Pittsburgh Steelers Rumors & News

Complete 2019 NFL International Pathway Program

April 19th, 2019 at 9:11am CST by Andrew Ortenberg

Moritz Boehringer is back in the NFL. The German tight end, who became the first European player ever to be drafted without playing American college football back in 2016, has been allocated to the Bengals as part of the league’s international pathway program, per Darin Gantt of ProFootballTalk.com.

Boehringer’s assignment to the Bengals completes this year’s program. Each season, teams in two divisions get a roster exemption to develop a player from another country. The player can be the 91st man on offseason rosters, and can be an 11th player on practice squads during the regular season. Boehringer was drafted by the Vikings, but spent his rookie season on the practice squad without ever appearing in a game. He came into the league as a receiver, but has since transitioned to tight end. He was with the Bengals as part of this program last year, and will be back in Cincy in 2019.

Here’s a list of the rest of the players selected to participate:

Baltimore Ravens

FB Christopher Ezeala

Buffalo Bills

RB Christian Wade

Cleveland Browns

DB Tigie Sankoh

Miami Dolphins

DT Durval Neto

New England Patriots

TE/FB Jakob Johnson

New York Jets

RB/WR/KR Valentine Holmes

Pittsburgh Steelers

TE Christian Scotland-Williamson

The AFC North participated last year, but this year the AFC East is taking the place of the NFC South. Notably, Efe Obada was a participant in the program with the Panthers last year, and he went on to make Carolina’s 53-man roster last season. He was re-signed this offseason.

Each of the players assigned to the AFC North were with those teams last year. Scotland-Williamson is a former rugby player, while Boehringer, Sankoh, and Ezeala all played American football overseas before making the leap.

All of the AFC East players are new to the program. Given the Patriots’ track record of finding hidden gems, Johnson will likely end up leading the league in receiving yards at some point. Johnson was signed from the German football league. Neto was playing football in Brazil before being added to the Dolphins. Wade and Holmes are both former prominent rugby players.

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Ben Roethlisberger Not Pressing For Contract

April 18th, 2019 at 6:21pm CST by Dallas Robinson

While other quarterbacks like Russell Wilson and Aaron Rodgers have recently campaign for new deals, Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger has not taken the same tack, as Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk writes. Roethlisberger, 37, is entering the final year of his contract: he’s due a $12MM base salary and will count for $23.2MM on Pittsburgh’s salary cap. He’s still engaged in ongoing negotiations with the Steelers, and as Florio notes, Roethlisberger would be due more than $60MM over the next two years if the franchise tag was deployed, so that could be a starting point in talks.

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Minor NFL Transactions: 4/17/19

April 17th, 2019 at 8:04pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Today’s minor moves:

Arizona Cardinals

Signed: OL Brant Weiss (Alliance of American Football)

Chicago Bears

Re-signed: CB LB Isaiah Irving, DE Roy Robertson-Harris (exclusive rights free agents)

Kansas City Chiefs

Re-signed: DB Jordan Lucas (restricted free agent)
Re-signed: K Harrison Butker, DT Justin Hamilton (ERFAs)

Los Angeles Chargers

Re-signed: CB Trevor Williams (RFA)

Los Angeles Rams

Re-signed: S Blake Countess (RFA)
Re-signed: DE Morgan Fox, DB Dominique Hatfield, WR KhaDarel Hodge, WR JoJo Natson, DB Kevin Peterson (ERFAs)

New York Giants

Re-signed: WR Corey Coleman (RFA)

Oakland Raiders

Re-signed: WR Marcell Ateman, K Daniel Carlson, T Justin Murray (ERFAs)

Pittsburgh Steelers

Re-signed: TE Xavier Grimble (RFA)

San Francisco 49ers

Re-signed: DB Greg Mabin (ERFA)

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Steelers To Host Miles Sanders

April 10th, 2019 at 11:59am CST by Dallas Robinson

Penn State running back Miles Sanders has been vaulting up draft boards (he currently ranks one spot behind Collier at No. 46 on Jeremiah’s list), and he has a busy schedule ahead of him. Sanders is scheduled to work out for/meet with the Bears, Eagles, Steelers, Ravens, Bills, Cowboys, Falcons, Titans, Bengals, Panthers, Buccaneers, and Colts. In 2018, Sanders’ only season as a starter, he posted 1,274 rushing yards and nine touchdowns on 220 attempts.

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Minor NFL Transactions: 4/9/19

April 9th, 2019 at 8:43pm CST by Ben Levine

Here are Tuesday’s minor moves:

Los Angeles Chargers

Signed: LS Cole Mazza

Philadelphia Eagles

Signed: WR Greg Ward

Pittsburgh Steelers

Signed: DL Casey Sayles (AAF)

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Steelers Host Two CBs

April 9th, 2019 at 7:47pm CST by Ben Levine

The Steelers could be eyeing a cornerback with one of their top-two picks. ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reports (via Twitter) that the team will be hosting a pair defensive back prospects this week: Georgia’s Deandre Baker and Washington’s Byron Murphy.

