Chris Adamski stories, Page 107
Longtime Steelers LT Alejandro Villanueva signs with rival Ravens
The Pittsburgh Steelers’ longtime left tackle is staying in the division. Alejandro Villanueva signed a two-year contract with the AFC North rival Baltimore Ravens. ESPN and the NFL Network reported the deal was for $8 million guaranteed with up to $14 million in total compensation possible. Villanueva, 32, started each...
Could Shakur Brown or others make an impact? A look at Steelers undrafted free agents
After drafting only six players last year, the Pittsburgh Steelers upped that by 50% in selecting nine players in the 2021 draft. But the draft isn’t the only means of rookie talent acquisition. Like all NFL teams, the Steelers signed undrafted free agents in the minutes and hours after the...
Steelers to reportedly decline 5th-year option on Terrell Edmunds
Last week, word broke that the Pittsburgh Steelers were picking up the fifth-year option on one of their starting safeties. On Monday, it emerged they are not doing so with the other first-round safety from the 2018 draft class. The 2022 team option on Terrell Edmunds will be declined, according...
Steelers NFL Draft bio in brief: Georgia Tech P Pressley Harvin III
Pressley Harvin III Seventh-round pick, No.254 overall Punter, Georgia Tech 5-foot-11, 263 pounds Stats: Led the nation and set Georgia Tech and ACC records with a 48.0-yard punting average in 2020 Hometown: Alcolu, S.C. Tidbits: Ray Guy Award winner as college football’s best punter in 2020. Also was a unanimous...
Steelers select Oklahoma ‘Swiss Army Knife’ Tre Norwood with first 7th-round pick
Tre Norwood is listed on the NFL’s official draft website as a cornerback, but when the Pittsburgh Steelers’ official Twitter announced the team picked him in the draft, it labeled Norwood a safety. Coach Mike Tomlin took an entirely different tact yet. When he announced the selection of Norwood with...
Steelers NFL Draft bio in brief: Miami OLB Quincy Roche
Quincy Roche Sixth-round pick, No. 216 overall OLB, Miami 6-foot-3, 245 pounds Stats: 45 tackles (14 1/2 for loss, 4 1/2 sacks), three forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries as senior in 2020 Hometown: Randallstown, Md. Tidbits: Was a graduate transfer from Temple, where he had 137 tackles (39 1/2 for...
Steelers NFL Draft bio in brief: Wisconsin DE Isaiahh Loudermilk
Isaiahh Loudermilk Fifth-round pick, No. 156 overall Defensive end, Wisconsin 6-foot-6, 274 pounds Stats: As a senior in 2020, had 13 tackles, including 2 1/2 for loss with two sacks in six starts. In 2019, had 24 tackles, five for loss with three sacks, five pass breakups and two forced...
New Steelers ILB Buddy Johnson was productive in college, but team likes his tools more
If nothing else was known about an inside linebacker prospect, targeting the one who was the leading tackler on the SEC’s best defense is a pretty good place to start. Not that Buddy Johnson’s new position coach knew his statistical resume. “I don’t look at the production numbers, OK?” Pittsburgh...
Steelers NFL Draft bio in brief: Texas A&M OT Dan Moore Jr.
Dan Moore Jr. Fourth-round pick, No. 128 overall Offensive tackle, Texas A&M 6-foot-5 1/2, 311 pounds Stats: Started each of the Aggies’ 36 games at left tackle over the past three seasons, in addition to one start at right tackle as a freshman in 2017. Hometown: Beaumont, Texas Why draft...
Steelers NFL Draft bio in brief: Illinois G/C Kendrick Green
Kendrick Green Third-round pick, No. 87 overall Guard/center, Illinois 6-foot-2, 305 pounds Stats: Started past 33 consecutive college games: four at center, 29 at left guard Hometown: Peoria, Ill. With the 87th pick in the #NFLDraft, we select C Kendrick Green. #SteelersDraft pic.twitter.com/lTrNbJ6S81— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) May 1, 2021 Tidbits:...
Steelers take Penn State TE Pat Freiermuth with 2nd-round pick
When Pat Freiermuth’s phone rang Friday night, he didn’t know what to think. A New England native whose spent the past three years at Penn State, he’s encountered too many people from Pittsburgh to know exactly which of his buddies to trust. “When I saw that 412 area code, I...
Steelers players react to 1st-round pick Najee Harris
General manager Kevin Colbert said he was “ecstatic” that running back Najee Harris was available when the Pittsburgh Steelers made him their first-round pick late Thursday night. Judging by some of their posts on social media, Harris’ new teammates had similar reactions to adding the national champion from Alabama. Starting...
