Pittsburgh’s nightmare off-season came to a head yesterday, with wide receiver Limas Sweed clearing waivers and finding himself on the injured reserve list for the 2010 season.

Sweed tore his Achilles tendon during a team practice on May 2nd, leaving the Steelers short handed to say the least at the receiver position, with Hines Ward and Mike Wallace being the only two receivers with any significant talent on the roster.

To compensate for Sweed’s loss, Pittsburgh signed second year receiver Isaiah Williams, who spent last year out of football after being cut by Baltimore prior to the season opener.

Things have been relatively quiet as of late, with a few off the field incidents making waves around the NFL, but not much on the player acquisition front to speak of.

That isn’t likely to change for some time, given team’s ability to hang onto veteran players until June, but there are a few signings hitting the wire, mostly as depth chart moves.

One of those is the signing of cornerback William James by San Francisco to a one year contract offer. James is a 10 year veteran of the league, and should provide quality depth for the 49ers next season.

James spent last season in Detroit, notching 58 tackles, two interceptions, and a touchdown.

Thurs @ 3:30 pm – Taylor has officially been charged in the case. According to police investigators handling the case, Taylor forcibly had sex with a 16 year old girl at his hotel room, after she was “delivered” against her will to the location.

10:15 am – Hall of Fame linebacker Lawrence Taylor was once the most feared sack artist in the game, crushing opposing quarterbacks on a routine basis.

Now he’s on the opposite end of that spectrum, facing an enormous amount of pressure on all fronts, after being arrested earlier this morning by police in Ramapo, NY, on accusations of rape.

According to ESPN, Taylor has not yet been charged, but details surrounding the case are expected to be released this afternoon, by authorities involved in the investigation.

Taylor played for 13 seasons with the New York Giants, racking up 132.5 sacks in his illustrious career.

For some time now, rumors have been swirling around New York, putting defensive end Osi Umenyiora on the trading block, and while it’s likely that any deal involving Umenyiora would have come during the draft, the Giants selection of fellow defensive end Jason Pierre-Paul would seemingly corroborate those stories.

But that discussion is likely shelved for the time being, after NFL.com’s Jason LaCanfora reported that New York immediately rebuffed multiple clubs calling to inquire about Umenyiora’s availability during the draft.

Keeping Umenyiora around for the time being is a logical course for the Giants to take right now, seeing as they have little proven depth behind him, and it could take some time for Pierre-Paul to acclimate to the much more difficult competition he’ll be facing at the pro level.

That said, the best time to get a reasonably decent return for his services was during the draft, and as such, New York may have missed a golden opportunity to upgrade their team.

As always, we’ll keep you posted as more information becomes available.

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