AFC North: Steelers look to Jolt Running Game. Ravens may Jolt Terrence Cody

December 30, 2012; Pittsburgh, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers running back Rashard Mendenhall (34) rushes the ball against the Cleveland Browns during the fourth quarter at Heinz Field. The Pittsburgh Steelers won 24-10. Mandatory Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

The Pittsburgh Steelers will be looking for a new feature runningback this offseason after a disastrous runningback-by-committee approach in 2012 left them near the bottom of the NFL rushing ranks. Free agent Rashard Mendenhall never appeared to be right after recovering from a a torn ACL and his return is unlikely. Johnathan Dwyer ended up leading the Steelers in rushing with 623 yards on 156 carries (4.0 average), but that was the lowest team-leading rushing total since 1991. Expect to see them target a back in the NFL draft, as their cap situation will likely prevent them from going after a veteran like Steven Jackson.

The Baltimore Sun(and most NFL experts for that matter) views Ravens nose tackle Terrence Cody as a bust through his first three NFL seasons. Cody was the 57th overall pick in the 2010 draft, and was widely regarded as future stud coming out of Nick Saban’s NFL minor league that is the University of Alabama, but despite weighing a mammoth 350+ pounds, he is frequently pushed around in the running game, and lost his starting job this season to veteran Ma’ake Kemoeatu.

Want more Bengals news? Like Stripe Hype on Facebook, or grab our RSS feed.

Follow @StripeHype

Follow @UK_Fans