Joe Rutter stories, Page 63
Ben Roethlisberger announces retirement after 18 seasons with Steelers
Ben Roethlisberger made it official Thursday. The two-time Super Bowl-winning quarterback is retiring from the NFL after spending 18 seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers. Roethlisberger, who indicated in late December that the 2021 season would be his last, made the announcement by releasing a 2-minute, 16-second video on his website,...
Steelers’ Najee Harris, Pressley Harvin III named to PFWA all-rookie team
Running back Najee Harris and punter Pressley Harvin III were two representatives of the Pittsburgh Steelers to earn spots on the NFL all-rookie team as announced Tuesday by the Pro Football Writers Association. Harris, the team’s first-round pick, finished fourth in the NFL with 1,200 rushing yards, and he also...
Free agents, draft prospects abound as Steelers weigh best way to land quarterback
Trades involving high-profile quarterbacks returned to fashion last offseason with the Los Angeles Rams and Detroit Lions swapping starters Matthew Stafford and Jared Goff and the Philadelphia Eagles sending Carson Wentz to the Indianapolis Colts. Such deals don’t come along every offseason, and they are even rarer when they involve...
Mason Rudolph ready for ‘real possibility’ of being Steelers starting QB in 2022
It will be a different dynamic inside the locker room this spring when Mason Rudolph returns for his fifth season with the Pittsburgh Steelers. He no longer will have the presence — and abilities — of the franchise’s most prolific quarterback impeding his chance at earning a starting job. “It’s...
Mike Tomlin ‘optimistic’ about what Matt Canada can do if given 2nd year as Steelers offensive coordinator
After having Ben Roethlisberger at quarterback for 18 seasons, the Pittsburgh Steelers are ready to find his successor — whether it comes from inside or outside the organization. Coach Mike Tomlin, though, doesn’t sound like he is ready to find someone new to call the plays the next quarterback will...
Steelers notebook: If Kevin Colbert retires, Mike Tomlin plans to be ‘easy person to work with’ for next GM
Mike Tomlin is aware he could be working with a new general manager after the NFL Draft when Kevin Colbert’s contract expires. Colbert has been working on a year-to-year contract basis and reportedly is contemplating retirement. “He and I have had discussions, but I’ll leave it to Kevin to address...
Keith Butler mulling retirement as Mike Tomlin faces changes to Steelers coaching staff
Based on answers given at his year-end press conference Tuesday, Mike Tomlin is prepared to have one new coordinator on his Pittsburgh Steelers coaching staff in 2022. Tomlin admitted that defensive coordinator Keith Butler is mulling retirement. He also indicated that Matt Canada will return for a second season as...
5 things: Roster changes on horizon after Steelers season comes to close
Five things we learned from Chiefs 42, Steelers 21 1. Changes coming With 15 players set to hit unrestricted free agency, the Steelers that open OTAs in five months will look vastly different than the group that lost a playoff game for the fourth consecutive opportunity. Some decisions will be...
Ben Roethlisberger ready for next chapter after Steelers’ career ends with playoff loss to Chiefs
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Ben Roethlisberger tried to motivate his teammates by downplaying their chances against the Kansas City Chiefs in an AFC wild-card game. He labeled the Steelers the worst of the 14 teams that extended their season into mid-January. He talked of wanting to keep the game against...
Steelers unable to extend Roethlisberger’s final season as Chiefs roll to victory
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Dreams of the Pittsburgh Steelers delaying Ben Roethlisberger’s farewell for another week were alive and well early in the second quarter Sunday night at Arrowhead Stadium. Then, reality set in and the fairytale finish to his 18-year NFL career turned into a nightmare. Patrick Mahomes upstaged...
With JuJu Smith-Schuster back for Steelers, WR Cody White heads to inactive list
KANSAS CITY, Mo. — JuJu Smith-Schuster’s return to the active roster for the Pittsburgh Steelers has resulted in wide receiver Cody White being designated as one of the team’s five inactive players Sunday night. Other players who won’t suit up for the wild-card game against the Kansas City Chiefs are...
Steelers’ Joe Haden has waited long time for playoff win
Ben Roethlisberger is aware his words may ring hollow when he tells his younger Pittsburgh Steelers teammates not to count on playing in the postseason every year. “You never really know if you’re going to get a chance to get back,” Roethlisberger said this week as he prepared for the...
Guess who’s back? JuJu Smith-Schuster practices with Steelers 3 months after surgery
If JuJu Smith-Schuster’s return to practice Thursday for the Pittsburgh Steelers was unexpected to outsiders, imagine the reaction inside the locker room at UPMC Rooney Sports Complex. Three months after undergoing supposed season-ending surgery on his right shoulder, Smith-Schuster was designated to return from injured reserve, leaving open the possibility...
