‘Not a good teammate’: Former Steelers linebacker Joey Porter has harsh words for Ben Roethlisberger
Ben Roethlisberger was not a good teammate or a good person, said former Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Joey Porter, who criticized the quarterback during a podcast appearance published Wednesday. Porter, appearing on “Not Just Football with Cam Heyward,” called out Roethlisberger and former teammate James Harrison for speaking negatively about “Steeler...
First Call: Steelers reportedly interested in Malik Willis; odds for Ben Roethlisberger, Antonio Brown to make Hall of Fame
Malik Willis’ name is coming up with the Pittsburgh Steelers again. Odds are out on Ben Roethlisberger’s chances to make the Hall of Fame next year. We know where Tiger Woods’ son will be golfing in college. The American women’s hockey team at the Olympics stays red hot. And the...
With Super Bowl in the books, NFL teams can soon start work on roster construction
The arrival of the offseason doesn’t mean the NFL takes time off. A Super Bowl champion was crowned Sunday and the draft is still two months away, but the league’s calendar is far from empty. In the days ahead, teams have free agents to sign, potential draft picks to evaluate...
Joe Starkey’s Mailbag: Would Mac Jones be a good option for Steelers?
You ask. I answer. It’s time for a weekly Q&A mailbag that appears Tuesdays at TribLive.com. We had a banner first three weeks. This is no time for a trap game. Apologies for the delay this week. Most of the questions come via “X,” but you can also hit me...
Where will the Steelers, others pick in the 1st round of the NFL Draft in Pittsburgh?
The Las Vegas Raiders are officially on the clock. On the day Klint Kubiak was introduced as the team’s head coach, the NFL announced its final draft order for the first round. Las Vegas has the No. 1 pick for 2026. Many of the draft positions previously were known, including...
First Call: Calvin Austin on his uncertain future with Steelers; Marcell Ozuna’s PNC Park struggles
Tuesday’s “First Call” has some revealing quotes from one of Pittsburgh’s top wide receivers. We look at a challenge facing Marcell Ozuna now that he is a Pittsburgh Pirate. Pitt gets good news about a Panthers basketball alum in advance of the club’s big game against Duke on Tuesday night....
Tim Benz: We may already be looking at an Aaron Rodgers decision deadline
According to what ESPN’s Adam Schefter is reporting, we may be coming up on a soft deadline from the Pittsburgh Steelers to Aaron Rodgers regarding a decision about his playing status next year. During an appearance Monday on the “Pat McAfee Show,” Schefter told the program that many on the...
Mark Madden: Super Bowl showed value of franchise quarterback, and other observations
That Super Bowl was so boring I couldn’t glean an entire column from it. So what we got is refreshing sports notes. (I was going to write them using either Spanish or redneck. I couldn’t decide.) • For Steelers fans, the big takeaway from the Super Bowl is that Seattle...
Tim Benz: Are Steelers fans playing the wrong ‘what-if game’ after Seattle’s Super Bowl win?
My Super Bowl gathering Sunday night couldn’t have been the only one in Pittsburgh that had this kind of conversation. “What if the Steelers had been willing to outbid Seattle for Sam Darnold?” There were plenty of reports that the Steelers made an offer for his services. To what extent...
Joe Starkey’s Cup of Joe: Great defense still wins championships. If only the Steelers had one
Cup of Joe: Starkey on sports in 350 words or less This part of Dan Graziano’s Super Bowl piece on ESPN.com stood out, in the context of Art Rooney II wanting to bring Mike Tomlin back after nine years of not coming close to a playoff win (before Tomlin fired...
Madden Monday: The Seahawks are ‘worthy winners,’ but Super Bowl LX ‘a fitting cap to a really bad NFL season’
In this week’s “Madden Monday” podcast, Mark Madden of TribLive and 105.9 The X doesn’t mince words when it comes to discussing Seattle’s 29-13 win over New England in Super Bowl LX. “I think it was a fitting cap to a really bad NFL season. I thought this was one...
First Call: ‘Odds are increasing’ that we’ll see a 2nd year of Aaron Rodgers in Pittsburgh; George Pickens status update in Dallas
Monday’s “First Call” has some Pittsburgh Steelers news about Aaron Rodgers that may have been buried by Super Bowl Sunday festivities. A former Steeler is getting the franchise tag. A retired Steelers coach likes the decision to hire Mike McCarthy. And I pat myself on the back for some wise...
