Joe Rutter stories, Page 118
Unlike 2018, Steelers escape OTAs with healthy rosterVideo
Five things we learned about the three-week organized team activities that the Pittsburgh Steelers wrapped up Thursday: 1. Good health Ask any coach, and he or she likely will tell you the most important thing about OTAs is getting through it without incurring any significant injuries. Unlike last season, the...
Chase Winovich keeping low profile in early workouts with Patriots
While he was in college at Michigan, Chase Winovich was known for his wild hair and his controversial comments. Now that he is employed by the New England Patriots, the Thomas Jefferson graduate has toned down half of his act. Winovich’s hair remains long, but he’s kept his comments generic...
After ‘valuable’ OTAs, Steelers QB Mason Rudolph looking ahead to more on-job training
Ben Roethlisberger’s regular presence at organized team activities this spring typically would portend less work with the first-team offense for the Pittsburgh Steelers backup quarterbacks. Mason Rudolph, however, said the opposite was true this year. The second-year passer from Oklahoma State said he got more work with the “ones” than...
Bud Dupree unaware Steelers could have pulled 5th-year option
When the Pittsburgh Steelers picked up the fifth-year option on linebacker Bud Dupree’s contract in April 2018, they had 11 months to change their mind. The $9.232 million value of that option represented life-changing money for Dupree, essentially doubling his career earnings as long as he remained on the roster...
Deadline nearing to bid on Steelers game-worn memorabilia
Time is running out for Pittsburgh Steelers memorabilia collectors to bid on game-worn jerseys sported by some of their favorite players. A spring collection of memorabilia at lelands.com that features 30 Steelers-related items has a Friday deadline at 10 p.m. for collectors to submit bids. The auction began May 7....
B.J. Finney serving as high-priced insurance policy for Steelers
David DeCastro’s absence from organized team activities has provided B.J. Finney prolonged first-team work at right guard. When DeCastro returns — presumable next week at mandatory minicamp — Finney will go back to his customary spot with the second string. And that’s just fine with the fourth-year interior offensive lineman....
Stephon Tuitt gets back on field for Steelers at OTAs
The three starters on the Pittsburgh Steelers defensive line haven’t occupied the same practice space since organized team activities began three weeks ago. Defensive end Stephon Tuitt, however, took a step toward rejoining Cameron Heyward and nose tackle Javon Hargrave at offseason workouts. On the eighth day of OTAs, Tuitt...
Steelers’ Sean Davis changes agents, not positions, in crucial seasonVideo
For the first time since joining the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2016, Sean Davis is beginning a second consecutive season at the same position. The 25-year-old defensive back is at free safety, making his debut Tuesday at organized team activities after missing the first two weeks with a minor injury. After...
Steelers add William Gay, David Johnson as coaching interns
Two former Pittsburgh Steelers players are joining the coaching staff for the 2019 season as interns. Former cornerback William Gay and tight end David Johnson were added Tuesday. Gay, 34, spent 10 of his 12 NFL seasons with the Steelers, playing for the team from 2007-11 and from 2003-17. He...
Xavier Grimble refuses to let costly fumble ‘define’ him heading into 2019
For the second year in a row, a backup Pittsburgh Steelers tight end will try to enter a season looking to put a controversial play in the rear-view mirror. In 2018, it was Jesse James bouncing back from perhaps the most scrutinized NFL play of the previous season, the infamous...
Steelers’ James Conner not taking starting job for granted
The first time James Conner walked onto the practice field for organized team activities, he was slowed by a hamstring tweak that he incurred during the Pittsburgh Steelers’ rookie minicamp. The next year, Conner arrived at OTAs healthy, and he was rewarded with regular reps as the starting tailback all...
Steelers sign final draft pick, 3rd-round cornerback Justin Layne
Cornerback Justin Layne became the final member of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ draft class to sign his rookie contract, when he agreed to a four-year deal Thursday that has a total slot value of about $3.45 million. The third-round draft pick out of Michigan State and the No. 83 overall player...
Rookie TE asked to switch number out of deference to Heath Miller
Zach Gentry still might hear fans chant a certain retired tight end’s first name when he catches passes at Heinz Field this season. It won’t be because he wears the same number as Heath Miller. Gentry wore No. 83 in college at Michigan and again at the Pittsburgh Steelers’ rookie...
