Steelers/NFL category, Page 124
Steelers release veteran safety Keanu Neal after failed physicalVideo
The Pittsburgh Steelers released veteran safety Keanu Neal on Thursday, doing so with the designation of a failed physical. An eight-year NFL veteran who turns 29 in July, Neal joined the Steelers via a two-year deal as a free agent last March. He started eight of the nine games he...
U mad, bro?: Readers are fed up with the Penguins, but starting to stick up for the Steelers
When it comes to fan reaction to the Steelers and Penguins, just by the tone, you can always tell which team is in season and struggling versus which is in the offseason and preparing to reboot. Based on the feedback I’m getting, hockey fans are fed up with the Pens...
Tim Benz: Steelers coaches can be upset about criticism of Kenny Pickett, but be aware of who is being critical
Based on what NFL on CBS reporter Aditi Kinkhabwala said on 93.7 The Fan Wednesday, the Steelers coaching staff is taking all the criticism of Kenny Pickett to heart. “There was a lot of chatter at the Combine doubting Kenny Pickett,” Kinkhabwala told hosts Andrew Fillipponi and Chris Mueller. “And,...
First Call: A team that may be in the lead for Jake Guentzel; Mitch Trubisky signs elsewhere; ex-Pitt Panther released
We begin Thursday’s “First Call” the same way we ended Wednesday night. That’s waiting for the Penguins to trade Jake Guentzel. At least there is an update on that front. We get into some recent struggles for Sidney Crosby. Mitch Trubisky has a new home. A former Pitt Panther is...
First Call: Vancouver reportedly building plan to land Jake Guentzel; Steelers may try to keep Allen Robinson II
Wednesday’s “First Call” looks to provide some clues as to what may happen with Penguins forward Jake Guentzel before Friday’s trade deadline. We also advance some discussion about the Steelers potentially holding onto a wide receiver and perhaps missing out on a free-agent tight end. There were some NFL franchise...
Tim Benz: Throwing a red flag on the Steelers’ front office being ‘red flagged’
During Colin Cowherd’s Monday podcast on “The Volume” platform, former NFL scout John Middlekauff panned the Pittsburgh Steelers’ front office. “A lot of people in the NFL kind of have them red flagged operationally, I would say,” Middlekauff said. “Not necessarily (Mike) Tomlin, just the new GM (Omar Khan), just...
First Call: Dueling reports on Steelers’ QB plans; Antonio Brown mocks Kenny Pickett; another Jaromir Jagr return
Tuesday’s “First Call” features some split reporting on the Pittsburgh Steelers’ quarterback situation. Antonio Brown can’t help but take a social media swat at Kenny Pickett. Jaromir Jagr is already heading back to Pittsburgh again. A recent former Penguin posted a hat trick. It’s an important night on the local...
First Call: Diontae Johnson appears to dismiss trade talk; Steelers checking out Pitt lineman
Pittsburgh Steelers receiver Diontae Johnson seems less than thrilled about some recent trade rumors. At the NFL Scouting Combine, the Steelers spoke with a former Pitt Panther and a stud wide receiver. A former WPIAL star had a banner night in the NBA, and the Robert Morris men’s hockey team...
Steelers use NFL Combine to scout players who could provide help on aging defensive line
Thirteen years ago, the Pittsburgh Steelers last used a first-round pick on a defensive lineman to fit their 3-4 scheme. Cameron Heyward is still chugging along as he approaches 35 years old, but he is coming off a core muscle injury that cost him six games early last season and...
Super Bowl champion, former Steelers linebacker Andy Russell dies at 82
Andy Russell, the seven-time Pro Bowl linebacker who won two Super Bowl rings with the Pittsburgh Steelers, has died. Russell, a 16th-round draft pick who played 12 seasons with the Steelers, was 82. A source confirmed Russell’s death to TribLive. A cause of death was not immediately known. News partner...
Mark Madden: Pittsburgh is lucky to have had all-time great sports announcers
Bill Hillgrove retired. Kind of. He will cease doing Pittsburgh Steelers radio broadcasts after 30 years. But Hillgrove will continue to do Pitt football and basketball. It says a lot about Hillgrove’s limitless energy when, at 83, he wants to slow down gradually. And continue to serve as the midnight mayor...
Retiring Steelers voice Bill Hillgrove: ‘If it’s not for the fans, we don’t have a game’
After 30 years of doing radio play-by-play for Pittsburgh Steelers games, Bill Hillgrove announced Thursday that he would be retiring from that position. However, he will continue to do play-by-play for Pitt football and basketball. “You can’t completely stop,” Hillgrove said during Thursday’s “Breakfast With Benz” podcast. “I think people...
