Steelers/NFL category, Page 127
Super Bowl champion, former Steelers linebacker Andy Russell dies at 82
Andy Russell, the seven-time Pro Bowl linebacker who won two Super Bowl rings with the Pittsburgh Steelers, has died. Russell, a 16th-round draft pick who played 12 seasons with the Steelers, was 82. A source confirmed Russell’s death to TribLive. A cause of death was not immediately known. News partner...
Mark Madden: Pittsburgh is lucky to have had all-time great sports announcers
Bill Hillgrove retired. Kind of. He will cease doing Pittsburgh Steelers radio broadcasts after 30 years. But Hillgrove will continue to do Pitt football and basketball. It says a lot about Hillgrove’s limitless energy when, at 83, he wants to slow down gradually. And continue to serve as the midnight mayor...
Retiring Steelers voice Bill Hillgrove: ‘If it’s not for the fans, we don’t have a game’
After 30 years of doing radio play-by-play for Pittsburgh Steelers games, Bill Hillgrove announced Thursday that he would be retiring from that position. However, he will continue to do play-by-play for Pitt football and basketball. “You can’t completely stop,” Hillgrove said during Thursday’s “Breakfast With Benz” podcast. “I think people...
Tim Benz: Omar Khan already has 1 different approach than Kevin Colbert
In the 21 months since Omar Khan took over for Kevin Colbert as the Pittsburgh Steelers general manager, we have spent a lot of time trying to figure out ways the two men might be different. Khan may be a little more aggressive in free agency and moving up the...
First Call: Omar Khan talks about Steelers’ need at ILB, Diontae Johnson’s future
Friday’s “First Call” examines Omar Khan’s statements about the Pittsburgh Steelers’ inside linebacker situation and Diontae Johnson’s future. Plus we look at a busy weekend for local college hoops and the Robert Morris hockey playoff game. Inside out If you are looking for comfort when it comes to the Steelers’...
Steelers GM Omar Khan sees ‘good players’ available to fill thin center position
INDIANAPOLIS — If the 2024 NFL season started today, Nate Herbig would be the starting center for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Given that Herbig has taken just 47 career snaps at the position and none since 2021, he is the replacement for recently released two-year starter Mason Cole on paper only....
Steelers GM Omar Khan has ‘full faith’ in QB Kenny Pickett, also hoping to retain Mason Rudolph
INDIANAPOLIS — While he has “full faith” in Kenny Pickett resuming his role as the Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback, general manager Omar Khan is committed to providing competition for the starting job. And he hopes it involves Mason Rudolph. Khan said Thursday at the NFL Combine that he has begun negotiations...
Some of the top Steelers plays called by Bill HillgroveVideo
After 30 years as the voice of the Pittsburgh Steelers, Bill Hillgrove announced his retirement from that gig Thursday. Here are 10 of the most memorable plays (listed chronologically) for which Hillgrove provided the soundtrack on the Steelers radio network: Jan. 14, 1996: ‘The Steelers are headed to Phoenix!’ An...
Tim Benz: Art Rooney II and Steelers must do better, but fans should take NFLPA grades with a huge grain of salt
The Pittsburgh Steelers, specifically team owner Art Rooney II, are taking a beating when it comes to the release of the 2024 NFL Players Association report cards. As posted by our Joe Rutter Wednesday, the Steelers ranked No. 28 overall out of 32 teams in a survey of 1,706 players....
Longtime play-by-play man Bill Hillgrove retires from Steelers
A man known for exquisite preparation in his professional dealings, Bill Hillgrove didn’t necessarily plan for Thursday to play out the way it did. But it was impossible not to recognize how perfectly fitting the way the day in which Hillgrove announced his partial retirement was going to end. “I’m...
U mad, bro?: Backhanded compliments, slaps to the face, fears of Pittsburgh teams slipping into the 1980s
Have you ever heard the phrase “backhanded compliments”? This week’s “U mad, bro?” hits me with a couple of those backhands right across the face. Mark Madden gets one too. So do the Pittsburgh Steelers’ quarterbacks and Penguins coach Mike Sullivan. At least I’m in good company. Let’s start with...
First Call: Steelers’ minority ownership movement; ILBs interview with team at combine; Mason Rudolph’s future
The Pittsburgh Steelers’ ownership structure is getting shuffled. The franchise is talking to lots of linebackers at the NFL Scouting Combine. There’s more conversation about Mason Rudolph’s future and that of former Pitt star Aaron Donald as well. All that in Thursday’s “First Call.” Money movin’ The long-discussed sale of...
