Steelers/NFL category, Page 281
Browns QB Baker Mayfield plans to start against Steelers
BEREA, Ohio — Cleveland Browns quarterback Baker Mayfield will start Sunday against the Pittsburgh Steelers, returning after missing one game with an injured left shoulder that will require management for the rest of this season. Mayfield practiced for the third straight day on Friday and coach Kevin Stefanski announced afterward...
First Call: Steelers could face familiar foe vs. Browns; celebrating Sidney Crosby anniversary; James Conner keeps scoring
Friday’s “First Call” tells us that the Steelers better be prepared for a familiar foe when they visit the Cleveland Browns on Sunday. Another Browns player is already planning his post-touchdown celebration. We recognize a Sidney Crosby memory. And a former Steeler keeps ringing up points on the scoreboard. Ready...
Tim Benz: Unless Steelers have a better option, don’t give in to Melvin Ingram’s trade request
I apologize. You’ve read this Steelers column from me before. I first wrote it on Aug. 9. Three days earlier, ESPN reports surfaced stating that wide receiver James Washington had asked for a trade. My belief back then was that the Steelers shouldn’t acquiesce to Washington’s request because he’s a...
The 2 biggest issues facing the Steelers coming out of the bye and heading into Cleveland
There are plenty of areas where the Steelers can improve coming out of their bye week as they head into a crucial game against the Cleveland Browns on Sunday. Let’s pick two. One on offense. One on defense. One — theoretically — is fixable. The other? I’m not so sure....
With Anthony McFarland, Zach Banner off IR, Steelers’ Matt Canada weighs their usage
Zach Banner and Anthony McFarland each figure to be part of the gameday roster this week for the first time this season. But what will their roles be within the Pittsburgh Steelers offense during Sunday’s game against the Cleveland Browns? Offensive coordinator Matt Canada shed little light on the coaching...
Melvin Ingram, Eric Ebron limited at Steelers practice
Amid reports he is unhappy with his role on the team, outside linebacker Melvin Ingram was a limited participant at Pittsburgh Steelers practice Thursday. Ingram was listed on the injury report with a groin injury for the second consecutive day. Ingram was not cited by coach Mike Tomlin as dealing...
Run defense expects to be tested often when Steelers face top-ranked Browns
The Pittsburgh Steelers used the bye week to identify the reason they had a season-high 14 missed tackles in their most recent game. They are using this week of practice to make fundamental adjustments as they prepare to face the NFL’s most prolific rushing offense. They will use their game...
Lack of interceptions ‘doesn’t really eat’ at Steelers free safety Minkah Fitzpatrick
As a two-time, first-team All-Pro free safety, Minkah Fitzpatrick is counted upon to make big plays in the Pittsburgh Steelers secondary. It hasn’t happened yet this season. Playing on a defense that has recorded just two interceptions — only two NFL teams have fewer — Fitzpatrick is searching for his...
First Call: Browns getting healthy ahead of Steelers game; troubling Pitt-Miami trends; Penguins prepare for red-hot Flames
Thursday’s “First Call” lets us know which Cleveland Browns are tracking to play against the Steelers Sunday. T.J. Watt’s brother, J.J., may be done for the rest of the season. The Calgary Flames are on fire heading into Thursday’s game against the Penguins. And Pitt’s game against Miami may be...
U mad, bro?: Readers dislike my Pitt column, questions for Mike Tomlin and college football OT format
This week’s “U mad, bro?” is peppered with Pittsburgh Steelers fans who resent me for asking Mike Tomlin about some vacant college coaching jobs. Others voice their displeasure with the new college football overtime format. And prickly Pitt fans are … well … just being true to who they have...
Steelers’ Ben Roethlisberger preps for perhaps final game at his home-state Browns
Ben Roethlisberger grew up a 2-hour, 15-minute drive from Cleveland. His first start there was as a 22-year-old in 2004, seven months after the Browns bypassed him in the draft to select a tight end. Sunday — perhaps — could be Roethlisberger’s final start at his home-state team that became...
Melvin Ingram limited at Steelers practice with groin injury
Coach Mike Tomlin said the Pittsburgh Steelers emerged from their idle week with a healthy roster. Wednesday’s practice proved it. The official league-mandated injury report was about as clean as it has been all season. It included two players recently activated off of the injured reserve list — running back...
Mark Madden: Rumors of Mike Tomlin being linked to college jobs was nonstory from the start
Mike Tomlin blew a gasket when he was asked about rumors linking him to the coaching positions at LSU and Southern Cal. Tomlin overdid it. It seemed he might start pounding the podium with his shoe. But the scene had value. It had a feel-good “Steelers for life” ring at...