Tim Benz: Omar Khan already has 1 different approach than Kevin Colbert
In the 21 months since Omar Khan took over for Kevin Colbert as the Pittsburgh Steelers general manager, we have spent a lot of time trying to figure out ways the two men might be different. Khan may be a little more aggressive in free agency and moving up the...
First Call: Omar Khan talks about Steelers’ need at ILB, Diontae Johnson’s future
Friday’s “First Call” examines Omar Khan’s statements about the Pittsburgh Steelers’ inside linebacker situation and Diontae Johnson’s future. Plus we look at a busy weekend for local college hoops and the Robert Morris hockey playoff game. Inside out If you are looking for comfort when it comes to the Steelers’...
Steelers GM Omar Khan sees ‘good players’ available to fill thin center position
INDIANAPOLIS — If the 2024 NFL season started today, Nate Herbig would be the starting center for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Given that Herbig has taken just 47 career snaps at the position and none since 2021, he is the replacement for recently released two-year starter Mason Cole on paper only....
Steelers GM Omar Khan has ‘full faith’ in QB Kenny Pickett, also hoping to retain Mason Rudolph
INDIANAPOLIS — While he has “full faith” in Kenny Pickett resuming his role as the Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback, general manager Omar Khan is committed to providing competition for the starting job. And he hopes it involves Mason Rudolph. Khan said Thursday at the NFL Combine that he has begun negotiations...
Some of the top Steelers plays called by Bill HillgroveVideo
After 30 years as the voice of the Pittsburgh Steelers, Bill Hillgrove announced his retirement from that gig Thursday. Here are 10 of the most memorable plays (listed chronologically) for which Hillgrove provided the soundtrack on the Steelers radio network: Jan. 14, 1996: ‘The Steelers are headed to Phoenix!’ An...
Tim Benz: Art Rooney II and Steelers must do better, but fans should take NFLPA grades with a huge grain of salt
The Pittsburgh Steelers, specifically team owner Art Rooney II, are taking a beating when it comes to the release of the 2024 NFL Players Association report cards. As posted by our Joe Rutter Wednesday, the Steelers ranked No. 28 overall out of 32 teams in a survey of 1,706 players....
Longtime play-by-play man Bill Hillgrove retires from Steelers
A man known for exquisite preparation in his professional dealings, Bill Hillgrove didn’t necessarily plan for Thursday to play out the way it did. But it was impossible not to recognize how perfectly fitting the way the day in which Hillgrove announced his partial retirement was going to end. “I’m...
U mad, bro?: Backhanded compliments, slaps to the face, fears of Pittsburgh teams slipping into the 1980s
Have you ever heard the phrase “backhanded compliments”? This week’s “U mad, bro?” hits me with a couple of those backhands right across the face. Mark Madden gets one too. So do the Pittsburgh Steelers’ quarterbacks and Penguins coach Mike Sullivan. At least I’m in good company. Let’s start with...
First Call: Steelers’ minority ownership movement; ILBs interview with team at combine; Mason Rudolph’s future
The Pittsburgh Steelers’ ownership structure is getting shuffled. The franchise is talking to lots of linebackers at the NFL Scouting Combine. There’s more conversation about Mason Rudolph’s future and that of former Pitt star Aaron Donald as well. All that in Thursday’s “First Call.” Money movin’ The long-discussed sale of...
Steelers slammed in NFLPA survey about working conditions, team facilities
INDIANAPOLIS — Pittsburgh Steelers players like the working environment created by head coach Mike Tomlin but don’t think much of ownership or the way their families are being treated on game days. That was the takeaway from the NFL Players Association’s second annual team report card that was released Tuesday...
With Mitch Trubisky, Mason Rudolph, Joe Flacco, Steelers and Browns may impact each other on the QB carousel
The Pittsburgh Steelers and Cleveland Browns are inexorably linked as AFC North rivals. This offseason, there may be some linkage when it comes to their quarterback situations as well. After winning the 2023 NFL Comeback Player of the Year award with the Browns, quarterback Joe Flacco and the franchise have...
First Call: Ravens GM praises former player who joined Steelers; an Arthur Smith favorite hits free agency
Wednesday’s “First Call” checks in on a popular name among Steelers fans as free agency approaches. A player Arthur Smith had in Atlanta and Tennessee has been cut loose. The Ravens’ general manager may have a franchise tag target. He is also praising a former player who has been scooped...
Quarterbacks who could find way to Steelers become hot topic at NFL Combine
INDIANAPOLIS — Quarterbacks dominated the conversation Tuesday on the first day of the NFL Combine, and most of the talk had little to do with the incoming class of passing prospects. The future of two quarterbacks loosely connected to the Pittsburgh Steelers — Chicago’s Justin Fields and Denver’s Russell Wilson...
