NFL REPORT : Woodruff, Last Steeler Link to the Super Bowl, Retires

Cornerback Dwayne Woodruff, the last remaining member of a Pittsburgh Steeler Super Bowl championship team, retired on Wednesday.

Woodruff, 34, decided to concentrate on his law career rather than start his 13th season.

“This is a good time,” he said. “You don’t want to overstay your welcome.”

Woodruff made the announcement at a news conference at St. Vincent College in Latrobe, Pa., where the Steelers opened camp.

He stressed he wasn’t forced to retire, as are many veterans faced with the choice of going out voluntarily or being cut.

“We were in contract negotiations,” he said. “There is an offer on the table now if I wanted to play. It was my decision to retire.”

Woodruff was a rookie on the Steelers’ fourth and last Super Bowl championship team in 1979. He had 37 interceptions.

Running back Steve Sewell of the Denver Broncos agreed to a three-year contract, leaving five veterans unsigned.

Eight of the team’s 10 draft choices also are without contracts, but General Manager John Beake said he expects most to be report by Friday, when the team opens training camp.

Kicker Dan Plocki, a former Arena Football League player, signed with the Philadelphia Eagles, who waived John Teltschik, their punter for five years.

Plocki was an 11th-round draft pick of the Cleveland Browns out of Maryland in 1989 but was released before the regular season. He played for the Washington Commandos and Orlando Predators of the Arena league.

Defensive lineman Frank Warren behaved well during his yearlong drug suspension from the NFL, so Commissioner Paul Tagliabue has cleared him to return to the league, New Orleans Saint President Jim Finks said.