Steelers/NFL category, Page 390
Steelers round out undrafted free agent class by signing Baylor DE James Lockhart
James Lockhart, a defensive end from Baylor, became the final member of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ free agent class to sign his contract, finalizing his deal Friday. Lockhart is the 10th undrafted free agent to sign with the Steelers in the aftermath of the NFL Draft last weekend. A redshirt senior,...
2021 NFL mock draft: Way-too-early projections
Projecting the future of this mad, mad, mad, mad world is a fool’s errand. Lucky for you I’m a completist fool and couldn’t possibly leave you without a preview of college football’s best players and next year’s top draft prospects before I close the book on the 2019-2020 draft season....
Steelers’ Mason Rudolph might be ‘Bachelor’ star Hannah Ann’s ‘quarantine fling’
Pittsburgh Steelers fans have seen quarterback Mason Rudolph make passes on the field. Now, it looks like he’s made one off the field. Various celebrity news outlets — TMZ and Cosmopolitan, for example — are suggesting that Ben Roethlisberger’s backup is a romantic item with “Bachelor” star Hannah Ann Sluss....
NFL plans to play full season despite coronavirus uncertainty
The NFL is planning to play a full season though it’s uncertain what that will look like. League spokesman Brian McCarthy said Thursday that since January the 2020 schedule was intended for release after the draft. It is planned for release by the end of next week, with the date...
ESPN to re-air classic Steelers’ Le’Veon Bell Monday Night Football ‘walk-off’ win
There have been plenty of Pittsburgh Penguins and Pittsburgh Pirates classic games broadcast since the start of the coronavirus shutdown of live sports. Now, a recent memorable Pittsburgh Steelers game will be shown nationally on ESPN. The network, in conjunction with the NFL, announced Thursday that it would re-air five...
Steelers running back James Conner shares cryptic ‘last dance’ post
Pittsburgh Steelers running back James Conner took to Instagram on Wednesday to share a few words, “They talkin like it’s my last dance….” The post, featuring a photo of a him walking on a field, could be in response to the media analysis of the glut of players in the...
Lifelong Steelers fan, college All-American guard Kevin Dotson living his dream
Kevin Dotson had already been a Pittsburgh Steelers fan while when he was in kindergarten, the team drafted Ben Roethlisberger. Sixteen years to the day later, Dotson too became a Steelers draft pick. When Dotson heard his name called in the fourth round last Friday, he knew it meant he...
Steelers sign 3 more undrafted free agents
The Pittsburgh Steelers continued the process of signing their undrafted free agents by getting defensive tackle Josiah Coatney of Ole Miss, Auburn fullback Spencer Nigh and Tulane center Christian Montano under contract. The Steelers have signed nine of the 10 undrafted free agents they agreed to terms with Saturday after...
How a Steelers rookie saved the life of someone he never even met
It was probably just a spam call. Christian Montano saw a New York area code on his phone that he didn’t recognize. Now a Steelers rookie free agent, Montano was in his apartment near Tulane’s campus when the phone rang. The offensive lineman was anticipating his grad transfer year with...
Steelers face challenge of developing rookies during ‘virtual’ offseason
If Randy Fichtner can do it, by his admission, anyone can. The most challenging offseason program in the history of the Pittsburgh Steelers officially began Monday. Normally, that would have meant dozens of players shuffling in and out of UPMC Rooney Sports Complex for the first formal work of 2020....
Impact of the 2020 NFL draft on your fantasy football league
Before “Breakfast With Benz” goes into a self-imposed shut down for an early weekend, we wanted to give our fantasy football fans a chance to hear from Jeff Erickson of RotoWire. He’s our fantasy sports expert. And he joins us to look at which recently drafted players may have the...
First Call: Steelers 2021 draft pick, more Tom Brady rules debates, smelly Penguin
Wednesday’s “First Call” is actually “Last Call” for the week. After plowing through the NFL Draft last weekend, “Breakfast With Benz” is closing the kitchen until Monday. So we go out by making Steelers fans angry over yet another rules debate surrounding Tom Brady. A new Steeler makes his grandmother...
U mad, bro? Steelers fans have strong opinions about NFL draft, race with Ravens
This is what I’m here for during “these troubled times.” To be your target in the dunking booth. Express a few doubts about the Steelers draft class. Say a few complimentary things about the Baltimore Ravens. And this is usually how it’s going to go. So it’s an all-Steelers draft...
