Joe Rutter stories, Page 81
Report: Agent confirms that Ben Roethlisberger will be back with Steelers for 2021 season
It looks like Ben Roethlisberger will be sticking around with the Pittsburgh Steelers for another season. Agent Ryan Tollner told NFL Network on Tuesday that the Steelers want his client to return for an 18th season. Roethlisberger, who turns 39 in March, is signed through the 2021 season, but the...
Steelers coach Mike Tomlin tests positive for covid-19
Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin has tested positive for covid-19, according to an NFL Network report Monday. Tomlin tweeted Monday he is only experiencing “minimal symptoms” and is “in good health.” “I want to thank everyone who reached out to express their concern for my health,” the tweet read in...
Steelers take step toward reducing bloated salary cap figure in 2021 season
The first of what could be several contract restructures occurred Monday when the Pittsburgh Steelers reworked the contract of Pro Bowl defensive tackle Cameron Heyward. According to an NFL Network report, Heyward had most of his $10.5 million in salary for 2021 converted to a signing bonus that will be...
Staff changes just one piece of puzzle toward Steelers improving 32nd-ranked running game
The plan to correct the deficiencies in the Pittsburgh Steelers’ running game is akin to putting together a puzzle. All of the pieces must interlock and have the same message when connected properly. The puzzle was jumbled for much of the 2020 season, and the result was the worst rushing...
Salary cap decisions await Steelers, Kevin Colbert as new league year approaches
The Pittsburgh Steelers’ financial situation continued to improve this week, and for the third time this offseason, they didn’t do a single thing to make it happen. They didn’t have to cut a player or extend a contract to provide salary cap relief. With the NFL announcing an increase of...
Backup plan remains fluid for Steelers at quarterback position
Some NFL observers saw the Pittsburgh Steelers sign a former first-round draft pick last month and projected him to be an heir apparent to soon-to-be 39-year-old Ben Roethlisberger. General manager Kevin Colbert, the man responsible for offering Dwayne Haskins a futures contract, took a pragmatic approach to the signing of...
Kevin Colbert more concerned about improving Steelers than his contract status
Kevin Colbert has been working on a year-to-year basis as general manager of the Pittsburgh Steelers since he requested not to have his contract extended in July 2019. Colbert, who is 64 and has worked for the Steelers since 2000, has a deal that runs through May and the conclusion...
Steelers GM Kevin Colbert would ‘love’ to find a way to keep Bud Dupree
The Pittsburgh Steelers’ salary-cap woes are well documented, and with 18 players set to hit unrestricted free agency in a month, the roster in 2021 is bound to look vastly different than the one that lost to Cleveland in the AFC wild-card round. General manager Kevin Colbert would love to...
Kevin Colbert: Much work remains to resolve Ben Roethlisberger’s future with Steelers
Ben Roethlisberger remains the starting quarterback for the Pittsburgh Steelers. That much general manager Kevin Colbert could confirm Wednesday. The question he couldn’t answer, however, was whether Roethlisberger will remain in that role in a month. Colbert was non-committal when asked about Roethlisberger and his future with the organization. He...
Steelers hire Grady Brown to coach defensive backs
Just like the previous time Mike Tomlin hired a defensive backs coach, he is turning to a long-time college assistant. The hiring of Grady Brown became official Tuesday, the Pittsburgh Steelers announced. Brown replaces Tom Bradley, whose contract was not renewed after three seasons. Bradley joined the Steelers in 2018...
Steelers preseason opener set for Aug. 5 in Hall of Fame Game
The Hall of Fame Game, involving the Pittsburgh Steelers, officially has a date and time. The game, which was not played last year because of the coronavirus pandemic, will kick off at 8 p.m. Thursday, Aug. 5. The Steelers will play the Dallas Cowboys — the two scheduled participants from...
Late Steelers exec Bill Nunn makes history with election to Pro Football Hall of Fame
Under the guise of a reporter from Canton, Ohio, seeking an interview, the Pro Football Hall of Fame convinced Lynell Nunn to do a Zoom call a couple of weeks ago. Nunn reluctantly agreed to do the video chat – she thought a simple phone call would suffice – but...
Former Steelers guard Alan Faneca describes moment he learned of Hall of Fame selection
Alan Faneca knew for about two weeks he would be a member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s Class of 2021. Keeping that knowledge a secret might have been more difficult than pancaking a 325-pound defensive lineman. Particularly since the former Pittsburgh Steelers All-Pro guard missed the cut the...
