Chris Adamski stories, Page 45

Speedy rookie Calvin Austin III could be worth a shot to help jumpstart the Pittsburgh Steelers’ ailing offense. But with two additional weeks remaining before he must be activated off the injured reserve list, Austin’s NFL debut isn’t necessarily coming Sunday. “It’s still possible,” offensive coordinator Matt Canada said Thursday....

Tight end Zach Gentry returned to full participation at Pittsburgh Steelers practice Thursday and declared himself “ready” for Sunday’s game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Gentry, typically the Steelers’ No. 2 tight end, did not practice Wednesday because of a knee injury. His availability could be critical because the status...

All three starting cornerbacks were among eight significant contributors on offense or defense who did not take part in Wednesday’s Pittsburgh Steelers practice because of injury. All eight of the ailments were previously known. Wide receiver Diontae Johnson and tight end Pat Freiermuth (concussion) were listed as a limited participants...

It was morning on an overcast day. And Steven Sims was indoors in a windowless room. Sims, though, was wearing black sunglasses. “Eyes are just a little sensitive to the light,” Sims said from the Pittsburgh Steelers’ locker room Wednesday. Understandable, after Sims took a direct hit from a football...

The circumstances, on whole, were surely not ones Josh Jackson will be particularly eager to recall when looking back at his NFL career. His team lost, 38-3. He was beat for a touchdown. A pair of teammates at his position went down with injuries. But Jackson’s 26 snaps at cornerback...

That Jaylen Warren played more snaps at running back Sunday than Najee Harris is not necessarily a sign Warren is beginning to siphon away Harris’ playing time. But an unofficial official designation bestowed upon Warren by the coaches is. Warren’s role is as the Steelers’ third-down back was one few...

Ryan Clark criticized the effort and pride of players on his former team. A prominent current member of the team zinged back. Clark, a former Pittsburgh Steelers safety turned ESPN commentator, seemed put off by the Steelers’ 38-3 loss to the Buffalo Bills on Sunday. A day after posting to...

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — A competitor at his core, Kenny Pickett could not have enjoyed that his first NFL start was his team’s worst defeat in 33 years. But even a 35-point loss couldn’t completely sour this day for the Pittsburgh Steelers’ new quarterback. “Listen, I mean, it is my...

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — In addition to suffering their worst defeat in 33 years Sunday, the Pittsburgh Steelers suffered injury losses to four starters during a 38-3 loss to the Buffalo Bills. Defensive lineman Larry Ogunjobi suffered a back injury late in the first half and did not return. Cornerback...

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Perhaps it was a bad sign for the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday that the game hadn’t gotten underway yet, and they’d suffered an injury. Newly minted return man Steven Sims suffered an eye injury during warm-ups and was not available to play when the game started....

What coach Mike Tomin alluded to Tuesday and Steven Sims said would happen Wednesday was made official Sunday when the Pittsburgh Steelers announced their inactives for the game at the Buffalo Bills: Sims was promoted to the Steelers’ return man role, and Gunner Olszewski was designated an inactive for the...

1. Quick-draw Kenny Over the past two years, Ben Roethlisberger had by far the shortest average time of snap-to-throw of any NFL quarterback. Could the Pittsburgh Steelers about to be embarking on a major shift in that area? Judging by the college career of newly named starting quarterback Kenny Pickett,...

A day before their game at the Buffalo Bills, the Pittsburgh Steelers shook up the bottom of their active roster by making a handful of moves. Chief among them, outside linebacker Ryan Anderson was added to the 53-man roster. A former second-round pick out of Alabama, Anderson appeared in 52...

On the steamy fields of Saint Vincent and throughout preseason games in August, a theme appeared to emerge in evaluating the 2022 Pittsburgh Steelers: by all indications, they had a strong incoming rookie class. During the first month of the regular season, though, plays from Steelers rookies generally were few...

It might not take a village to foster the development of an NFL rookie quarterback, but his wide receivers corps being productive and making plays certainly would help. This season, the Pittsburgh Steelers’ wide receivers haven’t produced all that much. With rookie Kenny Pickett making his first NFL start Sunday,...

The Pittsburgh Steelers are still without defensive star T.J. Watt. A starting cornerback likewise remains out, and they also might be missing another player or two during Sunday’s game. The Steelers won’t get any sympathy from their opponent, though. The Buffalo Bills listed 17 players on the official league-mandated injury...

The Pittsburgh Steelers began the week with virtually their entire secondary on the injury report. Fortunately for them, the week ended with more answers than questions in that regard. Safety Minkah Fitzpatrick and cornerback Levi Wallace were deemed cleared to play in Sunday’s game at the Buffalo Bills, via the...

It’s a small sample size, to be sure. But newly minted Pittsburgh Steelers No. 1 quarterback Kenny Pickett quickly showed he is more likely to run, and the Steelers’ offensive braintrust also showed it is more likely to ask Pickett to run than it did Pickett’s predecessors. In one half...

Seemingly everybody associated with the Pittsburgh Steelers wants to know if the change in quarterback will mean a change in offensive scheme for Kenny Pickett’s first start. The man who’d be in charge of such a shift said there’s no reason to wait for Sunday’s game at the Buffalo Bills...

An already-lengthy Pittsburgh Steelers injury report added two starters to the list Thursday. Wide receiver Diontae Johnson and center Mason Cole were new to the practice status report. Each was a limited participant, with Johnson having a hip injury and Cole a foot ailment. Johnson and Cole join seven other...

Two fumbles was too many for Mike Tomlin. So, the Pittsburgh Steelers coach elected to make a change with his No. 1 return man. Steven Sims said Wednesday he will handle return duties during Sunday’s game at the Buffalo Bills. Sims replaces Gunner Olszewski in that role after Olszewski had...

If Mike Tomlin is overly complimentary to Von Miller, it’s in part because Tomlin feels indebted to him. How much so? About $32,000 worth. “The guy (Miller) was the reason that we won that Pro Bowl game,” Tomlin said this week, referencing the 2018 NFL All-star game where Tomlin coached...

Calvin Austin III returned to practice Wednesday, opening up a 21-day window during which the rookie wide receiver can be activated off of injured reserve and make his debut for the Pittsburgh Steelers. “It feels great,” Austin said. “It was definitely good to be back out there. I was a...

The Pittsburgh Steelers are not expected to win their next game. At least, they’re seen as unlikely to win Sunday as they have for a game going back to the 1960s. Fourteen-point underdogs for the upcoming meeting at the Buffalo Bills, ESPN reported that’s the first time since the AFL/NFL...

Zach Gentry already was the answer to an obscure trivia question involving the Pittsburgh Steelers. He earned a similar distinction again Sunday, and his two niches in Steelers’ lore relate significantly to each other. A fourth-year tight end, Gentry was the recipient of the final pass thrown by longtime franchise...