Batch, Dixon will both make Steelers’ roster

Associated Press

PITTSBURGH

Charlie Batch and Dennis Dixon don’t have to worry about losing their jobs anymore, even if the Pittsburgh Steelers backup quarterbacks would rather have taken a different path to a steady paycheck.

Byron Leftwich’s gruesome broken left arm suffered in the third quarter of a 34-16 win over Atlanta on Saturday potentially ended the veteran’s season and gave both Batch and Dixon a reprieve from an unforgiving numbers game.

The Steelers started training camp with four quarterbacks on the roster, with either Batch or Dixon certain to be jettisoned before the season opener against Baltimore on Sept. 11.

The duo has spent the last month auditioning for the No. 3 spot behind Leftwich and Ben Roethlisberger. Now they head into the preseason finale on Thursday at Carolina looking to see who will be Roethlisberger’s understudy.

The anxiety of being cut is gone, sure, but not the competition.

“You still have to go out and prove to Coach [Mike] Tomlin that you’re capable of being the next guy to step in and it never ends,” Batch said. “It’s not going to end at the end of this week ... or through the course of the season.”

Tomlin is in no hurry to choose and didn’t rule out Leftwich’s eventual return. The former first-round pick underwent surgery on Monday morning, less than 48 hours after his left (non-throwing) arm was pinned awkwardly to the turf while sliding for extra yardage against the Falcons.

The 36-year-old Batch is simply hoping to hang on while the 25-year-old Dixon is anxious to prove he’s ready to be a starter even if he’s well aware it will have to happen in someplace other than Pittsburgh.

The former Oregon star re-signed with the Steelers after no other team expressed sincere interest in him. Knowing this was likely his last camp in Pittsburgh, Dixon has been heavily showcased during the preseason, playing extensively in all three games. The results have been mixed. Dixon is 10 of 24 for 132 yards with an interception while playing with the third and fourth stringers.

“My main goal has been my leadership skills, commanding the huddle, making sure everybody is on the right page,” Dixon said. “Usually when I go in the game, I’m with people that don’t know what they’re doing half the time.”