After sitting out playoff game, Steelers CB Joe Haden awaits chance to face Browns
Confined to his house because of a positive covid-19 test, cornerback Joe Haden couldn’t believe what he saw unfold on the TV screen in his basement last January as he watched his teammates play his former employer in an AFC wild-card game. Haden watched the Cleveland Browns score a touchdown...
Steelers receiver Chase Claypool embraces running routes out of varying spots
Chase Claypool didn’t explicitly take over JuJu Smith-Schuster’s role during Smith-Schuster’s first game following season-ending surgery, and Claypool likely won’t ever be a full-time slot receiver for the Pittsburgh Steelers. But that doesn’t mean Claypool doesn’t like getting deployed there. “I like playing all positions but especially being able to...
Browns’ Baker Mayfield practicing, hopes to play against Steelers
BEREA, Ohio — One game on the sideline was too much for Baker Mayfield. The Browns’ starting quarterback has no plans to repeat it. Mayfield tested his injured left shoulder by practicing Wednesday, and if all goes well, he intends to play Sunday against the Pittsburgh Steelers. “I think similar...
Steelers activate RB Anthony McFarland off IR, place DT Carlos Davis on IR
The Pittsburgh Steelers will have another piece available to their offense beginning this week after the activation of speedy running back Anthony McFarland on Wednesday. McFarland was on the injured reserve list since the start of the season because of a torn MCL suffered during training camp. He was cleared...
Tim Benz: Question about college coaching rumors was appropriate. So was Mike Tomlin’s response.
It sure seemed like Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin hated one of my questions at his weekly press conference Tuesday. That’s OK. I loved his response. After 21 minutes of on-field and health-related inquiries in advance of the team’s game in Cleveland, I figured an appropriate amount of time had...
For Steelers, meeting with Browns rekindles ‘shock’ of playoff loss
The last time the Pittsburgh Steelers faced the Cleveland Browns, they trailed by a touchdown one snap into the game, by 28 points after the first quarter and by the end of the night were victims of another home playoff loss. Nine months later, that 48-37 wild-card loss still stings,...
Notebook: Steelers preparing to defend Browns’ ‘personality’ regardless of starting QB
Baker Mayfield or Case Keenum? For Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin, it doesn’t matter which veteran quarterback starts Sunday for the Cleveland Browns. Tomlin said Tuesday he’s preparing to defend the system and not the passer when the 3-3 Steelers and 4-3 Browns meet in an AFC North game at...
Steelers coach Mike Tomlin: ‘Never say never, but never’ on coaching college footballVideo
Mike Tomlin isn’t interested in coaching college football. Linked to a couple of college programs by two former NFL players and a former Pittsburgh Steelers executive, Tomlin squashed any talk Tuesday at his weekly press conference. “I don’t have time for that speculation,” Tomlin said. “That is a joke for...
Carson Palmer adds Mike Tomlin, James Franklin into the mix for USC job
On Monday, former USC quarterback Carson Palmer appeared on the “Dan Patrick Show” and said that Mike Tomlin is a “wild card” for the vacant coaching position at his alma mater if Tomlin “wants out” of his current job with the Pittsburgh Steelers. The former Cincinnati Bengals Pro Bowler also...
First Call: Updates on Baker Mayfield, Nick Chubb as Steelers-Browns game looms; fan invades Ravens broadcast booth
Tuesday’s “First Call” has a health update on a bunch of banged up Cleveland Browns as they prepare to host the Steelers Sunday. The Tampa Bay Lightning are still scuffling as they get ready to face off against the Penguins Tuesday night. Pitt’s success is getting the attention of oddsmakers....
Tight end Eric Ebron staying silent about reduced role in Steelers offense
Keeping quiet never has been easy for Eric Ebron, not in the best of times and certainly not in the worst. The Pittsburgh Steelers tight end has taken veiled shots at former NFL employers in the past, and he has verbally jousted with critics on social media. Ebron, though, has...
First Call: Steelers OLB Melvin Ingram reportedly subject of trade talks; T.J. Watt fined for punches at ball in Seattle game
Monday’s “First Call” features a Steelers trade rumor, a fine for T.J. Watt, a sack for Bud Dupree and World Series gambling odds with a Pittsburgh twist. Already on the way out? The NFL trade deadline is Nov. 2, and Melvin Ingram may be one on the move. NFL Network...
