Ex-Steeler Foote Offered a Deal by Detroit

Evidently it has not taken long for now former Steelers LB Larry Foote to find a team that wants his services. Foote is telling sources that he has gotten an offer from his hometown team – the Lions. He also said that he spent Tuesday meeting the Lions brass, and that his agent is working on a deal so he can sign with them. “They offered me something,” Foote said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press. “I’m going to be wrestling with it tonight because they’re going back and forth with my agent as we speak. Playing in Detroit is definitely my first choice, but we’ll see how it goes.”

Foote is a native of Detroit, and it was talked about quite a bit that when/if the Steelers let him loose he would go to the Lions. He was released by the Steelers on Monday, a move that he said he asked the team for because he felt like he was not getting enough playing time splitting linebacker snaps with former first-round pick Lawrence Timmons. He was due to make $2.885 million in the final season of his contract, but the Steelers no longer owe him the money.

He was a fourth-round draft pick in 2002, had 14 1/2 sacks and three interceptions over the last five years with the Steelers, and also was a starter for their two recent Super Bowl wins. The Steelers did try to find a taker for his services for a draft pick, but didn’t and ended up releasing him instead. Now it appears he’s ready to be a starter on his hometown team looking to turn things around in 2009.