Steelers/NFL category, Page 307
Steelers notes: Chase Claypool practices, Minkah Fitzpatrick does not but is ‘fine’
T.J. Watt wasn’t the only All-Pro absent from drills at Pittsburgh Steelers practice Monday. Safety Minkah Fitzpatrick was a non-participant, watching the second half of the session in street clothes. “He’s fine,” was coach Mike Tomlin’s two-word response when asked about Fitzpatrick’s status. Named an AP All-Pro in each of...
Mark Madden: Optimism is growing for Steelers season, but key decisions remain
I had the Steelers pegged at 7-10 before training camp started. But within the limited context of a preseason exclusively featuring games against bad NFC teams, the Steelers are providing cause for limited optimism. Like 9-8 tops. Don’t go overboard. But to merit ascension to borderline playoff contention, the Steelers...
Tim Benz: If Steelers fans are giving Dwayne Haskins a chance to improve, they should give Mason Rudolph the same shot
Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin often says that his team “has no time for hypothetical conversations.” Former head coach Bill Cowher famously stated his disdain for the “what if” game. Well, I have a disdain for the annual fourth preseason game of the NFL season. Yet the Steelers are...
First Call: Joe Schobert recaps 1st game with Steelers; former Steeler injured in Baltimore; former Pirate shines in Tampa
Monday’s “First Call” looks at linebacker Joe Schobert’s first game as a Pittsburgh Steeler. Also, there is a twist that may have had him playing in Baltimore instead. One ex-Pirate shines, and another gets hurt during a battle of American League powerhouses. And Pittsburgh braces itself for the long-awaited, uh,...
Stock up, stock down for Steelers after 3rd preseason game
The Pittsburgh Steelers won their first 11 games in 2020. They’ve won their first three games of the 2021 season. Unfortunately, these ones don’t count. But being 3-0 is better than being 0-3 — and having the first (and only) game in which the starters start result in a 20-0...
Norwin alum Shasko Bonnett wins halftime kicking contest at Steelers game
The second kicker up in a three-person contest at Heinz Field on Saturday night — with 40,000-plus looking on — Ariel Shasko Bonnett lined up her field-goal try from the 5-yard line. A chip shot? Not for someone who had only began kicking a week ago. She is much more...
Red zone is comfort zone for Steelers’ rookie tight end Pat Freiermuth
Pat Freiermuth missed by a year the chance to make money off his name, image and likeness rights in college at Penn State. The 6-foot-5 tight end is learning quickly, however, about the best way to profit in the NFL. It’s by making big and, at times, difficult catches in...
Tim Benz: Steelers answering questions about thin roster spots as preseason wins mount
It’s always wise to caution putting any stock in the results of Steelers preseason games. Especially with this 3-0 start in 2021. After all, the Steelers are playing nothing but NFC teams that finished out of the playoffs — and with sub-.500 records — in 2020. Over the first two...
Ben Roethlisberger shines in debut with new offense; Steelers win
Ben Roethlisberger’s first try at running offensive coordinator Matt Canada’s offense couldn’t have gone better for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Nothing beats perfection, right? When Roethlisberger departed after three series in the Steelers’ 26-20 preseason victory Saturday night against the Detroit Lions, he had a perfect 158.3 passer rating. With a...
Steelers notebook: James Pierre appears ahead in battle for No. 3 CB
Through the first four weeks of Pittsburgh Steelers training camp, the hottest position battle for a starting spot was at nickel cornerback between Arthur Maulet and Antoine Brooks. The answer — if Saturday’s preseason game against the Detroit Lions is any indication — neither. For the first snap in which...
5 things to watch in Steelers preseason game vs. Lions
There hasn’t been an announced crowd of more than 5,909 paid patrons for a home Pittsburgh Steelers game since Dec. 15, 2019. In the 20 months since, a total of 15,949 officially have viewed the Steelers play at Heinz Field. Probably more than three times that number will be in...
First Call: Under-the-radar Steelers pass rushers draw national praise; Antonio Brown’s practice fight; Pirates’ familiar foe
Friday’s “First Call” puts stats behind some impressive Pittsburgh Steelers pass rushing efforts so far this preseason. Antonio Brown gets into a practice fight with a Tennessee Titans player. The Pirates try to find some solid ground in St. Louis. More news on Robert Morris ice hockey transfers. And Pittsburgh’s...
