Joe Rutter stories, Page 42
Steelers’ Najee Harris ‘advocating’ for more respect, better pay for running back position
Saquon Barkley has an ally in Najee Harris. Harris is under contract with the Pittsburgh Steelers and not in a position to hold out like Barkley, the New York Giants star running back and Penn State product who isn’t attending minicamp while trying to negotiate a long-term contract. Still, Harris...
Alex Highsmith working at Steelers minicamp, confident in new deal
Outside linebacker Alex Highsmith arrived at mandatory minicamp Tuesday minus the long-term contract he has been seeking from the Pittsburgh Steelers. He took the practice field with the rest of his teammates and was a full participant in team as well as individual drills. That was a departure from prior...
Kenny Pickett’s freedom with offense among several questions facing Steelers at minicamp
Phase 3, the final stage of offseason workouts, takes place this week for the Pittsburgh Steelers in the form of a three-day minicamp at UPMC Rooney Sports Complex. Like the nine organized team activities that preceded it, players will don shorts and helmets but no shoulder pads, and tackling is...
Safety Keanu Neal brings experience, versatility to ever-changing Steelers secondary
Two weeks into NFL free agency, and Keanu Neal was still looking for a home. A former first-round pick and eighth-year veteran, Neal was out of work and looking for a team that could use a hard-nosed safety and player capable of moving into a linebacker role in subpackage situations....
Practicing with his father watching is no big deal for Steelers rookie Joey Porter Jr.
With the Pittsburgh Steelers inviting alumni to watch organized team activities this week, former linebacker and assistant coach Joey Porter made the short drive from the North Hills to watch one player in particular Thursday morning. His son. Rookie cornerback Joey Porter Jr., the team’s first pick of the second...
Jaylen Warren looking to keep growing in role as No. 2 running back for Steelers
In terms of distance traveled, Jaylen Warren relocated about 10 feet in the Pittsburgh Steelers locker room. The distance traveled in his young NFL career over the past year, however, might be impossible to calculate. A year ago, Warren was among a handful of undrafted rookie prospects trying to earn...
Minkah Fitzpatrick’s advice to Steelers OLB Alex Highsmith on contract talks: ‘Be patient’
It was 51 weeks ago, after the Pittsburgh Steelers had entered their break prior to training camp, that they signed Minkah Fitzpatrick to a contract extension that made him the highest-paid free safety in the NFL. The signing was not unexpected because of Fitzpatrick’s value to the team. He was...
Larry Ogunjobi returned to Steelers because of ‘how they took care of me’ in 2022 season
It took three trips into free agency for Larry Ogunjobi to sign a long-term contract with an NFL team. Considering all he went through to get to that point and the way he was used last season, that made it an easy decision for the veteran defensive tackle to re-sign...
Steelers quarterbacks embrace ‘new concepts’ in Matt Canada’s offense
If anyone knows — or thought he knew — the ins and outs of Matt Canada’s offense, it’s Mason Rudolph. Rudolph, the No. 3 quarterback on the Pittsburgh Steelers depth chart, has known the offensive coordinator since 2020 when Canada spent one season as quarterbacks coach. Canada was promoted the...
As he learns Steelers system on ‘daily basis,’ Broderick Jones gaining 1st-team experience
With the third phase of the Pittsburgh Steelers offseason workouts halfway over, first-round draft pick Broderick Jones already is making his move toward becoming a starter. Dan Moore, who started at left tackle the past two seasons, confirmed this week that he has been taking snaps at right tackle. That’s...
Young cornerbacks catching Patrick Peterson’s eye as Steelers amp up offseason workouts
Patrick Peterson could be forgiven for thinking the calendar had taken a time jump two months ahead. Instead of it reading June 1, it seemed like August for Peterson. Not just because of the sweltering heat and temperature that reached 90 degrees. It also was because of the intensity he...
Jersey that Steelers’ James Harrison wore when getting 1st sack, touchdown in 2004 up for auction
The white road uniform that Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker James Harrison wore when recording his first sack and also when scoring his first NFL touchdown are up for auction. Harrison’s uniform is part of the Lelands auction house spring focus 2023 collection. The jersey has been photo-matched to the games during...
