Joe Rutter stories, Page 77
Steelers’ JuJu Smith-Schuster expects to hit peak contract value with strong 2021 season
JuJu Smith-Schuster wants to keep being a security blanket for Ben Roethlisberger even if he plays outside in the offensive formation. Smith-Schuster also wants security of the financial nature. And he’s willing to go outside to get it, too. Working on a one-year contract that was a byproduct of the...
Extension gives Mason Rudolph security as he pursues starting job with Steelers in 2022Video
Mason Rudolph doesn’t know if he will be a starting quarterback or if he’ll be a backup when the 2022 NFL season arrives. He just knows he’ll be playing for the Pittsburgh Steelers. And that’s good enough for him. Rudolph talked Tuesday about his decision to take a year of...
Ben Roethlisberger encounters ‘fun, new challenge’ in learning Steelers’ revamped offense
Attendance for organized team activities is, per NFL policy, strictly voluntary. It’s not until minicamp, which takes place in the fourth and final week of the league’s on-field offseason conditioning program, that players are required to attend. And in the years preceding the coronavirus pandemic, Ben Roethlisberger took it to...
Steelers’ B.J. Finney ready to make most of 2nd chance
He had a seven-figure signing bonus in his bank account and a partially guaranteed contract assured, and he didn’t want to lose it. That is the Cliffs Notes version of how B.J. Finney showed up “overweight and out of shape” last year with the Seattle Seahawks, a decision that ultimately...
Brother of Steelers DE Stephon Tuitt killed in hit-and-run
The brother of Pittsburgh Steelers defensive end Stephon Tuitt was struck and killed in a hit-and-run accident Wednesday night in Georgia. According to a police report, Richard Bartlett III was killed in Johns Creek, which is located about 25 miles northeast of Atlanta. WGCL-TV reported that Bartlett was struck when...
Tunch Ilkin announces retirement from Steelers broadcast duties
Standing on a balcony overlooking the practice fields at UPMC Rooney Sports Complex, Tunch Ilkin watched the Pittsburgh Steelers go through organized team activities Thursday morning. Flanked by a group that included his wife, Karen; best friend, teammate and broadcast partner Craig Wolfley; team president Art Rooney II and general...
James Washington trying to establish role in Steelers’ new-look offenseVideo
As one relationship begins for James Washington — he married his longtime girlfriend, Julia White, in March — another could be nearing its conclusion. The Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver is entering his fourth and final season of the contract he signed after being selected in the second round of the...
Ben Roethlisberger: ‘My idea’ to approach Steelers and offer to take pay cut
Ben Roethlisberger knew not long after the sting of that 48-37 playoff loss to the Cleveland Browns wore off that he wanted to return for an 18th season with the Pittsburgh Steelers. He also was aware some financial leeway was necessary to make that happen. Roethlisberger revealed Tuesday it was...
Tyson Alualu details emotional journey that brought him back to Steelers for 2 more years
Tyson Alualu could have spent the past week in Jacksonville, taking part in the first week of organized team activities under new football coach Urban Meyer. He could have shared a locker room with an old quarterback turned tight end in Tim Tebow and a new franchise passer in Trevor...
Steelers jerseys once worn by Dwight White, L.C. Greenwood, Donnie Shell up for auction
It will be difficult to top a collection that featured a container once housing Jack Lambert’s false teeth, but the folks at Lelands auction house have put more Pittsburgh Steelers memorabilia up for bidding. Lelands’ mid-spring classic auction runs through June 4 and contains 25 pieces of Steelers memorabilia, including...
Zach Banner, Devin Bush make appearance on field during Steelers’ OTA sessionVideo
Zach Banner equated his pairing with Devin Bush in the Pittsburgh Steelers offseason conditioning program to Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito from the movie “Twins.” The big man wasn’t off base. Banner stands 6-foot-8 and is listed at 335 pounds. Bush is 5-11 and is 101 pounds lighter. “I call...
Kevin Dotson, Alex Highsmith prepare for starting roles in 2nd year with SteelersVideo
Mike Tomlin believes the biggest ascension in an NFL player’s career comes in his second season. Kevin Dotson and Alex Highsmith would like to justify the faith their Pittsburgh Steelers coach is showing them at that pivotal stage of their careers. After making contributions as rookies and combining to start...
Cameron Heyward tired of ‘badmouthing’ he hears about Steelers QB Ben Roethlisberger
Cameron Heyward has heard the criticism lobbied at Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger during the offseason. He is tired of it. Heyward defended his teammate and fellow captain Monday after the first day of organized team activities. Roethlisberger and Heyward, the two longest-tenured players on the team, both participated in...