Steelers QB Josh Dobbs flying high off the field
As a recipient of an aerospace engineering degree, Joshua Dobbs is all too familiar with Newton’s third law of motion. He just didn’t expect it to be such a jarring part of his flight training for a trip with the Air Force Thunderbirds. What goes up must come down —...
Diontae Johnson working to get ‘timing down’ with Roethlisberger at OTAs
Diontae Johnson has been watching and learning during many of the team concepts in organized team activities this week. His best work, the Pittsburgh Steelers’ third-round draft pick said Wednesday afternoon, has come in early individual work with quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. Johnson said Roethlisberger has spent the past two days...
Gerald McCoy could be latest star player to invade AFC North
Could the Pittsburgh Steelers end up facing the hottest NFL free agent twice a season in 2019? Defensive tackle Gerald McCoy, who was surprisingly cut loose by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers less than two weeks ago, may find a future in the AFC North after wrapping up visits with the...
Mel Blount, Franco Harris to chair Steelers’ summer charity events
The Pittsburgh Steelers are bringing out two of their Hall of Fame players for their annual summer fundraisers. Mel Blount and Franco Harris will serve as honorary chairs of the Steelers Charity Walk and Steelers 5K race, respectively. The charity walk, which will be held July 27 at Saint Vincent...
By saying little, Maurkice Pouncey shows support for Ben Roethlisberger
In April, a few days before the first phase of offseason workouts, Pittsburgh Steelers offensive linemen Ramon Foster and Maurkice Pouncey issued a joint social-media post calling for an end to all bashing by current and former players. Although his name was never mentioned in the post, quarterback Ben Roethlisberger...
AAF alum Kameron Kelly gets 1st-team work in Steelers secondary
Already during this calendar year, Kameron Kelly had lined up at wide receiver, cornerback and strong safety. And that was before he joined the Pittsburgh Steelers in April. On Tuesday, the 22-year-old defensive back took repetitions at free safety. And he did it with the first-team defense. Kelly played alongside...
Steelers’ Chris Boswell sticks to basics as he tries to regain accuracy
After a season in which nothing seemed to go right for Chris Boswell, he headed home and decided an overhaul to his kicking approach would be wrong. So he didn’t change a thing. “I’m going to stick to what I did going into my fourth year,” said Boswell, who is...
Steelers face 20-1 odds of having NFL’s best record in 2019
Coming off a 9-6-1 season, the Pittsburgh Steelers will be trying to return to the AFC playoffs for the fifth time in six years. One gambling site thinks the Steelers have a better chance of achieving the NFL’s best record in 2019 than they do the worst. According to BetOnline.ag,...
James Washington more at ease playing with Roethlisberger, Steelers
James Washington never felt entirely comfortable in the Pittsburgh Steelers offense — or with quarterback Ben Roethlisberger — in his rookie season. A late-season pep talk by Roethlisberger calmed the young Steelers wide receiver’s nerves. Still, it wasn’t until a few weeks ago that Washington began to feel at ease...
David DeCastro misses 1st week of Steelers OTAs due to birth of child
The Pittsburgh Steelers had near-perfect attendance for the first week of organized team activities. Almost every player was on hand to either participate in the first three days of voluntary workouts or receive treatment at UPMC Rooney Sports Complex. One notable exception was All-Pro guard David DeCastro, who had a...
Steelers’ Terrell Edmunds owns up to Twitter gaffe, ready to improveVideo
Terrell Edmunds may be a second-year player on the Pittsburgh Steelers roster, but on social media he still is prone to making a rookie mistake. Edmunds admittedly erred earlier this week when he liked a tweet from Antonio Brown, whose “Two face” post was viewed as a jab at quarterback...
Ryan Shazier, James Conner nominated for George Halas Award
Two Pittsburgh Steelers players are nominees for this year’s George Halas Award. Running back James Conner and linebacker Ryan Shazier are among the five finalists for the award, which is given to the NFL player, coach or staff member who overcomes the most adversity to succeed. The award is presented...