Center Mason Cole: Steelers’ line should be motivated by record, not additions
Despite improved play by the offensive line in the second half of the 2022 season, the Pittsburgh Steelers signed three free agents and used two draft picks, including their first-rounder, to fortify the position room. Center Mason Cole, whose position was the only one on the line not addressed in...
Linebacker Mark Robinson takes interception of Steelers QB Kenny Pickett in stride
Mark Robinson didn’t have to be reminded the identity of the quarterback he intercepted late in the Pittsburgh Steelers’ organized team activity session Tuesday. The second-year inside linebacker — a rare holdover at his position from his rookie season — picked off starting quarterback Kenny Pickett on an underthrown pass...
Newly signed Markus Golden accepting of role as No. 3 outside linebacker in Steelers defense
For the third year in a row, the Pittsburgh Steelers added a veteran outside linebacker on a one-year contract. Perhaps by bringing in Markus Golden during offseason workouts — as opposed to later in the summer — the organization can avoid the issues that arose in the previous two years....
New location at Steelers headquarters, but same determination for QB Mason Rudolph
If Mason Rudolph didn’t get the change of scenery he thought he might find in free agency after spending five seasons with the Pittsburgh Steelers, he certainly got it when he returned to the team’s practice facility for organized team activities. Rudolph’s locker, the one he had used every year...
Steelers hope marketing agreement leads to regular-season game in Ireland
The only time the Pittsburgh Steelers played a regular-season game outside the United States was in 2013 when they lost to the Minnesota Vikings at London’s Wembley Stadium. When that drought ends, Ireland would like to throw its hat into the ring as a host country. At a press conference...
T.J. Watt talks swimming pool slip, suiting up with new, old faces in Steelers’ position room
After missing the first day of organized team activities, T.J. Watt joined his Pittsburgh Steelers teammates for the two other scheduled workouts this week at UPMC Rooney Sports Complex. That’s probably a good thing for the seventh-year veteran and former NFL Defensive Player of the Year. As Watt showed with...
After reflecting on 12th season with Steelers, Cameron Heyward ready to tackle another year of challenges
After completing his 12th NFL season in 2022, Cameron Heyward spent considerable time in the winter thinking about the “R” word. Just not the one that immediately springs to mind when it involves a 34-year-old defensive tackle who is much closer to the end of his career than the beginning....
Signing contract extension with Steelers an ‘easy decision’ for backup QB Mitch Trubisky
Mitch Trubisky could have played out the final year of his contract and then used free agency to find a team willing to let him compete for a starting quarterback position. Instead, he accepted a two-year extension that will keep him with the Pittsburgh Steelers through 2025. “We got really...
Dan Moore, Kevin Dotson dealing with new additions to left side of Steelers offensive line
Based on two moves that were made in the offseason — one a free-agent signing, the other a first-round draft pick — the Pittsburgh Steelers showed their intention of improving the left side of their offensive line. The trickle-down effect of the Steelers signing guard Isaac Seumalo to a three-year,...
Outside linebacker Alex Highsmith ‘optimistic’ long-term contract with Steelers can be reached
As he awaits a new contract from the Pittsburgh Steelers, outside linebacker Alex Highsmith apparently has no plans to conduct a hold-in — an approach taken by teammates T.J. Watt and Minkah Fitzpatrick the past two seasons. Watt didn’t take part in team portions of practice at the 2021 training...
5 things to watch as Steelers begin organized team activities
Football — at least the version that is played in shorts and sans shoulder pads — returns for the Pittsburgh Steelers on Tuesday when they conduct the first of 10 scheduled organized team activities at UPMC Rooney Sports Complex. The workouts, which are voluntary yet heavily attended, represent the first...
Rookie linebacker Nick Herbig brings strong bloodlines, competitive spirit to Steelers
When the Pittsburgh Steelers’ draft class joins the veterans on the practice fields at UPMC Rooney Sports Complex for the start of organized team activities Tuesday, Nick Herbig will play on the same team as brother Nate for the first time since they were learning the sport in the youth...
As GM promised, Steelers finalize 3-year contract with backup QB Mitch Trubisky
One day after general manager Omar Khan said the Pittsburgh Steelers were finalizing a contract extension with veteran quarterback Mitch Trubisky, the deal became official. Trubisky and the Steelers agreed to a three-year contract that runs through the 2025 season, the team announced Friday. Trubisky, 28, was scheduled to become...

