LATROBE — Jerricho Cotchery went through his due diligence after the New York Jets granted the veteran wide receiver his release last week.

Yet there was little doubt where he wanted to be after taking a tour of Pittsburgh Steelers training camp.

“After my visit here, I really believed this was the place for me,” Cotchery said Sunday just before his first practice with his new club. “This was the type of atmosphere that I needed to be in now. Business-wise, you still have to take the visit (to Baltimore), but all along I believed this was the place for me.”

Cotchery agreed to a one-year deal with Pittsburgh last week. The Steelers hope Cotchery’s size (6-foot-1) and versatility will make him an impact player immediately.

“He’s been a good receiver in this league, and hopefully he can bring some of those good times over here with us,” wide receiver Mike Wallace said. “I don’t know if he’s only going to be in the slot, because I think you can put him anywhere.”

Cotchery caught 353 passes for 4,474 yards and 18 touchdowns in seven seasons with New York, but his role diminished last season. He pulled in just 41 passes in 2010, his lowest total since he became a starter in 2010. He didn’t anticipate more passes would come his way this season, after the Jets signed Plaxico Burress, so he asked to be let go.

“Sometimes, you just realize that it was time, and that’s what it was for me,” Cotchery said. “It was the end of my time with the Jets. It was time to move on, and I really didn’t see myself fitting in there in the future.

“It was beneficial for both sides for that to happen.”

He will join a group that includes the blossoming Wallace and gritty veteran Hines Ward, who is coming off thumb surgery.