Chris Adamski stories, Page 45
49ers’ Javon Hargrave recalls when Patrick Mahomes shined vs. Steelers in 3rd career start
Sunday’s Super Bowl will be the fourth time Javon Hargrave has faced Patrick Mahomes. By now, Hargrave joins the rest of the NFL world in recognizing Mahomes’ future Hall of Fame bona fides. Things were quite different the first time Hargrave played against Mahomes — and not just because at...
Steelers veteran CB Levi Wallace takes pending free agency in stride
In the hours between the end of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ playoff loss in Buffalo and when Levi Wallace went to bed the night of Jan. 15, Wallace already had turned his attention to non-football matters. “Now that it’s over,” Wallace said Jan. 16, “I was already sending out messages yesterday...
Plenty of options available as Steelers pursue competition for Kenny Pickett at QB
Taking Mike Tomlin at his word during his end-of-season news conference, Kenny Pickett has reclaimed his role as QB1 for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Tomlin, of course, also promised “competition.” That term is open for interpretation, as are the Steelers’ methods for evaluating options in providing that aforementioned competition. It can...
Unique skill set leads to unique rookie season for Steelers 7th-round pick Spencer Anderson
A backup guard? Swing tackle? Emergency center? Eligible tight end? What, exactly, was Spencer Anderson’s role as a rookie for the Pittsburgh Steelers? The answer, of course, is “all of the above.” Like all players, Anderson would love to earn a starting spot and stick to one position. But for...
Steelers interview Texans QB coach Jerrod Johnson for offensive coordinator job
Houston Texans quarterbacks coach Jerrod Johnson became the second person to interview for the Pittsburgh Steelers’ vacant offensive coordinator position, the team announced Friday. Johnson, 35, spent an offseason and training camp with the Steelers as their No. 4 quarterback in 2012. He was briefly part of five other NFL...
Steelers’ Joey Porter Jr. finalist for defensive rookie of the year; T.J. Watt DPOY finalist
The NFL announced finalists for its eight most notable football-related awards Thursday. The Pittsburgh Steelers had two, both for defense. One was widely expected; the other, a pleasant surprise. T.J. Watt was a finalist for AP Defensive Player of the Year for a fourth time. The NFL’s sacks leader in...
After whirlwind season, Steelers’ Trenton Thompson knows nothing is guaranteed
A week after most NFL training camps opened last summer, safety Trenton Thompson was little more than an unemployed ballplayer. “In my mind, I was prepping to get ready to play for the now-UFL, the United Football League,” Thompson said last week, referencing his mindset on the first day of...
Myles Garrett beats out Steelers’ T.J. Watt for Defensive Player of the Year
T.J. Watt won’t find out if he will win a second AP NFL Defensive Player of the Year award for another two weeks. But Wednesday, it was announced he lost out to Myles Garrett for a similar honor. Garrett, the Cleveland Browns’ star edge defender, was named the Professional Football...
Steelers sign 5 to reserve/future deals; strength and conditioning coach departs
The Pittsburgh Steelers continued to replenish their offseason roster, announcing the signing five players to reserve/future contracts Tuesday. Three of the signings are cornerbacks. Each of the five spent at least part of this past season on the Steelers’ practice squad: • Outside linebacker David Perales was among the undrafted...
Steelers notes: T.J. Watt presents Super Bowl trip to army vet, former exec let go by Panthers
An Army veteran and Purple Heart recipient was chosen to receive a trip to the Super Bowl as part of a promotion involving Pittsburgh Steelers star outside linebacker T.J. Watt. Wounded in 2011 while serving in Afghanistan, Army reservist Adam Alexander — like Watt — is a Wisconsin native. According...
Steelers CB Joey Porter Jr. named to PFWA all-rookie team
Joey Porter Jr. began his rookie season as a subpackage defender for the Pittsburgh Steelers. By midseason, he was their “shutdown” No. 1 cornerback. On Tuesday, he was honored as one of the top rookies in the league. Porter Jr. was named to the Professional Football Writers of America all-rookie...
Steelers notes: Rams’ Zac Robinson reportedly to interview for O-coordinator
Los Angeles Rams pass-game coordinator Zac Robinson will interview with the Pittsburgh Steelers for their vacant offensive coordinator job, Sports Illustrated reported Monday. Robinson, 37, just completed his fifth season on the Rams’ staff under head coach Sean McVay. Following two seasons as assistant quarterbacks coach and one as assistant...
Steelers’ 2024 schedule highlighted by 1st trip to Washington in 8 years, both N.Y. teams at home
Only two players on the Pittsburgh Steelers’ current roster have played in a game for the team in the greater Washington, D.C., area. How long has it been since the Steelers played there? The team was called the Redskins. Two naming iterations later, the Steelers this year will make a...
Mike Tomlin says Steelers’ Keeanu Benton could be ‘dominant.’ Benton wants to prove him right
Mike Tomlin isn’t exactly known as the type of coach who freely dispenses praise for young players. So when in answering the 58th question asked of him during his season-ending news conference last week, Tomlin didn’t restrain in extolling rookie Keeanu Benton, it opened eyes. “I think he’s capable of...
Steelers’ T.J. Watt will skip Pro Bowl event because of injury
Pittsburgh Steelers outside linebacker T.J. Watt will not participate in the NFL’s Pro Bowl games because of a knee injury that prevented him from playing in last week’s playoff game. The Cleveland Browns gave word of Watt’s absence via the announcement that two of their players — linebacker Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
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...
Steelers notes: Joey Porter Jr., Allen Robinson in concussion protocol; 13 set for unrestricted free agencyVideo
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Joey Porter Jr. and wide receiver Allen Robinson were in NFL concussion protocol when Monday’s playoff game ended. Each absorbed a hit during a play late in the third quarter of the 31-17 loss to the Buffalo Bills and did not return. Tight...
Fans for Steelers-Bills playoff game on apparent shovel-your-own-seats policyVideo
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Apparently, not enough people took up the $20-per-hour offer. The plan for removing multiple feet of snow from the 71,000-plus seats at Highmark Stadium in advance of Monday’s playoff game evidently was to accept those willing to shovel for as long as they pleased. But by...
Bills without 4 starters, Steelers sans T.J. Watt for wild-card game
ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Linebacker Tyrel Dodson and cornerback Rasul Douglas were designated as inactive by the Buffalo Bills for Monday’s playoff game, making for four starters who are out against the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Bills on Friday announced that receiver Gabe Davis (knee) and safety Taylor Rapp (calf) would...
