Ex-Steeler Max Starks talks about his radio promotion, Broderick Jones, Aaron Rodgers, and memories of Craig Wolfley

There are few people that I’ve ever worked with in the sports media world who were as kind-hearted, pure of spirit and perpetually well-intentioned as Craig Wolfley.

The former Steelers offensive lineman turned broadcaster died in March at the age of 66, leaving a void in the team’s radio broadcast booth.

Another former Steeler, Max Starks, will assume color commentator duties alongside Rob King on WDVE for the 2025 season. In 2021, as Wolfley had previously done, Starks joined the Steelers broadcast team as a sideline reporter and second analyst on the field. His duties throughout the Steelers’ broadcast organization have grown in various capacities ever since.

On Wednesday, Starks joined me on 105.9 The X to share memories of Wolfley, to discuss his new job, and to talk about the Steelers Hall of Honor class, Broderick Jones and Aaron Rodgers.

• Remembering Craig Wolfley: “It is with a heavy heart I take the role. But I also know that if anybody was going to fill those shoes after him, I’m sure he would have been happy that it was me,” Starks said. “A guy who has been a Steeler through and through. He’s from Buffalo, N.Y., but his heart bleeds black and gold — and has done so since he was selected as a member of the Pittsburgh Steelers. … An undeniably unique voice on the broadcast for the past two and a half decades, he is truly a special human being who will be forever missed. I hope to honor his legacy throughout my tenure with the Steelers as a radio color commentator.”

• On embracing broadcasting as a career after retirement from the NFL: “As a broadcaster, my journey started with Arizona high school football. I was interning in Chicago, cutting and editing film, working in the sound room, working on the production material and shooting behind a camera. I’ve gotten a full-faceted approach and appreciation for the entire broadcasting field,” Starks said of his initial forays into broadcast before becoming the Steelers sideline reporter. “Then, over the years, getting to go into stadiums and call these games and be a part of the living history that is football at various levels. It’s been really special. … It gives you a lot of purpose, knowing (listeners) that can’t watch the game need a way of being able to feel in touch with the game.”

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• On three of his former teammates (Ben Roethlisberger, Joey Porter and Maurkice Pouncey) being elected into the Steelers Hall of Honor: “Joey was kind of that big brother, enforcer, leader when I first came in as a rookie. Being a locker mate to Ben for nine years, (I saw) you (media) guys coming over there, seeing if he would come in and out of his little hideout spot. Being his interpreter and buying some time until he got back to his locker. A lot of fond memories from there,” Starks said with a laugh. “And then, of course, getting my Gator brother and fellow (University of Florida) alumnus Maurkice Pouncey. … I thought he evolved the center position with his athleticism, just as Dermontti (Dawson) did a generation before and Mike Webster did a generation before that. I think about all of those stories and all of those memories with all three of those guys.”

• On Broderick Jones having to play left and right tackle as he used to do: “Both of them are unique sides in and of themselves. The right tackle, just bio-mechanically, is going to be different from the left side. What is strong on one side is weak on the other. How do you transition your feet, your mind and your hands? You have to get those appendages going along with the torso or trunk of your body. They now have to shift in a different direction pre-snap to end on a play. But, at the end of the day, it is football. If you are a football player of any ilk, you make that transition. Sometimes it takes a little bit longer than others, but a lot of guys have done it in the history of the NFL. So I don’t see Broderick being an exception to that.”

• On Aaron Rodgers versus Russell Wilson: “When you look at Aaron Rodgers and what he’s able to do, he does not move or act like a 41-year-old,” Starks said. “He’s only two years younger than me, and doing what he’s doing is just phenomenal. I don’t see that kind of letdown hitting him. Whereas Russ, you kind of saw it a little bit. You kind of wondered what could be. Then, of course, he wore down by the end of the season, even though he didn’t come in until midseason as a starter.”

Listen: Max Starks and Tim Benz talk about the Steelers on 105.9 The X