 21 yards on seven carries.
The move was probably done knowing that last seasons first-round draft pick, Rashard Mendenhall, will be back 100 percent in 2008, and the team wants to give him every chance to get carries.
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Don’t you think that the steelers are making room for draft picks and / or a kick returner? Perhaps Gary Russell didn’t do enough to surpass Mewelde Moore on the depth chart to keep him on the roster, and he’s too far along to be any good on the practice squad.
I do agree that Rashard Mendenhall basically an upgrade to Russell, but the Steelers interest in drafting a FB, and bringing on RB in free agency says that they aren’t as content in their stable of backs as we may believe.