Joe Rutter stories, Page 45

Larry Ogunjobi’s first practice with the Pittsburgh Steelers began with a thud. In the opening team period Monday, Ogunjobi shed a block, burst through the line and dropped running back Anthony McFarland for a loss. The tackle brought slaps on the back and cheers from his defensive teammates. Coach Mike...

Mason Rudolph started the first two preseason games last year when he was firmly entrenched as the Pittsburgh Steelers’ backup quarterback. Such is life in a four-game preseason when Ben Roethlisberger is the starting quarterback, and he doesn’t make an appearance until the third exhibition. This year, with one fewer...

The initial depth chart Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin released Friday had Mitch Trubisky listed as the first-team quarterback. The designation didn’t mean much to Trubisky. “I didn’t look at it,” Trubisky said Saturday. “Coach said it doesn’t matter.” Tomlin reiterated after a two-hour practice at UPMC Rooney Sports Complex...

Before he headed home for the offseason, Robert Spillane asked the Pittsburgh Steelers video staff to compile three visual databases for his spring homework assignment: • All interceptions recorded by inside linebackers in the 2021 season. • All forced fumbles produced by inside linebackers. • All sacks registered by inside...

Like everyone else associated with the Pittsburgh Steelers defense, Karl Dunbar wanted to see Stephon Tuitt return for one more season. The veteran defensive line coach, though, likes the backup plan the organization hatched when Tuitt retired June 1. Little more than three weeks later, the Steelers found a replacement...

After a two-year absence, the Pittsburgh Steelers’ practice billed as Friday Night Lights returns to Latrobe’s Memorial Stadium. Coach Mike Tomlin is looking forward to introducing his team’s younger players to the experience. The event is scheduled to start at 7 p.m., and 15,000 fans are expected to attend. “I...

Based upon contracts given to other wide receivers from his draft class, Diontae Johnson left money on the table when he signed his three-year, $39.5 million deal Thursday. Johnson, however, doesn’t see it from that vantage point. He also doesn’t think he took less money to remain with the Pittsburgh...

Mitch Trubisky showed he was efficient at running the two-minute offense in his first test as Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback. Trubisky directed the offense to a touchdown Wednesday while running the situational drill that concluded the workout at Saint Vincent. The situation called for the Steelers needing a touchdown with 1...

On a sunny day when the temperature reached 90 degrees, Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin decided to give a few of his veteran starters the day off. Watching from the sideline Wednesday were defensive end Cameron Heyward, outside linebacker T.J. Watt, inside linebacker Myles Jack and left tackle Chuks Okorafor....

Jeremy McNichols’ stay on the Pittsburgh Steelers’ active roster lasted little more than a week. McNichols, who was signed on the day players reported for camp, was placed on injured reserve Wednesday with a shoulder injury. He was injured Monday, the first day Steelers players practiced in pads. His injury...

Former Penguins CEO and team president David Morehouse wasn’t out of work for long. Morehouse, who stepped down from his roles with the hockey club in April, was hired Wednesday as a senior adviser to Steelers president Art Rooney II. The Steelers announced in a statement that Morehouse will be...

Pads came out for the second day in a row for the Pittsburgh Steelers, leading to some feisty altercations during practice Tuesday at Saint Vincent. Rookie wide receiver Calvin Austin took exception to NFL Defensive Player of the Year T.J. Watt straddling him after the 5-foot-9 receiver was knocked to...

After signing kicker Chris Boswell to a four-year contract extension Tuesday, Pittsburgh Steelers general manager Omar Khan can focus on his last important piece of financial business before the start of the season. Khan said he has “been in conversations” with the representatives for wide receiver Diontae Johnson about a...

Six months to the day after he filed a lawsuit against the NFL and its 32 teams alleging racial discrimination in its hiring practice, the pending litigation was the last thing on Brian Flores’ mind Monday morning at Saint Vincent. The 41-year-old former head coach who was hired to work...

The first day the Pittsburgh Steelers donned pads for practice coincided with rookie quarterback Kenny Pickett getting his first snaps with the second-team offense. The first-round pick from Pitt was elevated behind starter Mitch Trubisky for the day. He got two repetitions in the practice-opening Seven Shots drill, and he...

It took four practices for Kenny Pickett to get his first chance to throw a pass in the “Seven Shots” 2-point simulation session that historically opens each practice for the Pittsburgh Steelers. The first-round pick and former Pitt star was permitted just one attempt. He made the most of it....

For the first time in three years, the Pittsburgh Steelers practiced in front of a packed house at Saint Vincent’s Chuck Noll Field. The Steelers distributed 17,000 tickets for the first weekend practice of the season — and first since the team resumed practicing at the Unity campus since the...

The most decorated tight end and most colorful broadcaster in franchise history were selected to the Pittsburgh Steelers’ Hall of Honor on Saturday. So were an unsung hero on the team’s offensive line in the Super ’70s and a do-it-all offensive threat from the 1950s. The four-man group announced Saturday...

Tempers already were intensifying when defensive lineman Carlos Davis and guard Kendrick Green scuffled in training camp Friday, the first day the Pittsburgh Steelers donned shells under their jerseys. It reached a boiling point on the final play of the workout. Again, Davis was at the center of the festivities....

A wide receiver not participating in training camp is nothing new for the Pittsburgh Steelers. In 2005, Hines Ward famously held out for 15 days while awaiting a new contract. The Steelers refused to negotiate until he reported to camp. Ward did, and the Steelers signed him to an extension....

To say Kendrick Green welcomed the Pittsburgh Steelers moving him from center to guard is akin to saying water is wet. “I think I’ll be a lot better at guard,” Green said Thursday after practice at Saint Vincent. “To be honest, I didn’t really like playing center, but it is...

In the final period of practice for the Pittsburgh Steelers on Thursday, inside linebacker Robert Spillane stepped in front of a Mitch Trubisky pass, intercepted it and took off down the left side. Center Mason Cole gave chase and eventually found himself in enemy territory surrounded by defensive players who...

Cam Heyward has no interest in continuing any verbal sparring with former Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. “I’m not going to have a rebuttal to his rebuttal,” Heyward said Thursday after Roethlisberger clarified comments about players having a “me-first” attitude, which led to a rebuke from the 33-year-old defensive end....

Mitch Trubisky’s first throw in a training camp practice was a swing pass behind running back Najee Harris that fell incomplete. His second toss also landed on the grass. The third was intercepted by Cameron Sutton. It wasn’t until his fourth — and final attempt of the drill — that...

Larry Ogunjobi is being eased into his first training camp with the Pittsburgh Steelers. He mostly was a bystander Tuesday when the Steelers conducted their first workout at Saint Vincent College and was listed by coach Mike Tomlin as a limited participant. One reason is the ankle injury the 28-year-old...