Antwaan Randle El was flattered with the interest in him after he was cut by Washington. Six or seven teams wanted to sign him. But all things being equal, there was only one place he wanted to go: Pittsburgh. It’s where he was drafted and spent his first four seasons. And it’s where he won a Super Bowl.
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It’s also where he’ll be playing next season after he signed a three-year contract with them Monday night.
“As soon as everything hit the gan, they were one of the first teams to be in contact with me,” Randle El said. “They told me, ‘We know you’ve got a lot of ball left and we want to bring you in here.’ “
Randle El likely will be the Steelers’ No. 3 receiver, behind Hines Ward and Santonio Holmes. He said they did not talk to him yet about returning punts. Randle El caught 162 passes, seven for touchdowns, in his four seasons with the Steelers.
He was cut by the Redskins on Thursday, a day before free agency started. Though he was shocked, he now has a chance to return to his football home. The hard part is deciding whether or not to move his family from Loudoun County — his son is a sophomore in high school and has played on the varsity the past two seasons.
But professionally it’s a good spot for him, one he liked being in the first time around.
“I always missed the players more than anything,” he said. “And the enviromment. It’s a family environment. It’s a togetherness I had expereinced many times before playing high school football and basketball. With the Steelers it was like, this is what it’s all about. I just haven’t had that and I have a chance to get that back. It’s a good road I’ve got ahead of me.
“It’s a blessing to go back to where I was drafted. And not even that, just with them being as interested as they’ve been. That was one of the biggest things.”
