Joe Rutter stories, Page 74
QB Dwayne Haskins to finish first half when Steelers open preseason in Hall of Fame Game
Mason Rudolph will start at quarterback Thursday when the Pittsburgh Steelers open the preseason against the Dallas Cowboys in the Hall of Fame Game in Canton, Ohio, but former first-round draft pick Dwayne Haskins will close out the first half in his debut with his new team. Coach Mike Tomlin...
Steelers Hall of Fame RB Jerome Bettis announces he has tested positive for covid
Three days after Troy Polamalu announced a covid diagnosis, former teammate and Hall of Fame running back Jerome Bettis said he also has tested positive. On his Twitter account Monday, Bettis wrote that he has mild symptoms and is isolating at home. Bettis said he has been vaccinated. Part 1:...
Steelers ‘discovering’ if fullback Derek Watt can play bigger role on offense
For all of the money the Pittsburgh Steelers spent on fullback Derek Watt in free agency, they didn’t get much return on their investment in 2020. Then again, the Steelers didn’t exactly give Watt a chance to live up to his three-year, $9.75 million contract in his first year with...
Steelers notebook: Mike Tomlin likes physical nature of practice, but not fight that ensued
The Pittsburgh Steelers worked on short-yardage and goal-line situations Monday, which meant a lot of close-contact collisions between the offensive and defensive lines. One rep in a team drill got extra physical when rookie center Kendrick Green and 11-year veteran Cameron Heyward tussled. Rookie left tackle Dan Moore Jr. jumped...
Early adversity molded Troy Polamalu into having Hall of Fame career with Steelers
Despite the ease and excellence with which he played the safety position for 12 NFL seasons, Troy Polamalu didn’t exactly project to have a Hall of Fame career when he rarely left the sidelines for the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2003. The hardware he accumulated with the Steelers — two Super...
Hall of Fame was worth the wait for 4-time Super Bowl champion Donnie Shell
Donnie Shell enjoyed a 14-year NFL career with the Pittsburgh Steelers, winning four Super Bowls and picking off passes more frequently than any safety from his era. He overcame the bias held against the star Steelers players from the 1970s and eventually was elected to the Pro Football Hall of...
Healthy number of offensive linemen on Steelers roster dwindling during camp
The number of offensive linemen who didn’t practice or left early Saturday nearly outnumbered the healthy ones who suited up for the Pittsburgh Steelers’ fourth public session at Heinz Field. June free-agent signing Trai Turner was given the day off, and he joined B.J. Finney, J.C. Hassenauer, Zach Banner, Kevin...
Tunch Ilkin headlines 5th Steelers’ Hall of Honor class
One of the most beloved members of the Pittsburgh Steelers organization was elected Saturday to the team’s fifth Hall of Honor class. The four-man group was highlighted by former tackle Tunch Ilkin, who retired from his long-time duties in the broadcast booth in the spring to focus on his fight...
Bill Cowher’s legacy built by playoff moments with Steelers
Before he brought the elusive “One for the Thumb” Super Bowl ring to the Pittsburgh Steelers after a 25-year drought, coach Bill Cowher thought his legacy might be defined by two plays near the end of AFC championship games. In January 1995, linebacker Dennis Gibson’s breakup in the end zone...
Inside the ropes: Mason Rudolph puts in extra work after picked-off 2-point pass attempt
Bothered by a fade pass that second-year cornerback James Pierre intercepted and returned 100-plus yards for a touchdown during “seven shots,” quarterback Mason Rudolph pulled aside wide receiver Diontae Johnson after practice Friday night. Rudolph and Johnson replicated the fade that came up short on the second play of the...
Steelers add former Ohio State TE Marcus Baugh, waive TE Dax Raymond with injury
In the first roster move since training camp opened, tight end Dax Raymond was waived with an injury designation, a day after he left practice late after being hit and knocked out of bounds. The Pittsburgh Steelers signed tight end Marcus Baugh to replace Raymond on the 90-man roster. The...
Steelers’ Robert Spillane eating off ‘full plate’ as he preps for 1st year as full-time starter
Until Devin Bush’s season-ending ACL tear in Week 6 last season, Robert Spillane had played nine career snaps at inside linebacker for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Instead of replacing Bush like he did in 2020, Spillane will be playing alongside the former first-round draft pick when the Steelers open the season...
