Chris Adamski stories, Page 89

CLEVELAND — Zach Banner has been medically cleared to play, but the Pittsburgh Steelers aren’t quite ready to use him during games. For the second consecutive game after his activation off the injured reserve list, Banner was designated as a gameday inactive for Sunday’s game at the Cleveland Browns. Banner’s...

It’s Taco time for the Pittsburgh Steelers defense. With Melvin Ingram III ruled out from playing in Sunday’s game in Cleveland because of a groin injury, the Pittsburgh Steelers called up former NFL first-round pick Taco Charlton to serve as their primary backup at outside linebacker against the Browns. A...

1. Shot and chaser There was chatter over the offseason after the promotion of Matt Canada to offensive coordinator that the Pittsburgh Steelers would go under center more often. That hasn’t played out. Ben Roethlisberger is in the shotgun as much as ever. According to data from footballoutsiders.com, the Steelers’...

T.J. Watt’s bona fides as an elite pass rusher need no explanation. Watt has 11 sacks in his past 19 games for the Pittsburgh Steelers, and, barring injury, he’s well on his way in joining Reggie White as the only players in NFL history to have four consecutive 13-sack seasons....

The NFL’s official draft profile of Najee Harris featured legitimate concern about Harris’ durability because of the workload he undertakes and the punishment his body therefore endures. As the touches pile up during a rookie season for the Pittsburgh Steelers, though, Harris doesn’t share those worries. “Am I concerned? No,”...

Eric Ebron began the week insisting he is content with his increasingly diminished role in the Pittsburgh Steelers offense. He ended it injured significantly enough that he won’t play in the Steelers’ next game. Ebron did not practice Friday and will not play Sunday against the Cleveland Browns, the Steelers...

About as far as Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin would go in acknowledging veteran Melvin Ingram III is unhappy with his role on the team is to say he has spoken with him. Tomlin also insists Ingram’s absence from Friday’s practice is not related to reports he seeks a trade....

Zach Banner and Anthony McFarland each figure to be part of the gameday roster this week for the first time this season. But what will their roles be within the Pittsburgh Steelers offense during Sunday’s game against the Cleveland Browns? Offensive coordinator Matt Canada shed little light on the coaching...

Amid reports he is unhappy with his role on the team, outside linebacker Melvin Ingram was a limited participant at Pittsburgh Steelers practice Thursday. Ingram was listed on the injury report with a groin injury for the second consecutive day. Ingram was not cited by coach Mike Tomlin as dealing...

Ben Roethlisberger grew up a 2-hour, 15-minute drive from Cleveland. His first start there was as a 22-year-old in 2004, seven months after the Browns bypassed him in the draft to select a tight end. Sunday — perhaps — could be Roethlisberger’s final start at his home-state team that became...

Coach Mike Tomlin said the Pittsburgh Steelers emerged from their idle week with a healthy roster. Wednesday’s practice proved it. The official league-mandated injury report was about as clean as it has been all season. It included two players recently activated off of the injured reserve list — running back...

Chase Claypool didn’t explicitly take over JuJu Smith-Schuster’s role during Smith-Schuster’s first game following season-ending surgery, and Claypool likely won’t ever be a full-time slot receiver for the Pittsburgh Steelers. But that doesn’t mean Claypool doesn’t like getting deployed there. “I like playing all positions but especially being able to...

The Pittsburgh Steelers will have another piece available to their offense beginning this week after the activation of speedy running back Anthony McFarland on Wednesday. McFarland was on the injured reserve list since the start of the season because of a torn MCL suffered during training camp. He was cleared...

Over his past 21 regular-season games, Tristan Jarry has been on quite a run. Not that he’s aware of it. “No idea,” the Pittsburgh Penguins goalie said after practice Monday. “Sorry.” Fitting, because fans seemingly aren’t aware of Jarry’s stretch of elite regular-season play, either. Or, perhaps more to the...

By the view of both he and his coach, Pittsburgh Penguins defenseman Mark Friedman is at his best when he plays with “an edge.” However that’s defined precisely, don’t take it to mean Friedman necessarily is playing angry or recklessly. Instead, Friedman is attributing the strides he’s making in his...

The updates regarding the playing status of many of the Pittsburgh Penguins’ highest-profile players were coming fast and furious Monday. And the news was mixed. Defenseman Kris Letang, it was confirmed, tested covid-19 positive. He enters NHL coronavirus protocol and will miss a second game when the Penguins host the...

For every Brett Keisel, there has been an Antonio Dingle and a LaVar Glover. For every Kelvin Beachum or Carlos Emmons, there were seemingly three Angel Rubios. An examination of Pittsburgh Steelers seventh-round picks over the past three decades reveals an unkind history of unearthing hidden gems. For the first...

JuJu Smith-Schuster’s season-ending injury has provoked plenty of talk about which wide receiver would step up his role in the Pittsburgh Steelers’ offense. But what if the vacuum created by Smith-Schuster’s shoulder surgery wasn’t filled by wide receivers at all? “I wouldn’t be opposed,” Zach Gentry said with a mixture...

Two-and-a-half years after trading up to draft Devin Bush at No. 10 overall, and two months after trading for Joe Schobert and his pricey contract, the Pittsburgh Steelers have been electing to take both of their starting inside linebackers off the field in obvious passing situations in recent weeks. Coach...

When Zach Aston-Reese woke up the morning of Sept. 26, he was feeling strong. The Pittsburgh Penguins forward felt as if he was having an excellent training camp after a solid offseason of preparation. Most of all, he felt healthy. Then, in a significant surprise to the vaccinated Aston-Reese, he...

To different degrees, the injury news regarding two-thirds of the Pittsburgh Penguins’ top line was negative Monday. Coach Mike Sullivan termed the prognosis of wing Bryan Rust as “week-to-week” because of a lower-body injury. And center Sidney Crosby will remain out of game action when the Penguins host the Dallas...

The Pittsburgh Penguins have been blessed with their fair share of Hall of Fame players over the years. Now, the organization seeks a Hall of Fame mascot. Iceburgh is among 10 finalists for induction as part of the 2022 class of the Mascot Hall of Fame. (Yes, such a thing...

Ben Roethlisberger’s attention wasn’t on the field when Sunday night’s crucial moment played out. The Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback was talking to a teammate when the crowd roar signaled the obvious: The defense forced a turnover deep in the Seattle Seahawks’ end of the field. Roethlisberger didn’t know what the play...

Even after a win, Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin was not in the mood to mince his words. Typically measured when it comes to talking about officiating, Tomlin was livid about how the final sequence of regulation during Sunday night’s game played out. “I hated it,” Tomlin said of an...