Joe Starkey: Malik Willis is the kind of quarterback the Steelers should be courting
It’s not like we didn’t know already, but Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike McCarthy finally made it plain. Asked by KDKA’s Bob Pompeani last week if he’d like to try to recreate his Green Bay magic with quarterback Aaron Rodgers, McCarthy replied in no uncertain terms. “That’s the plan,” he said....
Lainey Wilson says she keeps getting asked if she is really marrying ex-Steelers QB
It has been nearly a year since Lainey Wilson and Devlin “Duck” Hodges got engaged at George Jones’ estate, and there’s still not a date set for the big day. And during a recent interview, Wilson admitted that Hodges has noticed. “I’ve got a lot to do … I’ve got...
Mark Madden’s Hot Take: First ballot or not, Ben Roethlisberger’s accomplishments are undeniable
Mario Lemieux once dispensed these words of wisdom: “I judge myself by Stanley Cups and scoring titles, because nobody votes on those.” Lemieux has again been proven correct in the wake of the Pro Football Hall of Fame having announced its latest class. The primary conversation is about who didn’t...
Tim Benz: A New England Super Bowl win wouldn’t be a wake-up call for the Steelers
I was listening to my TribLive “Beyond the Bylines” colleague Joe Starkey on his 93.7 The Fan radio show Friday. He mentioned that some callers to the station stated that they were actually rooting for the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl on Sunday. Their theory was that if...
Roethlisberger leads list of ex-Steelers eligible for Hall of Fame next season
As a two-time Super Bowl champion who ranks among the NFL’s all-time leading passers, Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger seems destined for Canton. Will he be a first-ballot hall of famer? That will be answered a year from now. The Pro Football Hall of Fame announced a 2026 class Thursday...
Penn State’s Chris Stoll, ex-Steelers QB Josh Dobbs highlight local ties to Super Bowl LX
When Chris Stoll was spending two full seasons not seeing the field as a walk-on for the Penn State football team, who could have imagined he would be the only player from the program who would get onto the field to play in a future Super Bowl? Stoll, the Seattle...
First Call: Jay Glazer rips Aaron Rodgers; former Steeler sounds off about Tom Brady
Fox’s Jay Glazer doesn’t hold back when talking about Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers. A new Steelers coach gets some bad news from the Hall of Fame. A former Steeler speaks his mind when it comes to ex-New England Patriots legend Tom Brady. And we outline a busy weekend of...
Football Footnotes: Our annual season-ending Super Bowl betting edition
Last year’s Super Bowl was 24-0 Philadelphia before halftime. How did I stay interested in the game? Gambling, my friends. Gambling. I had bets all over the board. Big ones, little ones. Hefty ones. Mini ones. From conventional to exotic. From basic to bananas. I did all that … to...
Former Steeler Robert Spillane goes from undrafted free agent to Super Bowl captain with PatriotsVideo
Born in the mid-1990s in Chicago, Robert Spillane shares something with many of his contemporaries who happen to have been raised in the Pittsburgh area. Super Bowl XLIII made quite the impression on him. Now a linebacker with the New England Patriots, Spillane while in the Bay Area this past...
4-time Super Bowl champion L.C. Greenwood denied spot in Hall of Fame
Four-time Super Bowl champion L.C. Greenwood was again denied a bust in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. The late Pittsburgh Steelers defensive lineman was among three senior finalists, but only running back Roger Craig received enough votes from the 50-person hall of fame committee for induction, the NFL revealed...
Make-A-Wish grants Super Bowl dream for Pittsburgh teen
Connor Hennick, a 14-year-old, has dreamed of going to the Super Bowl for as long as he can remember. Now, the self-declared lifelong Steelers fan is headed to the San Francisco Bay Area for the Super Bowl LX through Make-A-Wish. The Hennick family, of McCandless, arrived at their hotel around...
Review: ‘The Chief’ at Pittsburgh Playhouse is a riveting evening with the soul of the Steelers
Few people are as truly, splendidly Pittsburgh as Art Rooney Sr. Not just because he gave the Steelers to the world, though that doesn’t hurt, but also because he embodied qualities that make Pittsburghers the best people in the world: loyalty, toughness, humor, passion. (Disclosure: This reviewer, a third-generation Pittsburgher,...
Joe Starkey: Ravens went risky. Steelers stayed safe. Who’ll be proven right?
You knew as soon as the Steelers and Baltimore Ravens became unexpected members of this year’s coaching cycle that one of them would hire a young, untested riser of a defensive coordinator as its new head coach. You just didn’t think it would be the Ravens. Neither did I. That...
