Joe Rutter stories, Page 42

George Pickens Second-round pick, No.52 overall Wide receiver, Georgia 6-3, 195 Stats: In 24 career games at Georgia, he caught 90 passes for 1,347 yards, averaging 15 yards per catch, with 14 touchdowns. After tearing his ACL in spring practice a year ago, he missed all but the final four...

When Kenny Pickett arrived at UPMC Rooney Sports Complex on Friday, he was ushered inside a part of the joint practice facility that was foreign to him. For the past five seasons, when he was a quarterback at Pitt, he would walk through the door on the right side of...

After getting their quarterback of the future, the Pittsburgh Steelers will seek players that perhaps can be immediate impact players on the second day of the NFL Draft. General manager Kevin Colbert said that in the team’s business model, the top three draft picks need to develop into starters. With...

The Pittsburgh Steelers had their pick of the quarterback litter when it was their turn in the NFL Draft on Thursday night. Or should it be, their Pickett of the litter? The first quarterback off the board was Pitt’s Kenny Pickett, who went to the Steelers with the No. 20...

In the season after Ben Roethlisberger’s retirement, it would be easy and predictable to target the Pittsburgh Steelers taking a quarterback in the first round. It really makes too much sense. Scouts and general manager Kevin Colbert heavily scouted the position in the fall. Colbert and coach Mike Tomlin met...

Asking Kevin Colbert to pick his favorite draft class is like having him pick his favorite child. And Colbert has 22 drafts on his resume compared to three kids that he and wife Janis have raised. Colbert was asked to reminisce Monday at his final pre-draft news conference, and he...

Kevin Colbert’s time as Pittsburgh Steelers general manager is winding down and can be measured in weeks if not days. Colbert, 65, hasn’t allowed himself to get sentimental about the approaching end of his 22 years with the organization or the 15 years he has spent working alongside coach Mike...

Recognizing that they likely would replace franchise quarterback Ben Roethlisberger after the 2021 season, the Pittsburgh Steelers began searching for a successor in earnest last fall. General manager Kevin Colbert said he and his scouts watched the top passing prospects play at least two times. In some cases, it was...

Leigh Steinberg knows quarterbacks. The famed NFL agent has represented Hall of Fame passers Troy Aikman, Steve Young and Warren Moon, and he advised Ben Roethlisberger early in the retired Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback’s career. Steinberg, 73, counts Kansas City Chiefs star Patrick Mahomes and Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa among...

As evidenced by the contracts handed out during the offseason, the cost of doing business with NFL wide receivers is skyrocketing. In March, the Las Vegas Raiders traded for Davante Adams, then gave the former Green Bay Packers star the biggest deal ever afforded to a pass catcher — $141.25...

The Pittsburgh Steelers will have a starting player at every position on the field heading into the NFL Draft next week after strong safety Terrell Edmunds agreed to terms on a one-year contract, according to reports. NFL Network reported Friday that Edmunds will return on a contract worth $2.5 million....

Dozens of friends and teammates joined the wife of late Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Dwayne Haskins and packed Allegheny Center Alliance Church for a private service Friday that celebrated the 24-year-old’s life. The memorial service was preceded by a two-hour public viewing session at the North Side church. Most of the...

No matter which player the Pittsburgh Steelers pick in the first round of the NFL Draft, they only can hope to duplicate the same type of value they received from Najee Harris in 2021. All Harris did in his first professional season was play 84% of all offensive snaps and,...

For the second year in a row, the Pittsburgh Steelers watched a veteran tight end depart in the offseason. Unlike this time last year, they won’t feel obligated to replace him with a player taken high in the NFL Draft. A few months after Vance McDonald retired after the 2020...

Kevin Colbert’s “regret” last offseason was not fortifying an offensive line that resulted in the Pittsburgh Steelers starting rookies at left tackle and center. “An affordable veteran that maybe could have eased the growth time for that group,” Colbert said in February, “but we knew it was going to be...

The final top quarterback prospect from this year’s draft class visited with the Pittsburgh Steelers on Wednesday. Malik Willis, who could be the first quarterback selected in the draft when it begins April 28, conducted a top-30 visit at the UMPC Rooney Sports Complex. Wednesday is the final day that...

Dwayne Haskins was walking to get gas for his disabled car when he was struck and killed by a dump truck April 9 in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., according to a pair of 911 calls. The calls were obtained by a Miami television station and released Wednesday. Haskins, 24, was pronounced...

Shoulder pads will be popping, footballs will be flinging and fans will be packing the hillside at Saint Vincent College again this summer. After a two-year absence because of the pandemic, the Pittsburgh Steelers will return to the Unity campus to conduct training camp this year, the team announced Wednesday....

Pittsburgh Steelers restricted free agent Marcus Allen signed his contract tender Tuesday, and he will earn $2.54 million if he makes the 53-man roster. Allen, an inside linebacker who converted from safety, faced a Friday deadline to sign his offer. Allen, 25, is entering his fifth NFL season and third...

When the Pittsburgh Steelers went on an uncharacteristic spending spree in free agency, they added a new center and guard to an offensive line that underperformed in 2021. The running game, despite the addition of first-round back Najee Harris, still ranked No. 29 in the league. And Ben Roethlisberger, in...

With two relatively young quarterbacks on the roster and a third potentially joining them in the NFL Draft, the Pittsburgh Steelers hired David Corley as assistant quarterbacks coach. The announcement was made Tuesday. Corley, 42, was the running backs coach at Richmond in 2021 and spent the 2018 season as...

Strong safety is a weak spot for the Pittsburgh Steelers. General manager Kevin Colbert said as much a few weeks ago at the NFL annual meeting. Colbert said the Steelers have players capable of starting at 24 of 25 positions on the roster, including specialists. The exception is strong safety,...

As the Pittsburgh Steelers prepare for the NFL Draft, they can take comfort in knowing they fortified the cornerback position in free agency. By signing Ahkello Witherspoon and Levi Wallace to matching two-year, $8 million contracts, the Steelers are set on the outside for at least the 2022 season. Those...

As the Pittsburgh Steelers can attest, selecting an inside linebacker in the first round of the NFL Draft is a risky proposition. For every standout player such as Devin White, there is at least one — if not more — Devin Bush who still is trying to reach his potential....

Aidan Hutchinson likes to pattern his game after some of the NFL’s premier edge rushers, so it’s no surprise he regularly pops in the highlights of the league’s defensive player of the year. Asked at the NFL Combine which pass rusher he most admires, Hutchinson put T.J. Watt at the...