Joe Rutter stories, Page 117
Keith Butler: Steelers did ‘great thing’ by trading up to draft Devin Bush
Evidenced mostly by a 9-6-1 record, the Pittsburgh Steelers didn’t do enough to replace injured inside linebacker Ryan Shazier for the 2018 season. Finding a player with Shazier’s blend of speed, athleticism and instincts remained atop the team’s wish list heading into the NFL Draft, and nobody was happier than...
Steelers announce training camp schedule, with 15 open workouts
For the 54th consecutive year, the Pittsburgh Steelers will conduct training camp at Saint Vincent College this summer, with players reporting for work by 4 p.m. Thursday, July 25. The first workout will be held Friday, July 26 at 2:55 p.m. The Steelers will hold 15 practices that are open...
Raiders, Antonio Brown chosen for HBO’s ‘Hard Knocks’ this season
The NFL sideshow that is Antonio Brown will play out on subscription television this summer. The Oakland Raiders, who acquired the mercurial wide receiver in March after he forced a trade from the Pittsburgh Steelers, will be this year’s participant on HBO’s “Hard Knocks,” the NFL announced Tuesday night. The...
List of top NFL rookie running backs includes Pitt’s Qadree Ollison
An NFL.com ranking of the top five projected rookie running backs this season includes someone who has spent time working out on the fields at UPMC Rooney Sports Complex. Hint: It is not Pittsburgh Steelers’ rookie Benny Snell Jr. Rather, former Pitt running back Qadree Ollison made the list compiled...
David DeCastro can ‘feel’ changes in Steelers’ locker-room atmosphereVideo
After missing three weeks of voluntary organized team activities due to the birth of his second child, Pittsburgh Steelers All-Pro guard David DeCastro arrived for minicamp and noticed an immediate difference in the locker-room atmosphere. “You can feel it,” DeCastro said. Gone was the drama that permeated over the franchise...
For Artie Burns, it’s ‘get right or get going’ as Steelers minicamp beginsVideo
In early May, when the Pittsburgh Steelers declined to exercise the fifth-year option on Artie Burns’ contract, the fourth-year cornerback figured he had two options. “Get right or get going,” Burns said Tuesday. “It’s that simple.” Not much has gone right in recent years for the former first-round draft pick,...
Steelers finally could have perfect attendance for minicamp
Before the Pittsburgh Steelers can enjoy an extended break before training camp, one more piece of business remains. Minicamp, the final portion of the NFL’s offseason workout program, takes place this week. It starts with physicals Monday and practices Tuesday through Thursday. Like the organized team activities that preceded it,...
Steelers expect Stephon Tuitt to provide bigger splash in 2019
It was in his third season after signing a $59 million second contract with the Pittsburgh Steelers that defensive end Cameron Heyward enjoyed a breakthrough in terms of pursuing the quarterback. In 2017, Heyward totaled 12 sacks, marking the third time in franchise history that a defensive lineman reached double...
GM changes underscore Kevin Colbert’s longevity with Steelers
On an otherwise slow NFL news day Friday, the Houston Texans made the surprising decision to fire general manager Brian Gaine, and the New York Jets concluded their GM search by hiring Joe Douglas. These personnel decisions illustrate the stability the Pittsburgh Steelers have enjoyed with Kevin Colbert calling the...
Unlike 2018, Steelers escape OTAs with healthy rosterVideo
Five things we learned about the three-week organized team activities that the Pittsburgh Steelers wrapped up Thursday: 1. Good health Ask any coach, and he or she likely will tell you the most important thing about OTAs is getting through it without incurring any significant injuries. Unlike last season, the...
Chase Winovich keeping low profile in early workouts with Patriots
While he was in college at Michigan, Chase Winovich was known for his wild hair and his controversial comments. Now that he is employed by the New England Patriots, the Thomas Jefferson graduate has toned down half of his act. Winovich’s hair remains long, but he’s kept his comments generic...
After ‘valuable’ OTAs, Steelers QB Mason Rudolph looking ahead to more on-job training
Ben Roethlisberger’s regular presence at organized team activities this spring typically would portend less work with the first-team offense for the Pittsburgh Steelers backup quarterbacks. Mason Rudolph, however, said the opposite was true this year. The second-year passer from Oklahoma State said he got more work with the “ones” than...
