Last offseason, the Steelers were typically quiet in free agency. The organization rarely makes a splash, unless it’s signing its own core players to keep them in town, such as Casey Hampton’s new contract.

But this year was sort of a different story. The Steelers just finished up bringing in (and back) a few interesting players that should eliminate a couple of the team’s shortfalls from the 2009 season.

For starters, although he tested the free agent waters, Ryan Clark was welcomed back to play alongside Troy Polamalu with open arms. With a healthy Polamalu, Clark can get back to playing his style of game and serving as a great complementary piece to the all-star safety. If Clark had left the Steelers, a large hole in the safety position would have existed, which would have needed to be addressed elsewhere in free agency or during the draft. That is not the case now.

Will Allen was actually signed before Clark and made some people believe that Clark was for sure gone. Instead, Allen can prove to be a very capable backup (maybe signaling the end of Tyrone Carter). Also, as many other Steelers blogs have mentioned, Allen was the special teams captain in Tampa Bay and will be counted on to serve a similar role with the Steelers, whether that comes with an official “C” on the jersey or not. It’s no secret that the Steelers special teams coverage was awful last year, so it’s nice to see the front office addressing the need.

Which brings us to Arnaz Battle, a wide receiver formerly in San Francisco. Battle will add legitimate depth to the receiving corps, but his main calling card will be on special teams. Battle was a standout on the special teams unit for the 49ers and, like Allen, will be asked to contribute the same with the Steelers. Special teams were bad and cost you games? Add two standouts to the squad. Great moves.

Jonathan Scott, offensive tackle from Buffalo, is a depth acquisition that can push Willie Colon for starting time at the tackle position. Scott will be joining his former O-line coach in Buffalo, Sean Kugler. Kugler was brought in this offseason and obviously likes something in Scott to want to use his services in a Steelers uniform. I trust his judgment on this. I like the move, but that’s based on the fact that I really don’t like the Steelers O-line, so any addition to add depth and push the others is fine with me.

Finally, the Steelers brought back Antwaan Randle El. Interesting move. Randle El will be the No. 3 receiver in that he’ll be the first guy to spell Santonio Holmes or Hines Ward if something were to happen. Mike Wallace can be considered a No. 3 or 4 receiver — his position isn’t going anywhere. His down field threat will remain intact and the signing of Randle El does nothing to impact that. What will be interesting is to see if Randle El finds himself returning punts and/or kickoffs and what that might mean for Stefan Logan’s time in Pittsburgh.

None of the names jump out at you, but each guy served a purpose on the Steelers roster, filling a needed hole. Special teams, safety and receiver are all taken care of now. Next month’s draft still could go a number of different ways (corner, O-line, D-line), so keep your eyes on that. Also, it’s been reported that the Steelers are interested in bringing Larry Foote back as a reserve linebacker. The Steelers may not be done just yet.