U mad, bro?: Readers express doubts about Dwayne Haskins, Joe Schobert; the Pirates’ rebuilding plan
If you were mad that this week’s “U mad, bro?” was delayed by a day, I apologize. I was at a work function in Las Vegas for two days. However miffed you may have been doesn’t even approach my level of anger with some of the cards I got on...
Jerome Bettis’ foundation brings out hundreds for charity event in South FayetteVideo
Several former and current Pittsburgh Steelers greats joined a couple hundred special guests in support of an NFL Hall of Famer’s charity. The Jerome Bettis Bus Stops Here Foundation hosted its second annual ParTee36 Charity event at Topgolf Pittsburgh in South Fayette on Thursday night. At least 230 people, including...
Will Stephon Tuitt be ready for the regular-season opener for Steelers?
Cameron Heyward didn’t miss a beat Thursday. He answered the final question of an 11-minute conversation with media with conviction. Is there any concern his longtime running mate on the Pittsburgh Steelers defensive line, Stephon Tuitt, would be ready for the regular-season opener Sept. 12? “No,” is all Heyward said...
Ben Roethlisberger embraces chance to play in front of fans at Heinz Field after dismal end to 2020 season
The lasting memory of Ben Roethlisberger’s previous game at Heinz Field was of him sitting on the bench with Maurkice Pouncey, the two teammates soaking in the bitter disappointment of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 48-37 loss to the Cleveland Browns in an AFC wild-card game. Pouncey retired a month later. Roethlisberger...
Inside the ropes: Steelers’ Mason Rudolph the 2nd QB in, Dwayne Haskins with scout team
Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin indicated many of the other first-teamers would stay in the game Saturday after Ben Roethlisberger exited it. When that happens, it appears highly likely it again will be Mason Rudolph getting those reps with the projected starters. During a practice at Heinz Field that began...
Mike Tomlin says Joe Schobert ‘adapting quickly’ to Steelers defense
Not only will quarterback Ben Roethlisberger make his preseason debut for the Pittsburgh Steelers, inside linebacker Joe Schobert will see his first game action of any kind with his new team Saturday against the Detroit Lions. Schobert, who was acquired a week ago from the Jacksonville Jaguars, will start when...
Inside the ropes: Cam Sutton gets 1st look as slot corner as Steelers expand search for starter
On a day when Antoine Brooks Jr. returned to practice for the first time since the Hall of Fame Game, the Pittsburgh Steelers worked Cam Sutton occasionally at the slot cornerback position Wednesday. Brooks took first-team snaps and rotated with veteran Arthur Maulet in the first two weeks of training...
Amid trade report, James Washington trying to carve out bigger role in Steelers offense
A minor ankle injury to Chase Claypool provided James Washington the chance to work with the Pittsburgh Steelers first-team offense in practice Wednesday. Opportunities to get such reps with the starters have been few and far between for the fourth-year receiver and former second-round draft choice. It’s the reason reports...
1st-year WR Cody White gets reps with Steelers starters
A hamstring injury hindered Cody White for about two weeks earlier during training camp. He’s hoping it doesn’t hinder his chances at making the Pittsburgh Steelers’ 53-man roster. The first-year wide receiver is an intriguing candidate to grab a roster spot at the bottom of a deep and accomplished position...
Steelers RB Kalen Ballage has potential to be total package
He looks every bit the 230 pounds on a 6-foot-2 frame. He’s been clocked in the 4.4-second range in the 40-yard dash. He put his name in the record books in college. It’s easy to see why NFL teams would think Kalen Ballage could be a star. But on his...
Mark Madden: Steelers’ level of risk taking will make, or literally break, Ben Roethlisberger
Jacksonville may not start rookie quarterback Trevor Lawrence right away, mostly because the Jaguars’ suspect offensive line would put this year’s first overall draft pick at too much risk. Cincinnati would have done well to follow that path with last year’s No. 1 pick, Joe Burrow. As a rookie, Burrow...
Inside the ropes: Steelers simulate regular-season midweek practice
The post-pandemic return of concerts to Heinz Field won’t happen until a Rolling Stones show in October. But that didn’t mean there isn’t something of a dress rehearsal happening there this week. The Pittsburgh Steelers under Mike Tomlin long have treated their third preseason game as a simulation for a...
Matt Canada ready for first glimpse of Ben Roethlisberger running Steelers offense
The concepts that first-year offensive coordinator Matt Canada has introduced to quarterback Ben Roethlisberger will be put on display Saturday night at Heinz Field. Sure, it will be a scaled-back version of the Pittsburgh Steelers offense that Roethlisberger runs when he makes his preseason debut against the Detroit Lions. The...
