Joe Rutter stories, Page 76
WR Diontae Johnson tops 5 players under the microscope for Steelers as training camp nears
When compiling a list of players on the proverbial hot seat for the Pittsburgh Steelers, it’s hard to ignore the 39-year quarterback who is returning for an 18th season after dealing with a decline in productivity at the end of 2020. Ben Roethlisberger was covered in our initial training camp...
Offense will face more questions than usual when Steelers open training camp
For a team that won its first 11 games and returned to the top of the AFC North after a two-year absence, the Pittsburgh Steelers will enter training camp facing more issues than candidates at a political debate. That tends to happen to an organization when it loses four of...
As Steelers prepare to open camp, T.J. Watt’s contract represents biggest off-field issue
When he reported to mandatory minicamp after skipping all of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ optional organized team activities, T.J. Watt said he wasn’t going to talk about his contract situation. No long-term deal has been struck since the Steelers broke for their summer hiatus in mid-June, meaning Watt’s contract uncertainty will...
Steelers QB Dwayne Haskins denies having tooth dislodged during altercation with wife
Dwayne Haskins is disputing the report that he is missing part of a tooth following a July 3 altercation in Las Vegas that resulted in domestic battery charges being filed against his wife. Kalabrya Gondrezick-Haskins faces an Aug. 3 hearing as a result of a disagreement that resulted in facial...
Alan Faneca lobbies for Steelers teammate Hines Ward to join him in Canton: ‘He is a Hall of Famer’
When he is inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame on Aug. 8, Alan Faneca will become the third player and fourth member from the Pittsburgh Steelers’ Super Bowl XL championship team to be enshrined in Canton, Ohio. Jerome Bettis, of course, is already a member. Troy Polamalu and...
Wife of Steelers QB Dwayne Haskins faces charges after domestic altercation in Las Vegas
The wife of Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback and former first-round draft pick Dwayne Haskins has been charged with domestic battery after an altercation July 3 in Las Vegas. Kalabrya Gondrezick-Haskins is accused of knocking out of one Haskins’ teeth at The Cosmopolitan when she punched him during a disagreement, TV station...
Troy Polamalu ‘nervous’ about Hall of Fame induction; Donnie Shell ready to join contemporaries
One waited more than a quarter century before he was elected into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The other made it in his first year of eligibility. The two safeties who will represent the Pittsburgh Steelers next month in Canton, Ohio, followed different timelines to reach the sport’s ultimate...
With extra year to reflect, ex-Steelers coach Bill Cowher ready for time in Hall of Fame spotlightVideo
Something felt refreshingly familiar to Bill Cowher as he prepared to talk to the media about his upcoming Pro Football Hall of Fame induction. He noted it was a Tuesday, the day of the week he used to conduct news conferences during his 15 years as Pittsburgh Steelers head coach....
Joe Rutter: Boo-boo that denied no-no lingers four decades later
Forty years later, I still swear it was an error. The ball came off the bat like a top, spinning down the first base line. I was ready to field it when it changed direction and scooted through my legs. The umpires conferred. Base hit. The only one our pitcher,...
With team-first attitude, Greensburg Central grad molds son into MLB 1st-round draft prospect
Did you win? Did you have fun? Those were the first two questions that Jeff and Patty Frelick asked their three children on the rare occasions they couldn’t attend one of their baseball, softball, hockey or football games. “We never asked how many hits they had or how many goals...
Steelers add former Rams, Titans kicker Sam Sloman to offseason roster
Ben Roethlisberger won’t be the only player from Miami (Ohio) on the Pittsburgh Steelers roster this summer. The Steelers have agreed to terms former RedHawks kicker Sam Sloman, agent Joe Linta confirmed Thursday. The NFL Network first reported the Steelers’ interest in signing Sloman. Adding Sloman gives the Steelers a...
Steelers act quickly to add free agent guard Trai Turner to replace David DeCastro
A few hours after the Pittsburgh Steelers released Pro Bowl guard David DeCastro, ending his nine-year tenure with the team, they found his replacement for the 2021 season. Free agent guard Trai Turner, a seven-year veteran who spent last season with the Los Angeles Chargers, agreed to terms on a...