Notre Dame coach lauds versatility that WR Chase Claypool brings to Steelers
Chase Claypool’s four years at Notre Dame included just about everything on the football field short of playing with marching band at halftime. The second-round draft pick of the Pittsburgh Steelers, Claypool lined up on the short side and wide sides of the field. He played in the slot. If...
Steelers sign six undrafted free agents to contracts
The Pittsburgh Steelers signed the first six of the 10 undrafted free agents they agreed to terms with Saturday upon conclusion of the NFL Draft. Signing contracts Tuesday were linebackers Leo Lewis of Mississippi State and John Houston of USC, cornerbacks James Pierre of Florida Atlantic and Trajan Bandy of...
Steelers exercise 5th-year option on T.J. Watt’s contract
In a move that surprised no one, the Pittsburgh Steelers on Tuesday announced they are picking up the fifth-year option on outside linebacker T.J. Watt. A first-round pick in 2017, Watt’s standard entry-level contract was for four years and $9.3 million. Under the collective bargaining agreement, teams had until May...
First Call: NFL schedule plans, Buccaneers reporter stands by Jameis Winston-Steelers story
Tuesday’s “First Call” gives us the odds on new Steeler Chase Claypool winning offensive rookie of the year. The reporter who claims the Steelers offered Jameis Winston a contract isn’t changing his tune. And the NFL schedule could be a real mess if the season is pushed back because of...
Tim Benz: Messages sent to Steelers defensive players after the NFL Draft
Defense wins championships! It also closes out our 2020 NFL Draft coverage. On Monday, I gave you a list of messages sent to Steelers offensive players directly from the coaching staff and the front office. At least, that was my interpretation after the NFL Draft last weekend. Today we look...
Steelers hoping to take advantage of ‘half linebacker, half safety’ Antoine Brooks
A prevailing opinion heading into last week’s draft was the Pittsburgh Steelers could have used immediate help at seven positions. With six picks at their disposal, that was a problem. The Steelers ultimately got reinforcements at wide receiver, outside linebacker, running back and offensive line with their first four picks....
Mark Madden: Steelers’ 2020 draft class won’t offer immediate help
Meh (adjective): Not impressive, so-so; apathetic, indifferent. Now that you know the word, use it in a sentence: The Steelers had a meh draft. The odds of that increase when you don’t have a first-round pick. They also increase when you take a player who wasn’t considered good enough to...
Tim Benz and Mark Madden return with ‘Unfiltered’ and break down how Steelers did in the draft
Tim Benz and Mark Madden got together virtually for “Madden Benz Unfiltered” on the TribLIVE Facebook page on Monday. The guys returned via Zoom video conference and talked about the sports world amid the coronavirus pandemic and how the sports leagues are trying to restart. They talked about the NHL...
Mark Madden says JuJu Smith-Schuster won’t be with Steelers in 2021, ‘no matter what’
In this week’s “Madden Monday” podcast, Mark Madden and I recap the NFL Draft. We do so from a Steelers standpoint to start. Mark and I are of the same opinion that the franchise didn’t have much to play with, and they didn’t exactly make a lot happen. They got...
First Call: Did Steelers really offer Jameis Winston a contract?; Leonard Fournette still a Jaguar
In Monday’s “First Call,” did the Steelers really offer a contract to Jameis Winston? Leonard Fournette is still a Jaguar. And the NFL draft ratings spike might be even more than anticipated. So much for that For those who wanted to see the Steelers sign Jameis Winston as Ben Roethlisberger’s...
Tim Benz: Steelers front office, coaches send messages to offensive players
Who says we’ll never return to normalcy, Steelers fans? We’re there right now. For weeks my Twitter timeline, email inbox and column comments have been littered with vitriol from both sides of the coronavirus debate. For every 50 people that want us to storm the state capital building with machine...
Former Pitt RB Darrin Hall among 3 players waived by Steelers
To clear space on the 90-man roster for the undrafted free agents they signed Saturday, the Pittsburgh Steelers waived three players Sunday, including former Pitt running back Darrin Hall. Also waived were wide receiver Jamal Custis and safety Tray Matthews. After drafting six players and signing 10 undrafted free agents,...