Steelers NFL Draft bio in brief: Najee Harris
Najee Harris First-round pick, No. 24 overall Running back, Alabama 6-foot-1, 232 pounds Stats: 1,466 rushing yards (5.8 per carry), 43 catches for 425 yards, 30 TDs in 2020; 3,843 rushing yards, 57 TDs from scrimmage in career Hometown: Antioch, Ala. Tidbits: Reigning Doak Walker Award winner as college football’s...
Chris Adamski’s mock draft: After years of misses in mid rounds, Steelers go RB in 1st
Sure, the “modern” thing to do is to resist the allure of taking a running back in the first round of the NFL Draft. The analytics prove it, the anecdotal evidence seems to support it and the smartest guys in the room all swear by it. Problem is for the...
Spot in Penguins lineup appears secure for Frederick Gaudreau upon return
When Pittsburgh Penguins turned to Frederick Gaudreau last month, it partly was out of desperation and lack of other options. When the Penguins next deploy Gaudreau in a game, it will be for an entirely different reason. “He’s really had a positive impact on the games that he’s been in,”...
Will Evgeni Malkin return to Penguins’ No. 1 power play? Mike Sullivan won’t commit
Is Evgeni Malkin about to get Wally Pipp-ed? When it comes to the power play, indications are mixed. Malkin’s return to the lineup appears imminent, with the future Hall of Fame center practicing with teammates Wednesday on what coach Mike Sullivan termed a “full-contact” basis. Malkin will travel with the...
Penguins petition state for less-distanced ‘vaccinated sections’ at home games
Restaurants once had smoking and non-smoking sections. The Pittsburgh Penguins are working to allow for vaccinated and non-vaccinated sections at PPG Paints Arena. In an email sent to season-ticket holders, the Penguins said they have petitioned Pennsylvania state government and the commonwealth’s Department of Health about the idea, which would...
Mike Sullivan: Evgeni Malkin ‘full contact’ at practice, will travel with Penguins
A pair of injured centers continue to practice with the Pittsburgh Penguins, and each will travel with the team on their upcoming road trip. Evgeni Malkin and Frederick Gaudreau each had what could be characterized as a robust participation in Wednesday’s practice in Cranberry. While Malkin wore a white jersey...
Alan Faneca chooses former Steelers teammate Hines Ward to present him for the Hall of Fame
Add another beloved Pittsburgh Steeler to this summer’s Hall of Fame ceremonies. Alan Faneca chose longtime former Steelers teammate Hines Ward to serve as his presenter for his Pro Football Hall of Fame induction in August. Before he became a six-time All Pro guard, Faneca and Ward were part of...
Penguins notebook: Tristan Jarry has been brilliant since awful period vs. Devils
Sunday’s shutout lowered Tristan Jarry’s season goals-against average to 2.70 and raised his save percentage to .911. If you take away Jarry’s third period during last Tuesday’s game against the New Jersey Devils, those season numbers would improve to 2.54 GAA and .915. The period — in which Jarry allowed...
Division titles largely have eluded Penguins, Sidney Crosby — but it’s within reach this year
When measured against his contemporaries, Sidney Crosby, more often than not, has the edge. But there is one area that the likes of Ryan Getzlaf and Patrice Bergeron and the Sedin twins can snag some bragging rights over Crosby. The same team-based metric in which Alex Ovechkin reigns supreme. All...
Evgeni Malkin returns to Penguins’ practice, albeit in ‘no-contact’ jersey
Geno was back on the PPG Paints Arena ice Friday. Evgeni Malkin participated in the Pittsburgh Penguins practice session at their home rink, the first time he has joined teammates for a full session since suffering a suspected right knee injury during a game March 16. Malkin remains on long-term...
Mike Sullivan addresses Tuesday’s collapse with Penguins but vows team has moved on
Less than 15 hours after a meltdown like few in franchise history, the Pittsburgh Penguins were subjected to what had the look of a de facto team meeting before Wednesday’s practice in Cranberry. Similar to how they would during a typical practice, players gathered around coach Mike Sullivan near the...
While still ‘a work in progress,’ Jeff Carter fitting in well with Penguins
Of the 390 NHL goals Jeff Carter had scored before Tuesday, only three had been a first one for a new team. So his goal that made it 4-0 late in the first period of a victory against the New Jersey Devils held at least some special meaning to Carter...
Kasperi Kapanen part of Penguins practice free of ‘no-contact’ restrictions
On Wednesday, another small step was taken toward the Pittsburgh Penguins returning to a fully healthy lineup. Injured wing Kasperi Kapanen participated in practice at UPMC Lemieux Sports Complex in Cranberry. Out since March 24 because of an injury he acknowledged Wednesday was to his left foot, Kapanen wore a...