Steelers’ Diontae Johnson eyes more consistent season after leading NFL in drops
Diontae Johnson purchased a tennis ball machine in the offseason. It wasn’t so he could improve his volley or sharpen his backhand. After leading the NFL in drops last season, the young Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver bought the machine so he could improve his concentration and hand-eye coordination. “It’s a...
Steelers’ Mike Sullivan chasing another Lombardi Trophy, not Stanley Cup
If he didn’t realize it when he was hired in February by the Pittsburgh Steelers, it didn’t take long to discover he isn’t the only Mike Sullivan coaching in the city. One has been part of two world championships and worked closely with a long-time leader and captain who is...
Steelers, Mike Tomlin await decision on training camp dates, location
The start of training camp remains unknown for the Pittsburgh Steelers. So does its location. Could be Saint Vincent College, the team’s summer home in Unity Township for 54 years until the coronavirus pandemic surfaced. Could be Heinz Field, the site of the 2020 camp because of the covid-19 outbreak....
After abrupt exit in Washington, Dwayne Haskins enjoying fresh start with Steelers
Dwayne Haskins has never whistled a football through a car wash — like Ben Roethlisberger recently wondered — to see whether it would get wet. The metaphor, though, could be an apt description of Haskins’ young NFL career. After his two-year experience in Washington left him covered with dirt on...
Joe Haden trying to keep up to speed with changes in Steelers secondary
The legs usually are the first thing that goes south for a boxer in a prize fight, and Joe Haden believes that theory also holds true for an NFL cornerback as he gets to the later rounds of his career. As he enters his 12th pro season and fifth with...
Mike Tomlin: Steelers ‘tops in the league’ in vaccinations
If the NFL is concerned about its players being slow to receive a covid-19 vaccination, it shouldn’t cast an eye toward the Pittsburgh Steelers. That was the news coach Mike Tomlin relayed Tuesday, the first day of the team’s mandatory minicamp. Tomlin said he is “really comfortable” with the number...
Steelers have near 100% participation for opener of 3-day minicamp at Heinz Field
The first day of minicamp began Tuesday for the Pittsburgh Steelers with 89 of the 90 players on the offseason roster in attendance. The exception was defensive end Stephon Tuitt, who was excused because of the recent death of his brother. Tuitt’s brother, Richard Bartlett III, was killed two weeks...
Steelers OC Matt Canada: ‘We’re going to do what Ben wants to do’
Matt Canada made one thing clear Tuesday in discussing changes he is bringing to the Pittsburgh Steelers in his first year as offensive coordinator: Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger won’t bend to his system. The system will bend to Roethlisberger’s comfort level. “We’re going to do what Ben wants to do,” Canada...
T.J. Watt shutting out contract talk during Steelers minicamp
T.J. Watt isn’t going to let his contract situation become a distraction during Pittsburgh Steelers minicamp. On the first of the three-day session at Heinz Field, the veteran outside linebacker shot down a question about negotiations on a long-term deal. “With respect to the process, I’m not going to be...
Without 5th-year option, Steelers safety Terrell Edmunds ready to ‘bet on myself’ in 2021
Terrell Edmunds has a chance to enter free agency a year earlier than expected given that the Pittsburgh Steelers didn’t exercise the fifth-year option on his contract for the 2022 season. That doesn’t mean Edmunds is guaranteed to test the open market in March. “Of course I’d love to come...
5 storylines to follow when Steelers begin 3-day minicamp at Heinz Field
For the first time since they were unceremoniously bounced from the playoffs by Cleveland in the wild-card round, the Pittsburgh Steelers will return to Heinz Field this week. Five months after that 48-37 loss and with a fresh start awaiting them later this summer, the Steelers conclude Phase III of...
Instead of replacing Devin Bush, Robert Spillane ready to join him in middle of Steelers defense
The tackle that introduced Robert Spillane to Steeler Nation provided a memory that he has carried well beyond the 2020 season. It was his head-to-head Week 7 hit that dropped eventual 2,000-yard rusher Derrick Henry short of the end zone that showed Spillane had the toughness and skill set required...
With so many returning wide receivers, can Steelers keep everyone happy?
Like so many people inside and outside the Pittsburgh Steelers organization, Chase Claypool thought the wide receiver room would have a new leader in 2021. JuJu Smith-Schuster was a free agent expecting to command top dollar, and the Steelers were trying to remain compliant with the limited finances they had...
