Joe Rutter stories, Page 119
Steelers’ Snell, Johnson among 40 players attending NFLPA rookie event
Before football workouts resume next week with the start of organized team activities, two rookies from the Pittsburgh Steelers will get a crash course on the business side of the sport. Wide receiver Diontae Johnson and running back Benny Snell are among 40 rookies who will participate in the 25th...
Steelers OTA preview: Safety roles could expand for young players
Editor’s note: Heading into the start of OTAs, the Tribune-Review will take a daily look at a position that will bear watching once the entire 91-man roster convenes at UPMC Rooney Sports Complex. Almost five months after playing their last game, the Pittsburgh Steelers are about to put a full...
Justin Layne wants to increase interception numbers with Steelers
Big Ten offenses kept throwing the ball into Justin Layne’s coverage in 2018, and the Michigan State cornerback kept knocking it away. Layne had 15 pass breakups in 2018, which was tied for the conference lead and ranked No. 10 in major college football. As good as Layne was at...
Steelers get 1st-round pick Devin Bush under contract
On the final day of rookie minicamp Sunday, the Pittsburgh Steelers got first-round draft pick Devin Bush under contract. Bush, who was drafted No. 10 overall after the Steelers traded up 10 spots with the Denver Broncos, signed his four-year deal that contains a fifth-year option, which is standard for...
Zach Gentry catching on at tight end with Steelers
As he ran routes and caught passes this weekend at rookie minicamp, Zach Gentry couldn’t help but conjure memories of the most prolific tight end to play for the Pittsburgh Steelers. Perhaps it’s because, like Heath Miller did for 11 seasons, Gentry provided an inviting target while sporting a No....
Broncos’ Shelby Harris takes credit for Steelers’ late-season meltdown
The Pittsburgh Steelers’ late-season collapse and offseason drama wasn’t Antonio Brown’s fault. Don’t blame Ben Roethlisberger, either. The real culprit was Shelby Harris. Who? Harris was the Broncos defensive lineman who intercepted Roethlisberger on a third-and-goal pass with 1 minute, 3 seconds left in a Week 12 game in Denver....
Volume of players at rookie minicamp keeps Mike Tomlin busy
Of the 60 players attending the Pittsburgh Steelers’ rookie minicamp this weekend, 18 were invited on a tryout basis. Coach Mike Tomlin and his staff try to evaluate as many players as possible during the workouts, but he admits it is difficult to get a strong scouting report on everybody....
Quiet debut for 3rd-round pick Diontae Johnson
His first day in a Pittsburgh Steelers uniform was a stark contrast to what Diontae Johnson experienced in his final two seasons at Toledo that led to his selection as a third-round draft pick. A two-time all-conference wide receiver and punt returner, Johnson mostly was a bystander Friday morning on...
No regrets for Justin Layne about switching positions
When he arrived at Michigan State in 2016, Justin Layne was hoping to follow in the footsteps of Andre Rison and Plaxico Burress – Spartans wide receivers who became NFL stars. Before his freshman season was over, that dream was dashed. Layne was playing cornerback. “I wasn’t in favor of...
5 things to watch at Steelers rookie minicamp
Offseason training continues for the Pittsburgh Steelers this weekend when the organization gets its first chance to evaluate its youngest and least experienced players. The team’s annual three-day rookie minicamp begins Friday. Although players will not wear pads and no hitting is permitted, the Steelers will get their first chance...
Steelers cut kicker Matt McCrane, cornerback Jack Tocho
The Pittsburgh Steelers plan to stay true to their word and provide competition for kicker Chris Boswell in training camp this summer. It just won’t involve Matt McCrane. McCrane, who converted all three of his field-goal attempts in the Steelers’ season-finale against Cincinnati, was one of two players waived by...
Tight end Zach Gentry agrees to rookie deal with Steelers
Less than an hour after the Pittsburgh Steelers signed their final sixth-round draft pick, they also got their fifth-rounder under contract. Zach Gentry, a 6-foot-8, 265-pound tight end from Michigan, became the seventh of the team’s nine draft picks to sign. Gentry, the No. 141 overall player drafted, signed the...
Steelers sign 6th-round draft pick Ulysees Gilbert
Ulysees Gilbert, the No. 207 overall pick of the NFL Draft, became the third sixth-round draft pick to sign his four-year rookie contract with the Pittsburgh Steelers. With the signing Thursday of Gilbert and fifth-round Zach Gentry, the Steelers have signed seven of their nine draft choices. Remaining unsigned are...
