Joe Rutter stories, Page 45
Steelers free agency primer: Complementary pieces at TE, RB set to hit open market
Thanks to the allocation of their top two picks of the 2021 NFL Draft, the Pittsburgh Steelers have their starting running back and tight end under contract for the next two seasons. It’s a little further down the depth chart where things start to get murky for the Steelers as...
Free agency primer: Despite abundance of WRs, Steelers could be in market for veteran help
When the Pittsburgh Steelers lost three of their top five wide receivers in free agency last year, they fortified the position with an all-too-familiar strategy. They emphasized it in the NFL Draft. By taking George Pickens in the second round and Calvin Austin in the fourth, the Steelers offset the...
Steelers free agency primer: Search for quarterback hinges on future of Mitch Trubisky
For the second year in a row, how extensively the Pittsburgh Steelers address the quarterback position in free agency will depend on Mitch Trubisky. When they were tasked with replacing Ben Roethlisberger last March, the Steelers signed Trubisky to a two-year contract on the first day of free agency, and...
Steelers trying to tackle issue of whether to take OL in 1st round of NFL Draft
The best trait found in the Pittsburgh Steelers’ offensive line last season was reliability. Not only did the starting five play in all 17 games, four starters never missed a snap. Center Mason Cole was the outlier, staying on the field for all but 46 of a potential 1,160 plays....
Former Pitt star WR Jordan Addison has message for Steelers: ‘Come get me’
Kenny Pickett hasn’t been shy about his desire to reunite with former Pitt teammate Jordan Addison. On Friday, Addison returned the favor. Speaking at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis, the 6-foot, 175-pound wide receiver and 2021 Biletnikoff Award winner said he would welcome a return to Pittsburgh and catch some...
Will Steelers keep it all in the family and draft CB Joey Porter Jr. in 1st round?
It is no secret the Pittsburgh Steelers, a family-run business on its third generation of Rooney ownership, are attracted to bloodlines in their players. Given that at one point last summer, the Steelers had four sets of brothers — from the Watt, Edmunds, Heyward and Davis families — on the...
Deep defensive line class could be in Steelers’ wheelhouse early in NFL Draft
Perhaps he was just being diplomatic in his first appearance at the NFL Combine as Pittsburgh Steelers general manager. Or maybe he was playing coy and didn’t want to give away any insight. Whatever the reason, Omar Khan was as neutral as Switzerland when asked about the positions of strength...
NFL analyst thinks Steelers, GM Omar Khan ‘really set up well’ with 2023 draft class
For his first NFL Draft as Pittsburgh Steelers general manager, Omar Khan will be provided a luxury that predecessor Kevin Colbert never enjoyed in his 23 seasons overseeing the process. Khan and the Steelers will have three picks among the top 49 selections when the draft commences in late April....
Steelers sign long snapper Christian Kuntz to 1-year contract
The Pittsburgh Steelers retained one of their exclusive rights free agents Wednesday, giving long snapper Christian Kuntz a one-year contract. Kuntz, 28, is entering his third season with the Steelers after beating Kameron Canady for the starting job in the 2021 training camp. The undrafted free agent out of Duquesne...
Jerry Olsavsky no longer on Steelers staff following hire of Aaron Curry to coach linebackers
Mike Tomlin reached out to the Pacific Northwest to find his newest assistant coach. The addition of Aaron Curry, however, comes at the expense of a long-time member of the Pittsburgh Steelers organization. The hiring of Curry as inside linebackers coach Wednesday ended the tenure of Jerry Olsavsky, who has...
Maulers pursue prospects from FCS level in 10-player USFL draft
After finishing with the worst record in the USFL’s rebirth season in 2022, the Pittsburgh Maulers decided to take an unconventional approach to this year’s college draft. On the heels of 1-9 season, what did they have to lose? And so it was that while other USFL teams primarily selected...
Steelers assistant head coach John Mitchell retires after 29 years with franchise
The Pittsburgh Steelers are losing the longest-tenured member of Mike Tomlin’s coaching staff. John Mitchell, the team’s assistant head coach and a member of the organization since 1994, has decided to retire. He is 71. Mitchell spent 29 years with the Steelers and has coached in some capacity for the...
Ranking the best 57 plays in Steelers’ Super Bowl historyVideo
It could be a way to honor the 57th installment of the Super Bowl. Or it could be an homage to the number of ketchup varieties produced by the food and beverage conglomerate that used to have its name affixed to the Steelers’ home stadium. Either way, as Super Bowl...
