Joe Rutter stories, Page 102
McKeesport’s Khaleke Hudson draws comparisons to Troy Polamalu
INDIANAPOLIS — Khaleke Hudson grew up in McKeesport, returned home between semester breaks at Michigan and worked out at UPMC Rooney Sports Complex with other former WPIAL players. It’s safe to say Western Pennsylvania is a part of his DNA. As he prepares for the NFL Draft, Hudson would welcome...
Michigan’s Josh Uche would like to follow Devin Bush to SteelersVideo
INDIANAPOLIS – Josh Uche spent the past four years wearing maize and blue at Michigan. He agrees with a prominent draft analyst’s opinion that he also would look good in black and gold. Uche, a 21-year-old outside linebacker, let out a wide smile Thursday at the NFL Combine when he...
Steelers’ Kevin Colbert endorses NFL Combine going to prime time
INDIANAPOLIS — The first workouts of the NFL Combine began Wednesday with the bench press inside the Indianapolis Convention Center. The fun stuff starts Thursday. For the first time, the workouts at Lucas Oil Stadium will be conducted in prime time, with NFL Network providing seven hours of coverage in...
Lack of respect for RBs could play into Steelers’ favor in NFL Draft
INDIANAPOLIS — When it comes to running backs in the NFL Draft, the respect level is about on par with Rodney Dangerfield. A year after Alabama’s Josh Jacobs was the only running back taken in the first round — and he didn’t come off the board until No. 24 —...
Steelers Hall of Famers Donnie Shell, Bill Cowher to be part of separate ceremonies
Steelers fans will have two chances to attend a Pro Football Hall of Fame induction ceremony this year. The Hall of Fame announced Tuesday that the 20-member Centennial Class will be inducted in separate events, with the traditional ceremony in August and a Centennial Celebration in September. Safety Troy Polamalu...
Kevin Colbert wants Bud Dupree to finish career with SteelersVideo
INDIANAPOLIS — The NFL and its players association agreed to push back the time frame when teams can use the franchise and transition tag by two days, but that change likely means little for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Although teams can begin tagging players Thursday and face a March 12 deadline...
Kevin Colbert expects ‘better Ben Roethlisberger’ for Steelers in 2020Video
INDIANAPOLIS — Kevin Colbert readily admits Ben Roethlisberger might not be the same caliber of quarterback when he returns to the field for the Pittsburgh Steelers next season at age 38. That doesn’t mean Colbert is anticipating Roethlisberger’s skills diminishing after the two-time Super Bowl-winning quarterback underwent season-ending elbow surgery...
Antonio Brown will ‘always be one of us,’ Steelers GM Kevin Colbert says
INDIANAPOLIS — General manager Kevin Colbert is ready to roll out the welcome mat for former Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown — but not necessarily as a player. Colbert reiterated Tuesday at the NFL Combine what coach Mike Tomlin told ESPN earlier this month: that Brown always will be...
Could Steelers be scouting Bud Dupree’s successor at NFL Combine?
Keeping Bud Dupree on the payroll — at least for the 2020 season — is a priority for the Pittsburgh Steelers. That’s what coach Mike Tomlin emphatically said the day after the 2019 season ended. His statement was affirmed by team president Art Rooney II and general manager Kevin Colbert...
Steelers will encounter deep wide receiver class at NFL Scouting CombineVideo
After a three-year run of using a high-round pick on a wide receiver, the Pittsburgh Steelers entered another offseason in which a talented pass catcher may be too good to pass up early in the NFL Draft. When general manager Kevin Colbert, coach Mike Tomlin and their staffs head to...
Steelers head to NFL Combine ‘very comfortable’ with no 1st-round pickVideo
For the first time since the NFL Combine took up residence in Indianapolis in 1987, the Pittsburgh Steelers will head to the event without a first-round pick. In fact, you’d have to go back 20 more years — long before NFL execs decided to gather in one location to evaluate...
Ben Roethlisberger throws football in video posted by Steelers
Big Ben has taken a big step forward in his rehabilitation from right elbow surgery. The Pittsburgh Steelers posted a five-second video clip on their web site Saturday that shows quarterback Ben Roethlisberger throwing a football. It’s the first time Roethlisberger has thrown since September when he left at halftime...