No timetable for Steelers OLB T.J. Watt to take part in first training camp practice
While the Pittsburgh Steelers practice team drills during training camp at Heinz Field, T.J. Watt continues to work on his conditioning. Watt and defensive end Stephon Tuitt have spent portions of camp practices running the width of the end zone. Neither veteran player has suited up for 11-on-11 work a...
Jerry Olsavsky appreciates ‘professionalism’ that Vince Williams brought to Steelers defense
For the past eight seasons, Jerry Olsavsky could count on Vince Williams’ presence on the football field and his emerging leadership off it. Olsavsky was a defensive assistant in Williams’ first two seasons before he was promoted to inside linebackers coach. As he enters his seventh season in that role...
Mike Tomlin, Steelers ‘energized’ by return of fans for training camp at Heinz Field
For a venue that holds 68,400 fans, the gathering that showed up Wednesday for the Pittsburgh Steelers’ first public practice at Heinz Field represented less than 10% capacity. The Steelers distributed 6,300 tickets for a workout that lasted about two hours and featured players donning pads for the first time...
Kendrick Green taking chance to work with first-team Steelers offense in stride
Rookie Kendrick Green wasn’t expecting to be the first candidate to line up at center with the Pittsburgh Steelers first-team offense in training camp. He’s also not making a big deal about it, either. “No,” Green said Wednesday when asked specifically about taking first-team snaps in the first week of...
Steelers ready to put on the pads, hit in front of fans for first time in nearly two years
In a nice piece of symmetry, the pads come out Wednesday for the Pittsburgh Steelers, and fans will be allowed inside Heinz Field to see the initial hitting of training camp take place. The Steelers wrapped up their five days of heat acclimation Tuesday with their initial workout at their...
As training camp ramps up, Kevin Colbert likes state of Steelers’ offensive line, overall positional depth
Kevin Colbert used the word “retirement” Tuesday to describe David DeCastro’s departure from the Pittsburgh Steelers last month. The Steelers released the six-time Pro Bowl right guard June 24 with a non-football injury designation, and then signed five-time Pro Bowler Trai Turner to replace him a day later. Was Colbert...
Cap situation provides ‘different environment’ for Steelers to sign T.J. Watt to long-term deal
On the heels of emerging as the NFL’s defensive player of the year runner-up, T.J. Watt set himself up for a big payday before he can become a free agent in 2022. With Watt playing this season on his fifth-year option, worth $10.089 million, he could see his base salary...
New Steelers right guard Trai Turner not concerned about replacing David DeCastro
Trai Turner joined the Pittsburgh Steelers a day after David DeCastro was released in June. He is occupying the same spot once filled by the six-time Pro Bowl right guard. Similarities end there, said Turner, even though he has five Pro Bowl appearances in seven NFL seasons to his credit....
Mike Tomlin ready to ‘turn the volume up’ when Steelers move training camp to Heinz Field
The Pittsburgh Steelers conducted their fourth and final practice of the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex portion of training camp Sunday. When the team reconvenes Tuesday after a day off, the work will be done at Heinz Field for the remainder of camp. “That really signifies the start of training camp,...
Steelers notebook: Injuries, absence leaves offensive line bare at center in 3rd workout
When the third workout of training camp ended Saturday afternoon, nary a candidate for the starting center’s job was anywhere to be found on the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex practice field. Rookie third-round draft pick Kendrick Green, who had been working with the first team, was excused from practice by...
Steelers edge rusher Melvin Ingram: ‘I feel like a kid. I’ve got a lot left in me’
If Melvin Ingram III is to be believed, he is the NFL’s version of Benjamin Button, someone who ages in reverse. When he turned 30 a couple of years ago, the veteran edge rusher boasted that he felt like he was 21 again. In his first interview since joining the...
Keith Butler looking to fill in missing pieces while maintaining Steelers’ defensive production
A defense that led the NFL in sacks and was second in forcing turnovers in 2020 received a jolt this week when inside linebacker Vince Williams abruptly retired on the eve of training camp. Williams became the fourth starter, counting nickel corner Mike Hilton, to exit a Pittsburgh Steelers unit...
Mike Tomlin, Steelers players caught off guard by Vince Williams’ retirement from NFL
Vince Williams never was elected a captain by his Pittsburgh Steelers teammates. That doesn’t mean he wasn’t one of the most revered members of the locker room. A day after he surprisingly announced his retirement after eight seasons with the organization, Williams was lauded for his play on the field...
