Steelers/NFL category, Page 276

Jamir Jones, Quincy Roche, Cody White, Rashaad Coward, Mark Gilbert. They are a handful of players who have flashed during this Pittsburgh Steelers training camp. They also are five players who only have one last chance to impress. The Steelers’ preseason finale is 7:30 p.m. Friday at the Carolina Panthers....

Thursday’s “First Call” gives us some ballpark numbers on potential Steelers contracts for T.J. Watt and Minkah Fitzpatrick. Coordinator Keith Butler reveals some defensive strategy. Pitt quarterback Kenny Pickett is pushing to get Penn State and West Virginia back on the Panthers schedule. And Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow is...

Little should surprise me at this point when it comes to how angsty online dialogue about the Steelers can be. But some of what I’ve seen about the backup quarterback “debate” between Dwayne Haskins and Mason Rudolph is blowing my mind. The funny thing is, both guys have actually been...

All the attention given to T.J. Watt’s non-holdout, partial participation in Steelers training camp has overshadowed a similar practice situation for defensive end Stephon Tuitt. As is the case with Watt, Tuitt has been present at most practices, working individually on the side and doing lots of conditioning. Defensive coordinator...

The last time Dwayne Haskins started an NFL game, he faced the Carolina Panthers and was pulled in the fourth quarter. Circumstances will be similar for Haskins on Friday night. He is starting against Carolina — this time as the quarterback of the Pittsburgh Steelers — and he could spend...

He’ll have the ear of the quarterback but as an eye in the sky. Matt Canada, as he has during preseason games, will perform his duties as Pittsburgh Steelers offensive coordinator from the coaches’ booth this season. The Steelers’ three previous offensive coordinators — Randy Fichtner, Todd Haley and Bruce...

From Arthur Maulet and Antoine Brooks, to James Pierre and Justin Layne, the Pittsburgh Steelers have tried out no shortage of candidates to play as a fifth defensive back when they deploy the nickel subpackage. Formally add rookie Tre Norwood to the list. Coach Mike Tomlin termed himself “excited” to...

The life of a specialist in the NFL, from afar, can look like a lonely one. It’s not uncommon throughout a training camp or regular-season practice that you’ll see anywhere from 4-8 dozen players gathered on one field, spiritedly going at one another on offense and defense. On an adjacent...

Dwayne Haskins will get to face a first-team defense, but rookie running back Najee Harris won’t when the Pittsburgh Steelers conclude the preseason schedule Friday night against the Carolina Panthers. Coach Mike Tomlin announced Wednesday that Haskins, the former first-round draft pick of Washington in 2019, will start at quarterback...

When it comes to finding a steady fifth defensive back, the Steelers’ thinking may appear upside down. However, I’d argue that they are actually on the right path. Since he was drafted out of Tennessee in 2017, Cameron Sutton has been a player whose versatility has been the main reason...

This week, NFL.com’s Daniel Jeremiah came out with his “best/worst-case projections for notable rookies.” It was an exercise to show the best possible and worst possible results for a big pack of potential NFL rookie contributor based on several variables for their teams. Of course, on the offensive side, Jeremiah’s...

Since his first few weeks of on-field work after being drafted by the Pittsburgh Steelers, Kendrick Green literally has gotten leaner and meaner. Leaner, as in the 12-13 pounds he said he trimmed off his 6-foot-3 frame between minicamp in June and the start of training camp in July. Meaner,...

Rivals in the AFC North on the field, Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson and Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback James Pierre are family away from it. Jackson and Pierre grew up in neighboring communities along the Atlantic coast of Florida: Jackson in Pompano Beach; Pierre six miles away in Deerfield Beach. Pierre...

Among the Pittsburgh Steelers’ second round of cuts was a player who it was believed had started the day still in the running to be a starter. Second-year defensive back Antoine Brooks Jr. was waived/injured, ending the former sixth-round pick’s quest to become the first-team nickel cornerback. Brooks opened camp...

The Pittsburgh Steelers view the versatile Cam Sutton as the best option to fill the slot cornerback position this season. Sutton also happens to be — with the final preseason game fast approaching — the only option for the job. Entering training camp, veteran free agent Arthur Maulet and second-year...

Tuesday’s “First Call” tells us what’s become of former Steelers cult hero Devlin “Duck” Hodges in Los Angeles. What some thought was a potential trade destination for Mason Rudolph has come and gone. The Yankees and Braves recreated some old time Pirates history. And “Hard Knocks” needs a soft landing...

The big picture on Pat Freiermuth is that the Steelers hope he will be an answer at tight end for years to come. Freiermuth’s measurables are impressive. He’s 6-foot-5, 251 pounds with 9 7/8-inch hands. And with a 4.72 40-yard dash, he’s fast enough for a tight end of that...

The brace on his left knee notwithstanding, Pittsburgh Steelers guard Trai Turner proclaimed himself fully healthy. “I feel pretty good. I don’t have any limitations, per se,” Turner said after practice Monday at UPMC Rooney Sports Complex. “Just out here playing ball.” Turner is playing ball as the starting right...

Although Cameron Heyward gets teased by his teammates about being the old man on the Pittsburgh Steelers defense, he is younger than three other players on that side of the ball. One is cornerback Joe Haden, who is 22 days older than the Pro Bowl defensive tackle. Haden, though, has...

T.J. Watt wasn’t the only All-Pro absent from drills at Pittsburgh Steelers practice Monday. Safety Minkah Fitzpatrick was a non-participant, watching the second half of the session in street clothes. “He’s fine,” was coach Mike Tomlin’s two-word response when asked about Fitzpatrick’s status. Named an AP All-Pro in each of...

I had the Steelers pegged at 7-10 before training camp started. But within the limited context of a preseason exclusively featuring games against bad NFC teams, the Steelers are providing cause for limited optimism. Like 9-8 tops. Don’t go overboard. But to merit ascension to borderline playoff contention, the Steelers...

Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin often says that his team “has no time for hypothetical conversations.” Former head coach Bill Cowher famously stated his disdain for the “what if” game. Well, I have a disdain for the annual fourth preseason game of the NFL season. Yet the Steelers are...

Monday’s “First Call” looks at linebacker Joe Schobert’s first game as a Pittsburgh Steeler. Also, there is a twist that may have had him playing in Baltimore instead. One ex-Pirate shines, and another gets hurt during a battle of American League powerhouses. And Pittsburgh braces itself for the long-awaited, uh,...

The Pittsburgh Steelers won their first 11 games in 2020. They’ve won their first three games of the 2021 season. Unfortunately, these ones don’t count. But being 3-0 is better than being 0-3 — and having the first (and only) game in which the starters start result in a 20-0...