Steelers WR Diontae Johnson makes Pro Football Focus watch list
Pro Football Focus has high hopes for wide receiver Diontae Johnson in his first season with the Pittsburgh Steelers. This week, the web site included Johnson among the top 10 players to win offensive rookie of the year honors. Johnson was ranked No. 9. Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray, drafted...
Jerseys worn by Steelers Hall of Fame alumni up for auction
The Pittsburgh Steelers and Lelands are auctioning off more memorabilia from the team archives, including game-worn jerseys sported by Pro Football Hall of Fame players Lynn Swann, Terry Bradshaw, Franco Harris, Jack Lambert, Jack Ham, Mel Blount and Rod Woodson. The Steelers collection contains 28 items, including cleats and a...
Steelers WR JuJu Smith-Schuster to assist NFL as London academy ‘ambassador’
The NFL is opening an academy in London this year, and Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster will be one of its ambassadors. The NFL Academy, which begins in September, will provide students ages 16-18 the chance to learn professional football while training under the supervision of full-time coaches. The...
Versatile new Steelers receiver Diontae Johnson ‘a natural’
Jason Candle was entering his first game as coach at Toledo when necessity required him to expand the role of freshman wide receiver Diontae Johnson in the 2015 Boca Raton Bowl. Alonzo Russell, Toledo’s top receiving threat who is now with the New York Giants, was ineligible for the first...
Steelers, rookie running back Benny Snell are ‘perfect marriage’
Seven months later, Eddie Gran still regrets not giving the ball to Benny Snell. With an SEC game on the line last October, Kentucky faced a third-and-2 in overtime at the Texas A&M 17. Everyone expected the ball would end up in the belly of Snell, the Wildcats’ bruising running...
Pro day prospects earn NFL rookie minicamp invitations
Six prospects who attended the Cal (Pa.) pro day at Pittsburgh Indoor Sports Arena in Cheswick have earned rookie minicamp tryouts with NFL teams. A seventh player, St. Francis (Pa.) cornerback Jermaine Ponder, signed with the Cleveland Browns as an undrafted free agent. The second annual event, which was run...
Steelers to put individual tickets on sale
Individual tickets for the Pittsburgh Steelers’ eight regular-season and two preseason home games will go on sale Friday at 10 a.m. Ticketmaster will handle the sale of all individual tickets. They will not be sold at the Heinz Field box office. Fans may purchase up to eight tickets per household...
Steelers 6th-rounder Sutton Smith: ‘My path is to fight’
Sutton Smith played football at Northern Illinois like he was a Summa Cum Laude student trying to graduate after only a handful of semesters. He packed a lot of production into a short amount of time. Smith had a combined 29 sacks and 56.5 tackles for loss in his redshirt...
Aliquippa native Dravon Askew-Henry signed by Steelers
Aliquippa native Dravon Askew-Henry, a safety from West Virginia, was one of 10 players that the Pittsburgh Steelers signed as undrafted free agents after the conclusion of the NFL Draft on Saturday. Also signing contracts were punter Ian Berryman (Western Carolina) guard Garrett Brumfield (LSU), defensive end Jay Hayes (Georgia),...
Steelers wrap up busy draft with Day 3 depthVideo
After targeting three perceived areas of weakness — inside linebacker, wide receiver and cornerback — on the first two days of the NFL Draft, the Pittsburgh Steelers set about filling in smaller holes Saturday that existed elsewhere on their roster. They came away with six players who will provide depth...
Steelers release inside linebacker Jon Bostic
The Pittsburgh Steelers officially have nothing left from their 2018 free agent class. Linebacker Jon Bostic was given his release Saturday afternoon shortly after the NFL Draft concluded. Bostic was the last of the three free agents signed in the 2018 offseason that remained on the Steelers roster. Safety Morgan...
Steelers conclude draft by taking Maryland OT Derwin Gray
Adding depth on the offensive line, the Pittsburgh Steelers selected Maryland tackle Derwin Gray with their final pick of the NFL Draft on Saturday. Gray was the No. 219 overall player taken. Gray, who is 6-foot-4, 320 pounds, primarily played left tackle for the Terrapins. He started three games as...
