Dixon ready to show Steelers what he can do

Associated Press

LATROBE, PA.

Dennis Dixon didn’t anticipate spending his summer at Saint Vincent College.

Don’t get the quarterback wrong. He’s happy to be back in training camp with the defending AFC champion Pittsburgh Steelers.

At least, as happy as he can be. The truth is, Dixon explored his options. He spent the first week after the NFL lockout ended hoping another team would tender the restricted free agent an offer. One never materialized, however, and the fourth-year player ended up signing a one-year deal to return to Pittsburgh.

“Obviously if choices were to come my way, it would have been presented to me,” Dixon said. “But [the shortened free agency period] was too fast, too quick and the lockout pretty much forced everybody’s hand as to what they want to do.”

Leaving Dixon with little choice on what he has to do over the next four weeks if he wants to stay in the NFL.

The former Oregon star and veteran backup Charlie Batch are fighting to be the team’s No. 3 quarterback behind Ben Roethlisberger and Byron Leftwich, and both reserves expect to get plenty of reps Friday when the Steelers open the preseason at Washington.

Batch’s job will be helping the young players who will be on the field with him get comfortable playing at the NFL level. Dixon’s job? Proving to the Steelers — or perhaps a team with some instability at the top of the depth chart — that he’s ready to run the show.

“He feels like he’s ready to be a starter,” Batch said. “He wants to compete and unfortunately it’s not going to happen here and everybody knows that. You have Ben here. He’s going to be here. He’ll probably retire here.”

Leaving the 26-year-old Dixon with a choice, try and hang around Pittsburgh working as Plan B or move on. He’s not ready to talk about it, but his teammates are well aware this is probably his last season in black-and-gold.

“I think Double D, he can be a great player in this league if someone just picks him up and lets him loose,” wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders said. “I know he’s going to ball in the preseason because he knows what’s at stake.”

Dixon downplays the importance of the next four weeks, but allows that he’s “pretty low on the totem pole.”

It’s a spot he’s grown a little too accustomed to during his three years in the league.