Steelers slammed in NFLPA survey about working conditions, team facilities
INDIANAPOLIS — Pittsburgh Steelers players like the working environment created by head coach Mike Tomlin but don’t think much of ownership or the way their families are being treated on game days. That was the takeaway from the NFL Players Association’s second annual team report card that was released Tuesday...
With Mitch Trubisky, Mason Rudolph, Joe Flacco, Steelers and Browns may impact each other on the QB carousel
The Pittsburgh Steelers and Cleveland Browns are inexorably linked as AFC North rivals. This offseason, there may be some linkage when it comes to their quarterback situations as well. After winning the 2023 NFL Comeback Player of the Year award with the Browns, quarterback Joe Flacco and the franchise have...
First Call: Ravens GM praises former player who joined Steelers; an Arthur Smith favorite hits free agency
Wednesday’s “First Call” checks in on a popular name among Steelers fans as free agency approaches. A player Arthur Smith had in Atlanta and Tennessee has been cut loose. The Ravens’ general manager may have a franchise tag target. He is also praising a former player who has been scooped...
Quarterbacks who could find way to Steelers become hot topic at NFL Combine
INDIANAPOLIS — Quarterbacks dominated the conversation Tuesday on the first day of the NFL Combine, and most of the talk had little to do with the incoming class of passing prospects. The future of two quarterbacks loosely connected to the Pittsburgh Steelers — Chicago’s Justin Fields and Denver’s Russell Wilson...
Ravens’ John Harbaugh never believed Steelers’ Mike Tomlin was leaving organization
INDIANAPOLIS — The late-season rumors about Mike Tomlin leaving the Pittsburgh Steelers with a year remaining on his contract turned out to be unfounded. Tomlin’s longtime rival in the AFC North didn’t believe the speculation anyhow. Like a lot of people, John Harbaugh didn’t think Tomlin was going anywhere, and...
First Call: Compensation models for Jake Guentzel; Steelers lock up ex-Ravens OLB; Ryan Clark’s big bucks from ESPN
After a rare three-day weekend, “First Call” is back at “Breakfast With Benz” with plenty of Pittsburgh Steelers conversation. The franchise has signed a former Baltimore Ravens linebacker. We get an update on Ryan Clark’s status at ESPN. A couple of former Steelers have options on a potential draftee at...
5 potential storylines for Steelers as NFL Combine kicks off in Indianapolis
February began with college football’s top prospects descending on Mobile, Ala., to take part in the Senior Bowl. It will end with another congregation in a confined environment, this time the annual NFL Combine in Indianapolis. Prospects begin meeting with NFL coaches and executives as early as Tuesday, with on-field...
On Sports: Dream for Steelers fan Damar Hamlin is to finish career with hometown team
This is not the first time that On Sports was call-ed upon to provide a wrap-up of the day’s sports news when “Breakfast With Benz” has had the day off. They do need a safety … Damar Hamlin is no stranger to playing high-level football in Pittsburgh. He’s won WPIAL...
Offensive line prospects expected to command Steelers’ attention at NFL Combine
Size mattered to Omar Khan and Andy Weidl when they conducted their first draft as executives atop the Pittsburgh Steelers organizational food chain. With the four picks they used over the first three rounds in 2023, they selected an offensive and defensive tackle, a tall cornerback and a massive tight...
Steelers release 2-year starter at center Mason Cole
On a day when the NFL salary cap officially was increased by $30 million, the Pittsburgh Steelers took a step toward lowering their figure by releasing veteran center Mason Cole. Cole had started all 34 regular-season games the past two seasons in the middle of the offensive line and had...
Terry Bradshaw staunchly defends Kenny Pickett, changes tune on Arthur Smith
While appearing on “The Rich Eisen Show” on Thursday, former Steelers quarterback Terry Bradshaw offered up an impassioned defense of Kenny Pickett as the franchise’s starter at the position. “I love Pickett,” Bradshaw said. “I know him well. He’s fiercely competitive. He’s a tough-minded kid. Things don’t bother him. I...
First Call: A different take on the Justin Fields-to-Pittsburgh talk; guess who almost became Steelers QB in the ‘90s?
A different consideration is being advanced about the prospect of the Pittsburgh Steelers trading for Justin Fields. A blast from the past reveals that he was almost a Steelers quarterback in the early 1990s. The Penguins are preparing to renew acquaintances with their friends from Philadelphia. Some Robert Morris Colonials...
First Call: Justin Fields on trade preference, Acrisure Stadium; ex-Steelers move through coaching ranks
Thursday’s “First Call” takes a closer look at the trade rumors connecting Justin Fields and the Pittsburgh Steelers. Specifics surrounding Cam Heyward’s surgery are revealed. Some former Steelers are popping up on various coaching staffs. The Penguins look to shake their out of their losing funk against another struggling NHL...