Steelers get 2 more Hall of Fame representatives in Alan Faneca, Bill Nunn
Alan Faneca and Bill Nunn were members of the same Hall of Honor class for the Pittsburgh Steelers, so it was fitting they also received the NFL’s biggest honor together. Faneca, the former All-Pro guard, and Nunn, whose scouting and personnel career with the Steelers spanned five decades, were elected...
Penn Hills, Pitt grad Aaron Donald beats out Steelers’ T.J. Watt for AP defensive player of year award
T.J. Watt hit the defensive trifecta in 2020, leading all NFL players in sacks, quarterback hits and tackles for a loss. It wasn’t good enough, however, for Watt to win the AP NFL Defensive Player of the Year award. The fourth-year Pittsburgh Steelers outside linebacker was edged by former Penn...
Chiefs welcome back Central Catholic’s Stefen Wisniewski for Super Bowl run after brief time with Steelers
When Kansas City Chiefs center Austin Reiter learned during his Super Bowl media conference call that a Pittsburgh reporter wanted to ask a question, he anticipated the subject. And he was more than happy to talk about Stefen Wisniewski and what his return has meant to the team’s decimated offensive...
Hempfield grad Tim Jarocki makes everything run smoothly for Tampa Bay Bucs at Super Bowl
Credit for getting a team to the Super Bowl, as often is the case, is reserved for the coach and quarterback. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers, with Bruce Arians calling the shots from the sideline and Tom Brady making the calls on the field, are no exception. Behind the scenes, though,...
Emotions finally in check, Antonio Brown seeks super ending that eluded him with Steelers
The Immaculate Extension continues to live on for Antonio Brown in Tampa Bay. No, not the lean-over-the-goal-line touchdown that won a division championship for the Pittsburgh Steelers on Christmas 2016, perhaps the defining moment of Brown’s nine-year tenure wearing black-and-gold. The extension the 32-year-old Brown is experiencing these days pertains...
Former Steelers RB Le’Veon Bell doesn’t mind taking backseat for Chiefs’ Super Bowl run
Three years after last suiting up for the Pittsburgh Steelers, Le’Veon Bell continues to text and call some of his former teammates. Antonio Brown is not one of them. “We haven’t kept in contact like that,” Bell said Tuesday. They’ll be close — at least from a physical standpoint —...
Patricia Rooney, wife of late Steelers chairman, remembered as ‘pillar of strength and grace’
For the NFL’s 100th anniversary season in 2019, the NFL commissioned a documentary examining the lives of four women in influential ownership families. Titled “A Lifetime of Sundays,” it included Patricia Rooney, wife of former Pittsburgh Steelers chairman and Ambassador to Ireland Dan Rooney. It showed how each woman —...
Steelers 2021 offseason positional outlook: Inside linebackers
Editor’s note: This is Part 8 of a 12-part series breaking down the Pittsburgh Steelers at each position in the offseason. All salary cap information courtesy spotrac.com or overthecap.com: No position group on the Pittsburgh Steelers defense was hit harder by injuries than inside linebacker. Heading into the 2020 season,...
Patricia Rooney, wife of late Steelers owner Dan Rooney, dies at age 88
Patricia Rooney, the wife of late Pittsburgh Steelers chairman and Ambassador Dan Rooney, died Saturday night at her home, the team announced. She was 88. The matriarch of the Steelers, Mrs. Rooney had nine children, including Art Rooney II, the team’s president. “My family and I are mourning the passing...
Buccaneers, Chiefs head into Super Bowl littered with connections to Steelers, region
Before being pushed into “retirement” after the 2011 season, Bruce Arians enjoyed an eight-year run with the Pittsburgh Steelers, including the final five as offensive coordinator. Although Arians’ departure was turbulent, he didn’t forget the connections and friendships he made during his time with the organization. That is apparent by...
Steelers 2021 offseason positional outlook: Defensive line
Editor’s note: This is Part 7 of a 12-part series breaking down the Pittsburgh Steelers at each position in the offseason. All salary cap information courtesy spotrac.com or overthecap.com: One of the biggest questions surrounding the Pittsburgh Steelers defensive line entering the 2020 season was how well Stephon Tuitt would...
Steelers 2021 offseason positional outlook: Interior offensive line
Editor’s note: This is Part 6 of a 12-part series breaking down the Pittsburgh Steelers at each position in the offseason. All salary cap information courtesy spotrac.com or overthecap.com: Faced with an aging — and high-priced — interior of the offensive line, the Pittsburgh Steelers began preparing for the future...