Former Pitt star, Steelers player, sports exec Paul Martha dies at 80
One of the most multi-faceted athletes in Pittsburgh sports history — on and off the field — died this month. John “Paul” Martha, a former Pittsburgh Steelers first-round draft pick and executive with several pro sports franchises, died Feb. 4 at 80, his family announced. Martha had been residing at...
Steelers lose senior defensive assistant Brian Flores to Vikings
The Pittsburgh Steelers are losing their senior defensive assistant/linebackers coach after one season. Brian Flores, who joined the Steelers staff last offseason after being fired as head coach of the Miami Dolphins, accepted a position with the Minnesota Vikings as defensive coordinator Monday. Steelers coach Mike Tomlin added Flores to...
Steelers’ T.J. Watt withdraws from Pro Bowl to recover from lingering injuries
T.J. Watt won’t participate in this year’s Pro Bowl games so he can recover from injuries that nagged him during the 2022 season. Buffalo Bills linebacker Matt Milano will replace the Steelers outside linebacker, who missed most of the first half of the season with a torn pectoral muscle. He...
Art Rooney II mum on potential contract extension for Mike Tomlin
Mike Tomlin has two years remaining on his contract as coach of the Pittsburgh Steelers, which historically is when he is in line to receive an extension. An exception occurred in 2021 when he was heading into the last year of his deal, and team president Art Rooney II gave...
Art Rooney II: Improved offense in 2nd half of season led to Matt Canada’s return as offensive coordinator
The way the Pittsburgh Steelers offense in general and rookie quarterback Kenny Pickett in particular finished the 2022 season were factors in the organization retaining offensive coordinator Matt Canada for another year. Given those strides the Steelers made, team president Art Rooney II said Thursday he didn’t want to start...
Chance to work with son brought former Steelers assistant Ray Horton to USFL as coach of Maulers
Out of football since 2019, Ray Horton wasn’t itching to return to the sideline. Horton, the former Pittsburgh Steelers defensive backs coach, was content with the life he created in Phoenix. A private pilot, he took to the air to fly his Cirrus single-engine plane as often as his free...
Pittsburgh Maulers to play home games in Canton, Ohio, for 2023 USFL season
The Pittsburgh Maulers aren’t returning home just yet, but they will play their games at a destination much closer than their venue last season. The Maulers will play games at Tom Benson Stadium in Canton, Ohio, for the 2023 season, the USFL announced Wednesday. Last year, in the spring football...
Steelers bring back OLB Quincy Roche on reserve/futures contract
The Pittsburgh Steelers are bringing back one of their own. The Steelers signed outside linebacker Quincy Roche, their sixth-round draft pick in 2021, to a reserve/futures contract on Tuesday. Roche spent the past two seasons with the New York Giants, who claimed the linebacker on waivers after he was cut...
Steelers sign former Penn State WR Dan Chisena to reserve/futures contract
Former Penn State wide receiver Dan Chisena is returning to his home state. After spending the past three seasons in the Minnesota Vikings organization, the 25-year-old wide receiver from Downingtown signed a reserve/futures contract Monday with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Chisena, who is 6-foot-3, 202 pounds, spent last season primarily on...
Ben Roethlisberger not surprised Steelers decided to stick with OC Matt Canada
As far as Ben Roethlisberger is concerned, the record speaks for itself when it comes to the Pittsburgh Steelers’ decision to retain Matt Canada as offensive coordinator. In an interview Thursday on 102.5 FM, Roethlisberger said he wasn’t surprised to learn Canada will return for a third season overseeing the...
Matt Canada to return for 3rd season as Steelers offensive coordinator
Matt Canada will get at least one more year to oversee the development of the Pittsburgh Steelers offense. Canada will return for a third season as the Steelers offensive coordinator, a team spokesman confirmed Wednesday. Canada’s return comes after the Steelers finished No. 26 in scoring in 2022, averaging 18.1...
Steelers faced with adding pieces to defense that again could be NFL’s highest paid in 2023
The way the Pittsburgh Steelers defense finished the season, it provided justification for all of the money earmarked to that side of the football. Heralded as the highest-paid defense in the NFL, the Steelers got some bang for their buck in the second half when a 7-2 finish and four...
