Joe Rutter stories, Page 20

When the Pittsburgh Steelers began formulating a game plan for the San Francisco 49ers, they designed it with the belief that NFL Defensive Player of the Year Nick Bosa would be wearing scarlet and gold — and not street clothes — for the season opener. That assumption proved to be...

Like the stock market, past performance for NFL teams in the preseason isn’t indicative of future results once September arrives. For the Pittsburgh Steelers, that means the anticipation of a market correction after the first-team offense produced five touchdowns on five series over the three-game exhibition schedule. The Steelers exited...

A year after the Pittsburgh Steelers had two captains designated to represent the offense, they have only one – second-year quarterback Kenny Pickett. Mitch Trubisky was an offensive captain last season after winning the starting quarterback job in training camp. The other captain was running back Najee Harris. Pickett will...

Mike Tomlin’s initial depth chart of the regular season lists no definitive defensive starters at inside linebacker or strong safety. The same could be said at slot corner even though Chandon Sullivan is listed ahead of Elijah Riley. The Pittsburgh Steelers coach isn’t trying his hand at gamesmanship ahead of...

Larry Ogunjobi’s inactivity during the preseason hasn’t dampened his mood heading into his second regular season with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Although he did not play in the preseason because of a foot/ankle injury — at one point in training camp he was spotted wearing a walking boot — Ogunjobi sounded...

Kenny Pickett already is ahead of Ben Roethlisberger at one milestone marker of his NFL career. Pickett was named one of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ four team captains Monday, the designation coming in the quarterback’s second NFL season and first as a full-time starter. Roethlisberger, the two-time Super Bowl-winning quarterback and...

The familiar faces are back for the Pittsburgh Steelers on defense. There is Cameron Heyward anchoring the defensive line. T.J. Watt returns at outside linebacker trying to get back into the NFL Defensive Player of the year conversation. Minkah Fitzpatrick will patrol a secondary that helped the Steelers tie for...

Running back Qadree Ollison is returning to the site of his college success. Ollison, who had two 1,000-yard rushing seasons at Pitt, was one of three players signed Saturday to the Pittsburgh Steelers’ practice squad. The Steelers also signed fullback Zander Horvath, formerly of the Los Angles Chargers, and converted...

It’s a no-brainer to suggest the success of the Pittsburgh Steelers this season hinges largely on the development of quarterback Kenny Pickett. In his second NFL season and first as a full-time starter, Pickett stands front and center on the list of make-or-break issues facing the Steelers as they try...

Dylan Cook learned he had made the Pittsburgh Steelers’ initial 53-man roster the same way the average fan did Tuesday afternoon. He saw it posted on the team website. The 25-year-old tackle and first-year player from Montana spent the day playing a FIFA soccer video game to pass the time...

By cutting their longest tenured tight end, trading a former starting center and keeping two punters, the Pittsburgh Steelers finalized their initial 53-man roster Tuesday. The Steelers cut 16 players, including fifth-year tight end Zach Gentry, and traded Kendrick Green, their 2021 starting center, to the Houston Texans to get...

For the second time in three days, the Pittsburgh Steelers traded an interior offensive lineman, a player they had selected in the NFL Draft. Center/guard Kendrick Green, a third-round pick in 2021, was sent to the Houston Texans on Tuesday in return for a 2025 sixth-round draft pick, according to...

The Pittsburgh Steelers had just concluded an outing at a go-kart track Sunday afternoon, an event designed as a team-building exercise, and some of the offensive linemen were deciding what to do next. “Sitting around chilling,” rookie tackle Broderick Jones said. “Nothing to do, time to waste.” The boredom, at...

Kevin Dotson, who lost his starting job at guard with the acquisition of Isaac Seumalo, was traded by the Pittsburgh Steelers to the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday night in an exchange of draft picks over the 2024-25 seasons. The Steelers will get the Rams’ fourth-round pick in 2024 and...

The Pittsburgh Steelers haven’t settled on a punter yet, but they have removed the competition for two other specialists. Kicker B.T. Potter and long snapper Rex Sunahara of West Virginia were among eight players the Steelers cut Saturday. The Steelers have 82 players on the offseason roster and must get...

No defense has faced the Pittsburgh Steelers offense this summer more than, well, the Pittsburgh Steelers. It happened every week during the spring at organized team activities, continued in training camp at Saint Vincent College and has carried over to practice sessions at UPMC Rooney Sports Complex. Which makes defensive...

Running back Najee Harris has heard the hype surrounding the Pittsburgh Steelers offense after the first team scored touchdowns on all five of its possessions while crafting a 3-0 preseason record. While he is encouraged by what the offense has accomplished in August, he knows it will mean little if...

On the day the Pittsburgh Steelers reported to Saint Vincent College last summer, coach Mike Tomlin took exception when asked whether his team might experience a learning curve on defense given the amount of turnover in the offseason. “I’ll be very blunt,” Tomlin said July 26. “I’m not concerned about...

ATLANTA — It was another perfect start for the first-team offense and quarterback Kenny Pickett, who capped his preseason with a perfect passer rating. Pickett engineered two more touchdown drives in the two series he played, and the Pittsburgh Steelers showcased their big-play offensive capabilities once again in a 24-0...

ATLANTA – Kendrick Green was in the starting lineup Thursday night for the Pittsburgh Steelers in their preseason finale against the Atlanta Falcons. Just not at the position he spent much of training camp practicing. And, no, he was not at fullback, either. The third-year offensive lineman, getting one last...

When the ball is teed up for the final game of the preseason Thursday night, perhaps no position group on the Pittsburgh Steelers will be scrutinized in terms of a starting job more than slot cornerback. Coach Mike Tomlin admitted Tuesday that the competition between Chandon Sullivan and Elijah Riley...

After making token appearances in the first two preseason games, Kenny Pickett is preparing to play longer than two series when the Pittsburgh Steelers face the Atlanta Falcons on Thursday. How much longer remains to be seen. “They’ll pull us when they pull us,” Pickett said Tuesday as the Steelers...

The good news for the Pittsburgh Steelers is their first-team offense has scored a touchdown on each possession it has occupied the field during the preseason. The bad news, if you can call it that, is the offense hasn’t been given the chance to see if such productivity is sustainable...

Playing two games with only a four-day break in between isn’t the optimum way to close the preseason. That is what the Pittsburgh Steelers will face when they play the Atlanta Falcons on Thursday at Mercedes Benz Stadium. It will come on the heels of their 27-15 victory Saturday night...