Pittsburgh
Steelers

News: Mendenhall (knee) impressed onlookers while running and cutting on the side during OTA practices, and personally thinks he can get back in action early in the season, the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports.
Impact: Mendenhall is still experiencing soreness and swelling in the knee, but said "I just want to get back to 100 percent, and right now, I feel good about it. Everything is going well." We wouldn't expect Mendenhall to say anything different, but it is unlikely he will be ready when the season starts. With Isaac Redman on the roster, the Steelers will not have to rush Mendenhall back before he is ready.

News: Johnson is now strictly a fullback under new offensive coordinator Todd Haley, the Beaver County Times reports.
Impact: This would seem to indicate that Haley plans to use the lead blocker more than former OC Bruce Arians did. Johnson, who had just 12 receptions for 91 yards last season at tight end, will have even less fantasy value (if that is possible) in 2012.

News: Mendenhall, who has been able to run as he rehabs from his torn ACL, admitted Wednesday that he has no real timetable for a return to action, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.
Impact: Mendenhall noted that he feels good and adds that he is doing more than just running in a straight line at this point, but given that he went under the knife in January, he'll be hard-pressed to be ready for Week 1. It wouldn't surprise us to see Mendenhall start the season on the PUP list, with Isaac Redman in line to head the Pittsburgh backfield in the meantime.

News: Wallace, a no-show at OTAs, is working out on his own, ESPN.com reports.
Impact: OTA absences aren't unusual, but the Steelers are implementing new offensive terminology and certainly wouldn't hurt for Wallace to attend. "It won't be significant in the big scheme of things hopefully," said head coach Mike Tomlin. In the meantime, offensive coordinator Todd Haley did send Wallace the new playbook.

News: Wallace is not expected to be in attendance when Steelers' OTAs start on Tuesday, The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.
Impact: Wallace has until June 15th to sign a one-year tender worth $2,742,000, or it will be reduced to $577,000. Unless the two sides can come to terms on a long-term deal, don't expect to see Wallace at Steelers' camp until mandatory mini camp begins on June 12th.

News: Dwyer (foot) has begun running and cutting, Pro Football Weekly reports.
Impact: Dwyer still has soreness in the foot but insists it's nothing serious and he will be ready for OTAs. Dwyer is in line to be Isaac Redman's backup while Rashard Mendenhall recovers from ACL surgery.

News: The Pittsburgh Steelers have signed Beachum. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Impact: The Steelers took the former SMU offensive lineman with the 248th overall pick in the draft. The 6-foot-2, 306-pound Beachum was a two-time first team All-Conference USA with the Mustangs. Beachum was the third lineman taken by the Steelers in the draft, following first-round pick David DeCastro and second-round pick Mike Adams.

News: Roethlisberger has graduated from Miami University in southwest Ohio, about nine years after leaving school for the NFL. The university says the 30-year-old received his bachelor's degree in education and joined nearly 600 students during Sunday's commencement at the campus in Oxford.
Impact: Roethlisberger, who's led the Steelers to two Super Bowl titles, played football for Miami from 2001 to 2003 and set several school passing records. An associate dean says the quarterback was four courses short of graduation when he jumped to the NFL. He completed those courses over several years and finished this spring.