Joe Rutter stories, Page 87

The biggest and smallest players in Pittsburgh Steelers training camp failed to make the opening 53-man roster. When the Steelers got down to the limit Saturday afternoon, they did so by releasing 352-pound nose tackle Daniel McCullers and 5-foot-8, 185-pound slot receiver/return specialist Ryan Switzer. McCullers, who had spent the...

For the first time in four NFL seasons, Zach Banner won’t be wondering whether he still will have a job come Labor Day. When the Pittsburgh Steelers make roster cuts Saturday, Banner can relax and leave the worrying to others on the team’s 80-man roster. “I’m extremely grateful that I’m...

With one practice remaining until the end of training camp, the Pittsburgh Steelers continue to work without All-Pro right guard David DeCastro. DeCastro missed another practice Thursday because of an unspecified lower body injury. He hasn’t practiced since leaving early in the team’s scrimmage Friday night. DeCastro also missed the...

Time heals all wounds, except in the case of Pittsburgh Steelers center Maurkice Pouncey. Sure, that idiom holds true from a physical standpoint. The season-ending meniscus tear that Pouncey sustained against the New York Jets in Week 16 has sufficiently healed without offseason surgery. But emotionally? Pouncey is still smarting...

Mike Tomlin is using the last week of Pittsburgh Steelers training camp as a simulated work week for the regular season. In a typical in-season week, Wednesday marks the first day to practice the installed game plan. Tomlin put his players through the paces, but not with the New York...

Art Rooney II would like to see fans trickle through the turnstiles at Heinz Field this season. He just can’t make any promises on when that might happen. Because of the coronavirus pandemic, the Pittsburgh Steelers already announced fans won’t be permitted to attend the home opener Sept. 20 against...

Cameron Heyward will complete a decade of service with the Pittsburgh Steelers this season. The team’s president and controlling owner would like the team’s defensive captain around for the start of a second. In an interview with the Tribune-Review on Wednesday, Art Rooney II called keeping Heyward with the Steelers...

Bill Hillgrove, the radio voice of the Pittsburgh Steelers since 1994, will return for the 2020 season but will serve a two-game suspension after being charged with DUI in June. Hillgrove, who also has been affiliated with Pitt since 1969, also will be suspended for the two games of the...

Bud Dupree signed a franchise tag tender that will pay him $15.8 million this season. Then, he filed a grievance in hopes of convincing an arbitrator his tender should be $17.78 million. But those salary figures are peanuts compared to the numbers the Pittsburgh Steelers outside linebacker joked Monday were...

The Tribune-Review sports staff is conducting a daily countdown of the best players in Pittsburgh pro and college sports history to wear each jersey number. No. 0/00: Brian Shorter Compiling the best players ever to wear number 0 or 00 jerseys in a sports city typically is a short list....

Pittsburgh Steelers players stood in silence on the Heinz Field grass Friday night, arms interlocked while coach Mike Tomlin spoke for them about the social injustice issues taking place in the country. It’s a cause that has unified sports teams and leagues against police brutality and racial inequality. On Saturday...

When the NFL schedule was released a few months ago, the Watt family circled the date Sept. 27. With the Houston Texans visiting the Pittsburgh Steelers at Heinz Field that day, it would be the first time all three Watt sons would occupy the same football field. That was made...

The Tribune-Review sports staff is conducting a daily countdown of the best players in Pittsburgh pro and college sports history to wear each jersey number. No. 2: Jack Wilson In Jack Wilson’s nine seasons with the Pittsburgh Pirates, they lost 100 games once, dropped at least 90 games on five...

The Steelers turned on the lights and simulated game conditions Friday night at Heinz Field amid a steady rain coach Mike Tomlin embraced. In little more than two weeks, the Steelers will open the regular season at the New York Giants, so Tomlin used the occasion to simulate road conditions...

After remaining silent for two days while other NFL teams displayed signs of unity against social injustice, the Pittsburgh Steelers took their turn in the spotlight Friday night with coach Mike Tomlin delivering a strong message before a scrimmage at Heinz Field. Flanked by team president Art Rooney II and...

While multiple NFL teams called off practice as a show of unity in protest of the Jacob Blake shooting, the Pittsburgh Steelers took the field Thursday as scheduled. Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger said coach Mike Tomlin addressed the team “briefly” before practice about the social injustice movement taking place across professional...

The Pittsburgh Steelers brought back a familiar face and added a second long snapper to the training camp roster while making a pair of roster moves Thursday. Signed to contracts were linebacker Jayrone Elliott, who appeared in five games with the team last season, and long snapper Liam McCullough. The...

The Tribune-Review sports staff is conducting a daily countdown of the best players in Pittsburgh pro and college sports history to wear each jersey number. No. 4: Ralph Kiner Ralph Kiner enjoyed the spoils that accompanied being a baseball star in post-World War II America. He drove fancy cars, dated...

Kevin Colbert has a running request for the Pittsburgh Steelers marketing department. “Make us some money, so I can go spend it.” That lighthearted plea will take on a serious tone this season. At stake for the Steelers general manager is the future composition of the franchise’s roster. The coronavirus...

Given the adjustments made to the training camp environment because of the coronavirus pandemic, Mike Tomlin has talked about the need for the Pittsburgh Steelers to be “light on their feet” in case unforeseen issues arise. Those collective feet were put to the test Tuesday when the threat of rain...

Between football seasons, T.J. Watt has co-hosted a reality show of “Ultimate Tag” with older brothers J.J. and Derek. He also has appeared in a national commercial for a fast food chain that featured his siblings and parents. What Watt hasn’t done is forgotten the highly skilled work as one...

The contingent of Pittsburgh Steelers representatives entering the Pro Football Hall of Fame could increase again in 2021. Bill Nunn, a long-time scout and administrator who unearthed players from Historically Black Colleges and Universities in the 1960s, was named posthumously as the Contributor Finalist by the Hall of Fame on...

When Chuks Okorafor reported for his third training camp with the Pittsburgh Steelers, he wanted to work on the positioning of his hands. The goal was to improve his technique on the offensive line. As a byproduct, his hands could help him grab the right tackle spot away from good...