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Updated 16 minutes ago
Steelers wide receiver Sammie Coates wrote on his verified Twitter account Tuesday that he had surgery on his pelvis, an injury that previously was undisclosed.
This surgery comes two weeks after Coates had surgery on his finger, which was injured in October against the New York Jets and bothered him the entire season.
Coates had a hamstring injury that kept him out of the Dec. 25 game against the Baltimore Ravens, and he also did not play in the regular-season finale.
Coates finished his second NFL season with 21 catches for 435 yards and two touchdowns, but he had only two catches for 14 yards over his final nine games. In the playoffs, Coates had two catches for 34 yards against New England, but he had a key drop on a third-and-1 deep pass from Ben Roethlisberger in the first quarter.
Coates also had 10 kickoff returns, including four in the postseason.
Chickillo signs
The Steelers have signed outside linebacker Anthony Chickillo, an exclusive rights free agent, to a one-year contract, according to an industry source. The NFL minimum salary for a player with two years' experience is $615,000.
Chickillo played in 15 games and made seven starts before the Steelers ended their outside linebacker rotation and went with Bud Dupree and James Harrison as starters. Chickillo was inactive for the season finale and the Steelers' two playoff games.
Chickillo finished the year with 2.5 sacks and 24 tackles. He also forced two fumbles.
Among the remaining unsigned exclusive rights free agents is starting tackle Alejandro Villanueva.
Steelers ink Blount's son, five more
The Steelers signed six players to contract, including sons of Hall of Famers Mel Blount and Bruce Matthews.
Added to the roster were linebacker Akil Blount and offensive lineman Mike Matthews, plus linebacker Jason Fanaika, offensive lineman Kyle Friend, cornerback Devonte Johnson and running back Trey Williams.
Akil Blount played at Florida A&M and sat out last season after being cut by Miami in training camp. Matthews, from Texas A&M, was cut by Cleveland in camp and also didn't play last year.
Williams, also from Texas A&M, spent time with Washington, Dallas, New England, Miami and Indianapolis the past two seasons.
Fanaika, from Utah, was on the practice squad with Oakland and Washington last season. Friend, from Temple, was on the New York Jets practice squad last season. Johnson was released by Atlanta before the season after playing at Weber State.
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