Steelers/NFL category, Page 297
Mark Madden: Steelers will beat disheveled Bills in Week 1
Viva Las Vegas and viva refreshing sports notes! Bet over your head, not with it. • The Steelers will beat host Buffalo in the opener. The constant covid debate surrounding the Bills has them disheveled. The Steelers are all football. Steelers win. You heard it here. • Shouldn’t T.J. Watt...
First Call: Le’Veon Bell, LeSean McCoy among rumored replacements for Ravens’ J.K. Dobbins; safety signings for Steelers to note
A couple of big signings for NFL safeties may impact the Steelers when it comes to Minkah Fitzpatrick’s thinking on his next contract. Yoshi Tsutsugo’s walk-off homer at PNC Park created some widely varying reactions on Sunday. Joe Burrow’s return in Cincinnati was less than memorable. A couple of ex-Pirates...
Madden Monday: Dwayne Haskins will ‘be out of the league’ by 2023
TribLIVE’s Mark Madden didn’t have a particularly enjoyable week. The KISS concert got canceled in Burgettstown. The casino he was at in Las Vegas wouldn’t put on the soccer game he wanted. So someone is going to feel his angst. In this case, it’s Steelers backup quarterback Dwayne Haskins. After...
Tim Benz: Steelers appear to have drafted an impactful rookie class. Now they have to count on it for success in 2021
The Steelers appear to have drafted a very productive class of rookies, many of whom could see extensive playing time in high-leverage situations. On offense, first-round pick Najee Harris will be the featured running back. Third-round selection Kendrick Green should start the year at center. Second-rounder Pat Freiermuth already is...
WR/PR Mathew Sexton among 9 players trimmed from Steelers’ roster
One day after he muffed two punts, one of which resulted in a lost fumble, Mathew Sexton was among nine players cut by the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Steelers also cut tight end Marcus Baugh, running back Tony Brooks-James, cornerback Shakur Brown, defensive tackle T.J. Carter, wide receiver Anthony Johnson, cornerback...
Rookie class could make impact on Steelers’ 53-man roster
As evidenced by the preseason workload, the Pittsburgh Steelers plan to count heavily on their rookie class in 2021. Four draft picks either started or assumed significant roles on offense in the four weeks of tuneup games. Najee Harris will start at running back, and Kendrick Green will open the...
Heading into final cuts, whose stock is up, down for Steelers
Dwayne Haskins struggled in his first overextended look in a game as a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers. It’s fair to assume the 2.8 passer rating Haskins held when he was pulled from Friday’s 34-9 loss at the Carolina Panthers did not improve his stock in regards to status on...
Mark Madden Hot Take: Given Steelers’ schedule, betting under 8.5 wins is tempting
I had planned to bet $5,000 on the Steelers to have less than 8½ wins (-134). But the Steelers raised doubt by having a good preseason. But their schedule is daunting. Perhaps I should bet on the Steelers to have less than 9½ wins (-230). That seems like a lock,...
Tim Benz: With preseason games over, Steelers still have 3 big issues to address
For the most part, the Pittsburgh Steelers appeared to have a very positive training camp and a solid preseason. Friday night’s 34-9 dud of a loss to the Carolina Panthers in the preseason finale aside. It appears as if a lot of questions surrounding the team’s depth — and even...
Dwayne Haskins struggles as Steelers conclude preseason with loss at Carolina
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — The experiment of what might transpire when one NFL team plays many of its starters and the other primarily uses backups was on display Friday night at Bank of America Stadium. While the Pittsburgh Steelers rested their core group with the regular season still 16 days away,...
First Call: What the Steelers can expect in Carolina; rough week for Buffalo Bills; another MLB draft pick injury
Friday’s “First Call” shows us what the Pittsburgh Steelers can expect from the Carolina Panthers in their final preseason game on Friday night. The Buffalo Bills aren’t exactly having the best training camp in advance of their season opener against the Steelers. There is some ironic injury news surrounding the...
Former Central Catholic, Penn State OL Stefen Wisniewski retires from NFLVideo
Former Central Catholic and Penn State standout offensive lineman Stefen Wisniewski is calling it a career. The 32-year-old from Pittsburgh announced his retirement from the NFL in a video and statement posted to social media Thursday. “After 10 seasons in the NFL, I’m retiring,” Wisniewski said in the video. “(I)...
5 things to watch in Steelers’ preseason finale vs. Panthers
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....
First Call: Contract projections for T.J. Watt and Minkah Fitzpatrick; Keith Butler give us something to track for the Steelers defense
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...
U mad, bro?: Steelers fans are mad about Mason Rudolph and hot about Dwayne Haskins; Pirates fans are peeved
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...
Steelers coach Mike Tomlin doesn’t ‘want to speculate’ on timetable for Stephon Tuitt’s return
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...
Dwayne Haskins relishing chance to start for Steelers in preseason finale
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...
Matt Canada to stay up in booth while serving as offensive coordinator
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...
Rookie Tre Norwood the latest to audition for Steelers’ nickel DB job
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...
As preseason closes, competitions endure for Steelers at punter/holder, long snapper
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...
Mike Tomlin will keep Mason Rudolph, Najee Harris on bench in Steelers’ preseason finale
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...
Tim Benz: It may seem backward, but Steelers’ approach to finding steady 5th defensive back makes sense
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...
NFL.com’s ‘best-case, worst-case scenarios’ for Steelers’ Najee Harris in his rookie year
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 being drafted by Steelers, Kendrick Green has gotten leaner, meaner
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,...
Steelers’ James Pierre trying to become 2nd member of extended family to make impact in AFC North
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...
