Steelers/NFL category, Page 128
First Call: Steelers welcome RB on tryout; Patriots may want ex-Steeler as GM; Jake Guentzel scores twice for Hurricanes
Wednesday’s “First Call” features a former Pittsburgh Steeler up for an important post in New England. The Steelers are welcoming a new running back. A local product plays a big role in New York’s win over the Carolina Hurricanes in Stanley Cup playoff action. And a former WPIAL star looks...
Stormy Daniels evokes Ben Roethlisberger during Trump trial
Former Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger was mentioned Tuesday during Stormy Daniels’ testimony in former President Donald Trump’s election interference trial. Daniels testified under oath about the sexual encounter she says she had with Trump in 2006 and the alleged $130,000 deal to keep it a secret, made just days before...
First Call: Najee Harris trade talk dismissed; Duquesne WR gets Steelers’ look; Antonio Brown jab makes Tom Brady roast
Tuesday’s “First Call” finds a dismissal of some Najee Harris trade talk. A Duquesne wide receiver is getting a shot with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Joey Porter Jr.’s cousin won’t be joining him in the Steelers’ defensive backfield after all. And we give you the Antonio Brown joke that made it...
Tim Benz: Blaming assistant coaches won’t fix Pittsburgh’s plodding sports teams
During a recent episode of “The Carton Show” on FS1, retired Pittsburgh Steeler Willie Colon said his former coach Mike Tomlin is in hot water. “I love Mike Tomlin. But I have to officially say he is on the hot seat,” Colon said. “When you talk about his overall record,...
Roman Wilson’s college stats were limited, but Steelers believe they have draft steal
He was the leading receiver for undefeated national champion Michigan, he proved clutch on the biggest of college stages and he ran the 40-yard dash in less than 4.4 seconds at the NFL combine. So how did Roman Wilson last until the 14th wide receiver selected in the draft, and...
Family values helped mold Steelers first-round draft pick Troy Fautanu
The importance of family was underscored when Troy Fautanu decided where he would celebrate his selection in the NFL Draft. The league invited all potential first-round prospects to attend the draft in Detroit. That included Fautanu, the 23-year-old fifth-year senior from Washington who was projected to be among the tackle-heavy...
Mark Madden: Steelers have bigger issues than Najee Harris’ 5th-year option
The Najee Harris situation is being blown out of proportion. Like all situations involving the Pittsburgh Steelers. Not picking up Harris’ fifth-year option wasn’t a good decision or a bad one. It was a meh decision involving a meh player. Harris still will be a Steeler this coming season. He’s playing...
First Call: Veteran WR market gets thin for Steelers; was Danny Smith teasing about Justin Fields returning kicks?
In Friday’s “First Call,” are the Pittsburgh Steelers really planning to have Justin Fields return kicks? The pickings are getting slim at wide receiver if general manager Omar Khan is planning to make a move. A former Pitt Panther is getting a look from the Steelers. And No. 66 is...
Tim Benz: Steelers’ call on Najee Harris’ option says more about the past than it does the future
There’s no glaring criticism of the future to be made about Thursday’s decision by the Pittsburgh Steelers to decline Najee Harris’ fifth-year option. In either direction. By rejecting the option, if Harris gets hurt or underperforms in 2024, his contract will expire, and they can let him walk and get...
Steelers decline 5th-year options for RB Najee Harris, QB Justin Fields
The Pittsburgh Steelers declined the fifth-year options for running back Najee Harris and quarterback Justin Fields, making them eligible for free agency after the 2024 season. Harris was scheduled to earn $6.97 million in 2025 had the Steelers exercised his option. Fields, who was acquired from the Chicago Bears in...
6th-round pick Logan Lee figures to provide durability, maturity to Steelers D-line
It’s a position group at which the three of the four players who played most often in 2023 will enter this season with an average age of 31.3. Two of those three missed time because of injury; the other has sat out practice regularly in a continued maintenance effort after...
U mad, bro?: Some fans didn’t like the Steelers’ draft (or my opinions on it); ‘ruff’ debut for Pirates’ pup
Despite a draft that has gotten positive reviews, not all Pittsburgh Steelers fans are happy about the organization’s efforts last weekend. Others just didn’t like my coverage of it. We also have some angst over the Steelers’ QB situation, baseball pitch counts and general disdain over how the Pirates “have...