Diontae Johnson: No room on bandwagon ‘once’ Steelers beat Chiefs in playoffs
Add wide receiver Diontae Johnson to the list of Pittsburgh Steelers players unhappy with the perceived lack of respect the team is getting heading into the AFC playoffs against the Kansas City Chiefs. But while quarterback Ben Roethlisberger has led the charge by playfully using it as a motivational tool,...
Keith Butler glad to return to Steelers sideline after watching Ravens game on TV
Since he got into coaching in 1990, Keith Butler estimated he never missed one of his team’s games until Sunday. A positive covid test and an inability to clear protocols in time led to Butler remaining in Pittsburgh while the Steelers traveled to Baltimore with their season hanging in the...
Trai Turner thinks lack of playoff experience can work in favor of Steelers young linemen
Right guard Trai Turner has more playoff experience than the rest of the Pittsburgh Steelers starting offensive linemen combined. Only backup guard/tackle Joe Haeg can match Turner’s six games of playoff experience. Haeg earned a Super Bowl ring with Tampa Bay last year while Turner lost his Super Bowl appearance...
Chiefs’ Andy Reid heaps praise on 9-7-1 Steelers, saying they are playing like ‘No. 1 seed’
Since the Pittsburgh Steelers lost by 26 points when they played the Kansas City Chiefs on Dec. 26, they won back-to-back games to scratch out the last spot in the AFC playoffs. Apparently those victories against Cleveland and Baltimore put them in the upper echelon of the conference. At least...
Ben Roethlisberger on Steelers’ playoff chances: ‘Have fun and see what happens’
The last time the Pittsburgh Steelers entered the playoffs as the lowest-seeded team in the AFC, they won in the wild-card round in 2015. The time before that, Steelers won three in a row on the road and then earned a “One for the Thumb” ring by beating Seattle in...
After being ‘handled decisively’ by Chiefs, Steelers will try to write new script in playoffs
Based on what transpired three weeks ago at Arrowhead Stadium, there isn’t much reason for the Pittsburgh Steelers to be optimistic as they return this weekend for a playoff matchup against the No. 2 seed Kansas City Chiefs. • In that game, they didn’t score a touchdown in the first...
Mike Tomlin slept through ending of Chargers-Raiders game that sent Steelers to playoffs
Mike Tomlin wasn’t awake at the moment the Pittsburgh Steelers officially qualified for the AFC playoffs. Tomlin didn’t see Las Vegas kicker Daniel Carlson’s 47-yard field goal as time expired in overtime Sunday night that lifted the Raiders to a 35-32 victory against the Los Angeles Chargers. The field goal...
Steelers intent on creating turnovers they lacked in 1st meeting with Chiefs
The Pittsburgh Steelers will take a defense that finished last in stopping the run and No. 24 overall into the wild-card round against the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday. Of the NFL’s 14 playoffs teams, only the Chiefs, coincidentally, have allowed more yards per game than the Steelers. They finished...
Steelers players recall ‘whirlwind of events’ that nearly kicked them out of the postseason race
Gathered with a few teammates, Ray-Ray McCloud settled in to watch the Las Vegas Raiders and Los Angeles Chargers play Sunday night, knowing a win by either team would stamp the Pittsburgh Steelers’ trip to the postseason. The only outcome that would ruin the Steelers’ chances was a tie, and...
Ben Roethlisberger had inkling his Steelers career wouldn’t end in Baltimore
BALTIMORE — Ben Roethlisberger had a feeling his NFL career wouldn’t end Sunday at M&T Bank Stadium. And it didn’t. The night before Roethlisberger led the Steelers to a 16-13 overtime victory against the Baltimore Ravens that put them in the AFC playoffs, he told his father that it didn’t...
Steelers beat Ravens in OT, secure playoff berth after Jaguars’ upset, Raiders’ victory
BALTIMORE — The result on the out-of-town scoreboard was favorable for the Pittsburgh Steelers. It was nothing compared to what transpired on a rainy, cold day inside M&T Bank Stadium. With their postseason aspirations hanging in the balance, the Steelers got a 36-yard field goal from Chris Boswell in overtime...
Report: Kevin Colbert will step down as Steelers GM after NFL Draft
Kevin Colbert’s tenure as Pittsburgh Steelers general manager could be winding down. NFL Network reported Sunday that Colbert, the long-time general manager who has been in charge of the organization’s football operations since 2000, will retire when his contract expires after the 2022 NFL Draft. The Steelers will conclude their...