Former Steelers assistant Dan Radakovich dies at 84
Dan Radakovich, a Duquesne native and Penn State linebacker who was an assistant coach on the Pittsburgh Steelers’ first two Super Bowl championship teams, died Thursday. He was 84. Radakovich’s death was announced by Robert Morris, where he spent 13 seasons as defensive coordinator and assistant head coach. Radakovich retired...
Expanded NFL playoffs would have benefited Steelers over past decade
Despite losing their final three games of the season to finish with an 8-8 record, the Pittsburgh Steelers earned the AFC’s No. 7 playoff seed and faced the second-seeded Kansas City Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium in the wild-card round. Imagine the quarterback matchup: Duck Hodges against Patrick Mahomes with a...
Pro Football Focus projects Steelers losing Javon Hargrave to Baltimore Ravens
Javon Hargrave is expected to test free agency and get a contract that will end his tenure with the Pittsburgh Steelers after four seasons. Not only would the Steelers be without the 27-year-old nose tackle, they could lose him to their biggest rival in the AFC North — at least...
Steelers linebacker Bud Dupree seeks new agent as free agency looms
As Bud Dupree prepares for a possible foray into free agency, he’s also preparing for new representation. The Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker, who can become a free agent March 18 unless the team uses the franchise tag on him, has left CAA Sports, according to Sports Business Journal’s Liz Mullen. Dupree...
Steelers tab Ike Hilliard as wide receivers coach
Experience got the nod Tuesday when the Pittsburgh Steelers hired their wide receivers coach. Former New York Giants wide receiver Ike Hilliard, who spent the past six seasons as an assistant with the Washington Redskins, was the latest addition to coach Mike Tomlin’s staff. Hilliard replaces Ray Sherman, who came...
Return to health by 3 skill players could benefit Steelers in 2020
The Pittsburgh Steelers expect a healthy Ben Roethlisberger to cure many – but not all — of the offensive problems that plagued the team in 2019. The NFL Draft can address other weaknesses, and general manager Kevin Colbert isn’t discounting a return to health by three of the Steelers’ top...
Steelers’ Mason Rudolph, Mike Tomlin fire back at Myles Garrett
Myles Garrett’s renewed accusation that Mason Rudolph used a racial slur during a game last November was met by strong rebuttals Saturday from the quarterback, his representative and Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin. Garrett initially made the allegations in November — a week after the incident took place — while...
Steelers keeping tabs on XFL players to potentially fill out offseason roster
As the XFL enters its second week of play since the spring league’s return from a 19-year hiatus, the Pittsburgh Steelers will be one of the NFL teams paying attention. When it comes time to filling out the 90-man offseason roster after the NFL Draft, general manager Kevin Colbert will...
Steelers want injured LB Ryan Shazier to return while dealing with ‘unique situation’
Ryan Shazier has not played in the NFL for two seasons as he rehabilitates from spinal stabilization surgery, and there is no indication the Pittsburgh Steelers inside linebacker is ready to come back to the field in 2020. Still, the Steelers continue to support Shazier’s comeback as they try to...
Steelers GM Kevin Colbert affirms commitment to finish his career with team
Kevin Colbert has spent the past 20 seasons employed by the Pittsburgh Steelers. If he has his way, he’ll never collect a paycheck from another NFL organization. The Steelers general manager, who signed a one-year contract extension last week, wants to retire with the team even though he has no...
Kevin Colbert, Steelers expecting Ben Roethlisberger to make ‘complete recovery’ in 2020
Forget about the Pittsburgh Steelers pursuing a backup quarterback in free agency next month. General manager Kevin Colbert became the latest team official to squash talk of the team adding a veteran to dress behind starter Ben Roethlisberger. Colbert said Thursday the Steelers are “hopeful” Roethlisberger will make a “complete...
GM Kevin Colbert feels ‘better’ about Steelers than at this time last offseason
For the second year in a row, the Pittsburgh Steelers are coming off a non-playoff season. And for the second year in a row, the win total has dropped — from 13 to nine to eight. While acknowledging the team’s .500 record was “below the standards that are expected here,”...
Steelers passers take low road in NFL.com year-end quarterback index rankings
Not surprising for a team that missed the playoffs with an 8-8 record, the Pittsburgh Steelers didn’t get any love from the NFL’s website in its year-end quarterback rankings compilation. Four editors at NFL.com examined all 57 quarterbacks who started at least one game in the league during the 2019...
