Steelers/NFL category, Page 224

Fourth-round draft pick Calvin Austin III signed his four-year rookie contract Monday with the Pittsburgh Steelers, leaving first-round quarterback Kenny Pickett as the only unsigned player from the seven-member draft class. Austin, a 5-foot-8 wide receiver from Memphis, signed on the eve of players reporting to mandatory minicamp at UPMC...

JuJu Smith-Schuster hasn’t said much of consequence. But he reinforced one obvious truism: “The Browns is the Browns.” No sports team has ever made a dumber decision than giving quarterback Deshaun Watson a contract worth $230 million guaranteed and sending six draft picks the other way, three of them first-rounders....

Pittsburgh Steelers tight end Pat Freiermuth paused and gave some sincere consideration before answering the question. At what point in your rookie season last year did you stop thinking and feel like you truly knew the playbook cold? “Honestly, the first game it really clicked for me, where I felt...

Monday’s “First Call” has a scathing critique of Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Devin Bush. Former Pirate Cole Tucker signs with a new team. The Cleveland Browns retain a piece of their puzzle at a position of need for the Steelers. And a local product impresses at the NHL scouting combine. Hoge...

When it comes to how the Stephon Tuitt situation wrapped up with the Pittsburgh Steelers, Mark Madden of 105.9 The X and TribLIVE said he saw the retirement coming. “Not to blow my own horn, but … toot-toot,” Madden said on this week’s “Madden Monday” podcast. “I said two months...

As the Pittsburgh Steelers try to improve a running game that has ranked no higher than No. 29 in rushing yards over the past four seasons, they have committed to several changes. They switched offensive coordinators after the 2020 season. They used a first-round pick on Najee Harris in 2021,...

In their quest to shore up depth at a prime position on defense, the Pittsburgh Steelers this week turned to a familiar face. It was a friendly one, at least in how the overture was received. “This is my low-key home,” Tuzar Skipper said Thursday after his first on-field practice...

The Pittsburgh Steelers’ offseason is the gift that keeps on giving. Inside linebacker Devin Bush: “I don’t think I’ve got to prove anything to anybody.” Are you sure? The Steelers didn’t pick up your contract’s fifth-year option. Last season, you either didn’t bounce all the way back from knee surgery...

The subtraction of Stephon Tuitt from the Steelers depth chart in 2022 doesn’t have to hurt the defense as much as it did last year. If the Steelers address it right. And if they get a little lucky. For as much of a fan as I was of Tuitt as...

Cam Heyward was hoping Stephon Tuitt, his teammate for the past eight seasons, would return to the Pittsburgh Steelers’ practice facility just one time this spring. Once inside, Tuitt would be embraced by his teammates. The affection he would receive would be enough to convince the 29-year-old defensive end to...

In the wake of Stephon Tuitt’s retirement announcement this week, how can the 2022 Pittsburgh Steelers replace him? Largely, the same way they did in 2021. Tuitt didn’t play last season, but eight of the nine defensive linemen who earned snaps for the Steelers last season return in 2022. A...

We’ve got a headline-catching quote from Pittsburgh Steelers star Cameron Heyward regarding Penn Hills native Aaron Donald. The Steelers are trying to fill a defensive void. We mix in some soccer talk about Team USA. And we get a scouting report on the Pirates’ next opponent after sweeping the Dodgers....

After linebacker Myles Jack signed a free-agent contract with the Pittsburgh Steelers in March, a concern emerged from his days with the Jacksonville Jaguars. A few outlets noted that Jack wasn’t particularly effective wearing the green dot communication helmet. Many Steelers fans had hoped Jack would be a natural for...

At this time a year ago, while his Pittsburgh Steelers teammates conducted voluntary workouts, Devin Bush slowly walked around the border of the field, dragging a rope with weighted plates attached. The weights — steel-plated or metaphorical ones — have been removed this year for the Pittsburgh Steelers inside linebacker....

Stephon Tuitt has decided to retire rather than return from a one-year absence and play the final season of his contract for the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Steelers announced Tuitt’s decision Wednesday about two hours after the team conducted its second voluntary workout of the week at UPMC Rooney Sports Complex....

In an offseason that could’ve led to significant upheaval for the Pittsburgh Steelers, the franchise instead appears to be an example of “the more things change, the more they stay the same.” Actually, they are the very personification of that notion. Steelers general manager Kevin Colbert retired. Vice president of...

Wednesday’s “First Call” checks in on an ex-Steeler who needs a new place to play. A former Pitt Panther has his eyes on the NBA. Starling Marte is on fire with the New York Mets. And a free agent some Steelers fans wanted is heading down south. On the open...

Former Steelers executive — and recent general manager candidate — Doug Whaley made some headlines recently when he had a less than glowing review of Steelers legend Jack Ham. Speaking on 93.7 The Fan earlier this month, the Pitt grad and former Buffalo Bills general manager said, “Jack Ham would...

Three summers ago, Tuzar Skipper became a training camp darling among Pittsburgh Steelers fans after he’d joined the team via a rookie tryout and then had five sacks in four preseason games. As Skipper put it via his verified Twitter account Wednesday, “412 I’M BACK!!!!!!!!!” The club officially announced the...

Even as a first-round pick, even after being a Heisman finalist, even after breaking Dan Marino’s records, Kenny Pickett knows he has to start at the bottom in the NFL. Asked about getting third-string reps during the Pittsburgh Steelers’ organized team activities sessions, Pickett smiled. “Yeah, man, I didn’t think...

Four years as the starting free safety for the Pittsburgh Steelers didn’t bring an abundance of riches to Terrell Edmunds in his first foray into free agency. After hitting the open market in mid-March, Edmunds waited for the right offer to surface. Then, he waited some more. And some more....

For the first time since each was acquired, new Pittsburgh Steelers quarterbacks Mitch Trubisky and Kenny Pickett on Tuesday had a chance to formally work with their No. 1 receiver. Diontae Johnson took part in the fourth day of organized team activities at UPMC Rooney Sports Complex on the South...

On Friday, the Pittsburgh Steelers promoted vice president of football and business administration Omar Khan to be the franchise’s new general manager. It’s a move that surprised some because Khan doesn’t have much player scouting or development experience. He’s known more for his acumen on the business side and for...