Steelers/NFL category, Page 129
Football Footnotes: Beyond the QBs, analyzing 5 other points Mike Tomlin made about improving the Steelers
This week’s “Football Footnotes” provides an in-depth look at many topics Mike Tomlin addressed regarding the 2023 Pittsburgh Steelers during his season-ending press conference. Except for the quarterbacks. We talked about them already. But there are plenty of other marshmallows in this bowl of Lucky Charms. The big picture Tomlin...
Tim Benz: Mason Rudolph should charge Steelers a ‘trust tax’ if they try to sign him
During the course of quarterback Mason Rudolph’s unlikely three-game win streak to help push the 2023 Pittsburgh Steelers into the playoffs, coach Mike Tomlin often seemed guarded in his praise of the former third-stringer. It was almost as if Tomlin didn’t want to feed the hype surrounding his resurgence. Or,...
Mike Tomlin looking for experienced NFL offensive coordinator to join Steelers’ staff
If Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin were placing a help wanted ad for a new offensive coordinator, he likely would include the following phrase: “Those without previous experience need not apply.” Tomlin said Thursday at his end-of-season news conference that he wants his next offensive coordinator to have NFL coordinating...
Kenny Pickett back to Steelers QB1 but Mike Tomlin hopes Mason Rudolph returns to competeVideo
He didn’t resort to trademark “Tomlinisms,” or deploy the extra wordiness he’s sometimes wont to do. Instead, Mike Tomlin’s use of an extraordinarily elongated vowel delivered most of his message when he was asked about the man who still seeks to be the Pittsburgh Steelers’ franchise quarterback. “It’s a huuuuuuuge...
Steelers coach Mike Tomlin confirms his return at season-ending press conference
Mike Tomlin is ready to fulfill the final year of his contract with the Pittsburgh Steelers, and he’s confident the 2024 season won’t be his last with the organization. Fresh off his 17th season with the Steelers, Tomlin said Thursday at his end-of-season news conference that he is confident an...
Nebraska hires away Steelers offensive assistant Glenn Thomas as co-coordinator
The offseason coaching carousel has begun to spin, with the Pittsburgh Steelers’ first assistant coach leaving the staff. The University of Nebraska hired Steelers offensive assistant Glenn Thomas as its co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, the school announced via a release. Thomas, a veteran of more than two decades of...
First Call: Speculation about Aaron Donald’s plans; former Steelers WR Martavis Bryant staying with Cowboys
There are quite a few NFL items in Thursday’s “First Call.” Many of them have Pittsburgh ties. Greenfield’s Mike McCarthy is getting another crack with the Dallas Cowboys. The Cowboys are also keeping a former Steelers wide receiver. Penn Hills and Pitt legend Aaron Donald has to make a decision...
U mad, bro?: Another Steelers season ends without a playoff win, so fans are in an angry mood
A Steelers season has ended in playoff failure for the fifth time since 2016. So fans are mad at the coach, the players and, most importantly, the media that covers them. As a member of that media contingent, I take no responsibility for the Steelers’ shortcomings in the playoffs. I...
Steelers add 17 players to reserve/futures contracts, including former Saints WR Marquez Callaway
The Pittsburgh Steelers began the process of roster construction for the 2024 season by signing 17 players to reserve/futures contracts Wednesday. The group includes nine players who finished the season on the Steelers practice squad. Returning to the offseason roster are defensive back Luq Barcoo, wide receiver Denzel Mims, running...
Steelers’ offseason primer: dates, deadlines, draft, free agency and more
Pittsburgh Steelers fans disappointed by their team’s season ending Monday woke up the next morning to word that NFL draft was exactly 100 days away. Rest assured many fans were already eagerly looking ahead to it and prognosticating whom the Steelers might take. While the draft is certainly a highlight...
Cameron Heyward wants to stick around with Steelers in 2024 — and, if healthy, maybe beyond
If his body cooperates and the finances can be ironed out, Cameron Heyward would like to return to the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2024. Heyward, though, isn’t selling himself short. He sees no reason why a 14th season wearing the black and gold would be his last. “In my mind, I...
First Call: Ben Roethlisberger thinks Mason Rudolph should compete for starting job; ESPN has 3 other Steelers QB ideas
In Wednesday’s “First Call,” Ben Roethlisberger endorses the idea of giving Mason Rudolph a chance to start at quarterback next year in Pittsburgh. An ESPN analyst has other ideas for the Steelers to pursue. The Browns are making major changes. And Robert Morris looks to avoid a first on the...