Bud Dupree unaware Steelers could have pulled 5th-year option
When the Pittsburgh Steelers picked up the fifth-year option on linebacker Bud Dupree’s contract in April 2018, they had 11 months to change their mind. The $9.232 million value of that option represented life-changing money for Dupree, essentially doubling his career earnings as long as he remained on the roster...
Deadline nearing to bid on Steelers game-worn memorabilia
Time is running out for Pittsburgh Steelers memorabilia collectors to bid on game-worn jerseys sported by some of their favorite players. A spring collection of memorabilia at lelands.com that features 30 Steelers-related items has a Friday deadline at 10 p.m. for collectors to submit bids. The auction began May 7....
B.J. Finney serving as high-priced insurance policy for Steelers
David DeCastro’s absence from organized team activities has provided B.J. Finney prolonged first-team work at right guard. When DeCastro returns — presumable next week at mandatory minicamp — Finney will go back to his customary spot with the second string. And that’s just fine with the fourth-year interior offensive lineman....
Stephon Tuitt gets back on field for Steelers at OTAs
The three starters on the Pittsburgh Steelers defensive line haven’t occupied the same practice space since organized team activities began three weeks ago. Defensive end Stephon Tuitt, however, took a step toward rejoining Cameron Heyward and nose tackle Javon Hargrave at offseason workouts. On the eighth day of OTAs, Tuitt...
Steelers’ Sean Davis changes agents, not positions, in crucial seasonVideo
For the first time since joining the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2016, Sean Davis is beginning a second consecutive season at the same position. The 25-year-old defensive back is at free safety, making his debut Tuesday at organized team activities after missing the first two weeks with a minor injury. After...
Steelers add William Gay, David Johnson as coaching interns
Two former Pittsburgh Steelers players are joining the coaching staff for the 2019 season as interns. Former cornerback William Gay and tight end David Johnson were added Tuesday. Gay, 34, spent 10 of his 12 NFL seasons with the Steelers, playing for the team from 2007-11 and from 2003-17. He...
Xavier Grimble refuses to let costly fumble ‘define’ him heading into 2019
For the second year in a row, a backup Pittsburgh Steelers tight end will try to enter a season looking to put a controversial play in the rear-view mirror. In 2018, it was Jesse James bouncing back from perhaps the most scrutinized NFL play of the previous season, the infamous...
Steelers’ James Conner not taking starting job for granted
The first time James Conner walked onto the practice field for organized team activities, he was slowed by a hamstring tweak that he incurred during the Pittsburgh Steelers’ rookie minicamp. The next year, Conner arrived at OTAs healthy, and he was rewarded with regular reps as the starting tailback all...
Steelers sign final draft pick, 3rd-round cornerback Justin Layne
Cornerback Justin Layne became the final member of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ draft class to sign his rookie contract, when he agreed to a four-year deal Thursday that has a total slot value of about $3.45 million. The third-round draft pick out of Michigan State and the No. 83 overall player...
Rookie TE asked to switch number out of deference to Heath Miller
Zach Gentry still might hear fans chant a certain retired tight end’s first name when he catches passes at Heinz Field this season. It won’t be because he wears the same number as Heath Miller. Gentry wore No. 83 in college at Michigan and again at the Pittsburgh Steelers’ rookie...
Steelers QB Josh Dobbs flying high off the field
As a recipient of an aerospace engineering degree, Joshua Dobbs is all too familiar with Newton’s third law of motion. He just didn’t expect it to be such a jarring part of his flight training for a trip with the Air Force Thunderbirds. What goes up must come down —...
Diontae Johnson working to get ‘timing down’ with Roethlisberger at OTAs
Diontae Johnson has been watching and learning during many of the team concepts in organized team activities this week. His best work, the Pittsburgh Steelers’ third-round draft pick said Wednesday afternoon, has come in early individual work with quarterback Ben Roethlisberger. Johnson said Roethlisberger has spent the past two days...
Gerald McCoy could be latest star player to invade AFC North
Could the Pittsburgh Steelers end up facing the hottest NFL free agent twice a season in 2019? Defensive tackle Gerald McCoy, who was surprisingly cut loose by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers less than two weeks ago, may find a future in the AFC North after wrapping up visits with the...