First Call: Reported ‘power struggle’ between Kyle Dubas, Mike Sullivan; theory on why Troy Fautanu fell to Steelers
Thursday’s “First Call” finds a reported sticking point between Kyle Dubas and Mike Sullivan regarding the Pittsburgh Penguins’ coaching staff. Troy Fautanu’s agent has a theory on his client’s alleged knee red flags. The Steelers have their options when it comes to Najee Harris’ fifth-year option. Pressley Harvin III has...
Deadline looms for Steelers to pick up 5th-year option on RB Najee Harris
Najee Harris has been an example of durability and consistency in his three seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Soon, the 26-year-old running back will learn whether he will be part of the organization in 2025 or become a free agent at the end of this season. The Steelers have until...
First Call: Jets may have nabbed Steelers’ draft pick; another veteran WR hits free agency; 18-game NFL season looming
In Wednesday’s “First Call,” another wide receiver is available for the Pittsburgh Steelers to sign if they want him. The NFL may get an 18-game season sooner than you think. It turns out that the Steelers are very fortunate Roman Wilson was still on the board when they selected him...
Tim Benz: Assume huge gap between what Steelers are saying about WR search and what’s really going onVideo
Pittsburgh Steelers general manager Omar Khan appeared on Tuesday’s “Pat McAfee Show” with an update on his team’s hunt for a veteran starting wide receiver. The update is that there is no update. That conversation has been in high gear since Diontae Johnson was traded to Carolina in early March,...
6th round DB Ryan Watts a potential addition to Steelers’ collection of ‘Avatar’ cornerbacks
It was during organized team activities early last summer when it was revealed that Mike Tomlin referred to two of his incoming draft picks as “Avatar cornerbacks.” Eleven months later, the Pittsburgh Steelers coach added to his collection of oversized, athletic humanoids in the secondary. As the final of seven...
Tim Benz: Forget memes and nicknames, Omar Khan showed guts in a different way in 2024 Steelers’ draft
Pittsburgh Steelers general manager Omar Khan has developed a reputation for being more aggressive than his longtime predecessor and mentor Kevin Colbert. Fans of the team sure do love yelling “Khan Artist” and sharing social media clips of Omar from “The Wire” with Khan’s face edited onto them. For all...
5 on Fautanu: Steelers ‘got a steal’ in their 1st-round pick
Everyone in Pittsburgh seems to love the first-round NFL Draft selection of Troy Fautanu. But let’s get the opinion of someone who covered Fautanu during his entire career at the University of Washington. Dick Fain hosts the afternoon show at 93.3 KJR in Seattle with Dave “Softy” Mahler. He is...
First Call: Ex-Steeler says team is ‘close to landing a significant playmaker’; Bill Cowher staying with CBS as changes swirl
In Tuesday’s “First Call,” a former Steeler has everyone playing a guessing game about who the club may be trying to acquire via trade or free agency. Bill Cowher is staying on CBS’ NFL pregame show as other significant changes are happening. The Steelers are bringing a former Baltimore Raven...
Draft pick Payton Wilson brings passion to Steelers LB corps
What Payton Wilson lacks in a prominent piece of fibrous connective tissue, he makes up for in knowing exactly the right things to say. Call it a different way of displaying a high football IQ, at least when it came to Wilson’s words during his conference call with Pittsburgh media...
Mark Madden: Immediately grading a draft is meaningless — but the Steelers get an A. Yay!
The NFL Draft is mercifully over. But the hype preceding wasn’t the low point. The post-draft is even worse. The draft itself was pretty cockeyed, too. More than three-quarters of a million people gathered in downtown Detroit. This wasn’t Woodstock. It was young people being assigned a workplace with no...
First Call: Steelers reportedly reached out about a Courtland Sutton trade; Joey Porter Jr.’s cousin getting Steelers camp invite
At least one report says the Pittsburgh Steelers did make a trade inquiry about Denver receiver Courtland Sutton. Another supposed Steelers draft target says he was expecting to wind up in Pittsburgh when his phone rang in the second round. A cousin of Joey Porter Jr. is getting a camp...
Tim Benz: Subtle nuggets for each Steelers draft choice that could help them make an impact
We’ve spent a lot of time getting to know the Steelers’ new draft class based on how they performed at the college football level. But what will make them good fits in Pittsburgh, specifically with the current roster constructed as it is? Let’s go pick-by-pick with some subtleties and nuggets...
Madden Monday: Steelers’ solid draft won’t yield a spike in win total
According to Mark Madden of 105.9 The X and TribLIVE, the Pittsburgh Steelers checked some important boxes when it comes to the NFL Draft. Specifically, adding a lot of talent up front on offense by drafting Washington tackle Troy Fautanu and West Virginia center Zach Frazier. “I think they did...