1st-round draft pick Najee Harris, 2nd-rounder Pat Freiermuth sign contracts with Steelers
On the first day of organized team activities, the Pittsburgh Steelers got their top two draft picks under contract when they signed running back Najee Harris and tight end Pat Freiermuth to four-year deals. According to the NFL’s slotting system for draft picks, Harris got a $13.047 million deal that...
Steelers get large turnout for 1st day of voluntary organized team activitiesVideo
So much for Pittsburgh Steelers players staying united with the NFL Players’ Association and skipping organized team activities. On the first day of voluntary OTAs, the Steelers had about three-fourths of the 90-man offseason roster on hand for a morning workout at UPMC Rooney Sports Complex. The 90-minute session, conducted...
Rookie Quincy Roche brings strong college numbers to Steelers defense
Even with two college destinations in his rear-view mirror, Pittsburgh Steelers rookie pass rusher Quincy Roche keeps getting caught up in a numbers game. In his third season at Temple, Roche was given a single-digit uniform number, an honor bestowed upon the team’s toughest players. After transferring to Miami (Fla.)...
Wisconsin coach thinks Isaiahh Loudermilk can scale new heights on Steelers defensive line
Before Isaiahh Loudermilk reported to rookie minicamp with the Pittsburgh Steelers last weekend, one of his college coaches made an apt observation. “He’ll be blocking out the sun there,” Wisconsin defensive line coach Ross Kolodziej said. Of the 34 players who attended rookie minicamp, Loudermilk was the second tallest, standing...
Troy Polamalu chooses former Steelers coordinator Dick LeBeau to present him at Hall of Fame
Troy Polamalu will be presented to the Pro Football Hall of Fame by the man who coached him for virtually his entire Pittsburgh Steelers career. Dick LeBeau, the long-time Steelers defensive coordinator, will present Polamalu when he is inducted into the Hall of Fame on Aug. 7 at Tom Benson...
Steelers sign 4 rookie draft picks to contracts
Four down, five to go. The Pittsburgh Steelers on Saturday signed the first four members of their nine-player draft class, coming to contracts with defensive end Isaiahh Loudermilk, outside linebacker Quincy Roche, defensive back Tre Norwood and punter Pressley Harvin III. Those players were the final four taken by the...
Najee Harris boosts his profile during first taste of NFL life at Steelers rookie minicampVideo
The black shorts and white uniform jersey should have been the giveaway to Najee Harris that he’s not in college anymore. Harris spent the past two days of rookie minicamp wearing the practice threads of his new employer, the Pittsburgh Steelers, a sharp departure from the crimson and white he...
Punter Pressley Harvin III stands out from the crowd at Steelers rookie minicamp
No matter what is written on paper, the first thing that stands out about Pressley Harvin III is his size. Harvin was listed as being 5-foot-11 and weighing 263 pounds on his NFL.com profile. The Pittsburgh Steelers’ bio adds another inch but deducts eight pounds from his frame. Either way,...
Steelers scheduled to play 5 prime time games during inaugural 17-game regular season
For the inaugural 17-game NFL season, the Pittsburgh Steelers will open and close their schedule on the road. They will play five games in prime time, including three at Heinz Field. And they will close the year with four games against teams that went a combined 47-17 last season. For...
Steelers to open season on road again, play at Buffalo Bills
The last three times the Pittsburgh Steelers have played the Buffalo Bills, the game has been contested in December. Not this season. When the 2021 NFL season kicks off, the Steelers will play the Bills at the newly named Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield Stadium in Orchard Park, N.Y. The...
Steelers LB Devin Bush wonders why Tim Tebow got a job while Colin Kaepernick sits
Devin Bush is among the NFL players questioning the Jacksonville Jaguars’ decision to sign Tim Tebow following an eight-year absence from football. Tebow, who will turn 34 in August, is expected to convert from quarterback to tight end. The Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker appeared to take exception to the signing in...
Steelers’ rookie Tre Norwood used to playing multiple positions — often in same game
When Mike Tomlin announced the Pittsburgh Steelers’ seventh-round draft pick May 1 and called Tre Norwood a Swiss Army knife, he left out an important detail. Norwood didn’t just play multiple positions in the secondary during his redshirt junior season at Oklahoma. “He did it throughout the same game,” Oklahoma...