Tim Benz: Broderick Jones still thinks LT is ideal, but he won’t lobby for a change
If you are looking for positives from the 2023 Pittsburgh Steelers, the rookie class is one of them. First-round pick Broderick Jones and second-round picks Joey Porter Jr. and Keeanu Benton all became starters and/or regular contributors throughout the season. Third-rounder Darnell Washington played in all 17 games, logging more...
Steelers captains go to bat for Mike Tomlin, who reportedly says he plans to return
Since he first walked into the Pittsburgh Steelers facility as a raw defensive lineman from Ohio State in 2011, Cameron Heyward has played for only one head coach. As he heads into an offseason of uncertainty a few months short of age 35, Heyward can’t envision starting over with a...
Change is inevitable, but Steelers players hope to be back, some recognize it might not happen
The final full-squad team meeting for the 2023 edition of the Pittsburgh Steelers lasted all of about 20 minutes Tuesday. “Nothing groundbreaking,” star outside linebacker T.J. Watt said at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex less than 20 hours after the Steelers’ season ended with a playoff loss at the Buffalo...
Mike Tomlin’s quick press conference exit creates internet gold
Mike Tomlin’s abrupt departure from his postgame press conference Monday generated all kinds of speculation of his future with the Pittsburgh Steelers. If you didn’t already know, the Steelers lost the wild-card round game 31-17 to the Buffalo Bills. The coach’s quick exit opened the door for online creativity. The...
Steelers’ George Pickens: 2023 showed ‘I can do it all,’ only ‘politics’ kept him out of Pro Bowl
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — George Pickens wasn’t happy with the circumstances under which his second NFL season ended. But on whole, he was pleased with his own individual performance during the 2023 season. “Yeah, for sure,” Pickens said from the visitor’s locker room after the Pittsburgh Steelers’ wild-card playoff loss...
First Call: Najee Harris says Steelers need more discipline; Gene Steratore has mixed reviews of officiating in loss to Bills
Tuesday’s “First Call” has some interesting comments from Najee Harris in the wake of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ loss in Buffalo. CBS officiating expert Gene Steratore weighs in on some controversial calls during the game. Bills fans are already gearing up for a potential Taylor Swift visit next week. And the...
What they’re saying in Buffalo after Bills knock Steelers from playoffs
Fans were left to dig out their seats at snowy Highmark Stadium in Buffalo, but the Pittsburgh Steelers couldn’t dig out of an early point deficit in losing their fifth consecutive playoff game. The Buffalo Bills and the sportswriters who cover them had a lot of praise for two specific...
Tim Benz: Mike Tomlin’s abrupt press conference exit felt calculated. So what’s he calculating?
By now, you’ve probably seen Mike Tomlin walking off the podium mid-question to end his press conference following the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 31-17 playoff loss in Buffalo on Monday. Tomlin was about to be asked about his contract status as he heads into his final year of his deal when he...
Mark Madden: Steelers going nowhere with Mike Tomlin, overpaid defense
It’s another season of no progress for the Pittsburgh Steelers. They were never in danger of beating Buffalo on Monday and now have officially gone seven seasons without a playoff win. They have no clear answer at quarterback and will go with the inferiority of Kenny Pickett next season no...
Steelers QB Mason Rudolph faced with questions about next season
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Mason Rudolph seemed almost as pained by finding the appropriate words to answer the question as he did by the result of Monday’s season-ending playoff loss. Still smarting after the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 31-17 defeat to the Buffalo Bills in the wild-card game that ended less than...
Fan came from Illinois to the North Shore to root for the Steelers with family, Pittsburghers
Susan Young wore a T.J. Watt jersey with a big Steelers logo hanging from a thick gold chain as she watched Pittsburgh play without the star linebacker in Monday’s wild-card game against Buffalo. Young, of Effingham, Ill., is the Pittsburgh fan in her family, and her husband, who goes by...
Airing of Grievances: Predictable problems end Steelers’ season without a playoff win yet again
During his call of the Steelers’ playoff loss Monday, CBS play-by-play man Jim Nantz said he had been locked in his snowbound hotel for so long, it was starting to feel like “The Shining.” Well, however frightening Nantz’s stay was in Buffalo’s version of the Overlook Hotel, it couldn’t have...
Steelers’ George Pickens: ‘Not gonna win a game when you have to play the refs and the Buffalo Bills’
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — In the postgame locker room after his second NFL season had just come to an end, George Pickens couldn’t bring himself to concentrate on much aside from the officiating during Monday’s playoff loss. “I am still stuck on this game right now, with the refs,” Pickens...