As Fowler points out, this isn’t necessarily an ideal scenario for the Steelers. After all, the organization selected five cornerbacks between the 2015 and 2017 draft. Furthermore, their projected starters (Joe Haden and Steven Nelson) were both acquired via free agency.

[SOURCE LINK]

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Minor NFL Transactions: 4/8/19

April 8th, 2019 at 8:58pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here are Monday’s minor moves, with more Alliance of American Football players finding NFL homes:

Carolina Panthers

Signed: TE Thomas Duarte (AAF), T Brandon Greene (AAF), WR Rashad Ross (AAF)

Dallas Cowboys

Signed: DE Shakir Soto (AAF)

Miami Dolphins

Signed: LB Tyrone Holmes (AAF)

Minnesota Vikings

Signed: DE Karter Schult (AAF)

New York Jets

Signed: WR/KR Valentine Holmes (International Player Pathway Program signee)

Oakland Raiders

Signed: WR Demornay Pierson-El (AAF)

Philadelphia Eagles

Signed: QB Luis Perez (AAF)

Pittsburgh Steelers

Signed: DT Winston Craig (AAF), LB J.T. Jones (AAF), CB Kameron Kelly (AAF)

Tennessee Titans

Signed: TE Keith Towbridge (AAF), QB Logan Woodside (AAF)

Washington Redskins

Signed: G Salesi Uhatafe (AAF)

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NFL Draft Rumors: Metcalf, Bills, Bucs

April 8th, 2019 at 12:58pm CST by Zach Links

Ole Miss wide receiver D.K. Metcalf will take a Top 30 visit with the Bills on Monday, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter). Metcalf, who boasts the most impressive physical tools of any wide receiver in this year’s class, could be an option for Buffalo with the No. 9 overall pick.

Some have knocked Metcalf for his lack of natural catching ability, but he had no trouble reeling in the ball in 2017 when he averaged 16.6 yards per catch and scored seven touchdowns for Ole Miss. There’s also some concern about Metcalf’s health, but he was cleared for all football activities in January following his October neck surgery.

Here’s a look at the latest NFL Draft buzz:

Oklahoma wide receiver Marquise “Hollywood” Brown will visit the Buccaneers on Monday, a source tells Rapoport (on Twitter). The Bucs could use another wide receiver after losing DeSean Jackson and Adam Humphries, but it’s not clear whether they’d be willing to use the No. 5 overall pick at that position.
Iowa tight end Noah Fant will visit with the Lions on Monday, Rapoport reports. Fant registered 518 receiving yards and a team-high seven touchdowns in his final campaign with the Hawkeyes. The Lions could use a player like Fant after Levine Toilolo, Luke Willson, and Michael Roberts underwhelmed last year. Recently, the Lions strengthened the TE group by adding Jesse James, but there’s still room for improvement.
Georgia cornerback Deandre Baker will get together with the Steelers, per RapSheet. Last year, Baker captured the Jim Thorpe Award as the nation’s best defensive back. But, at 5’11 and 193 pounds, Baker doesn’t offer ideal size for the position.
Washington tackle Kaleb McGary will visit with the Patriots on Monday and the Packers on Tuesday, Rapoport hears. There has been some speculation that McGary could be employed as a guard at the pro level.
The Giants are hosting Clemson defensive end Clelin Ferrell and Houston defensive tackle Ed Oliver, Rapoport hears. The Giants are armed with picks at No. 6 and 17, though one of those selections may be spent on drafting Eli Manning‘s successor.
Charlotte guard Nate Davis will take a Top 30 visit with the Bills, Rapoport hears.

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Latest On Ben Roethlisberger, Steelers

April 6th, 2019 at 4:32pm CST by Sam Robinson

Despite the Steelers and Ben Roethlisberger having been engaged in extension discussions for more than a month, no impasse between the parties exists, Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette writes. While the Steelers have spoken with Big Ben’s agent, Ryan Tollner, little dialogue has transpired between the Steelers and their 16th-year quarterback, Dulac adds. One year and $23.2MM remain on Roethlisberger’s current deal. Despite entering his age-37 season, Roethlisberger stands to take on even greater importance this coming year — considering the caliber of players the Steelers recently lost.
The Steelers are doing some research on higher-end cornerbacks in this year’s draft, hosting Rock Ya-Sin and Justin Layne on pre-draft visits Friday, Ray Fittipaldo of the Post-Gazette notes. A former Division I-FCS transfer who played just one season at Temple, the 6-foot Ya-Sin nevertheless rates as the No. 29 overall prospect on NFL.com draft analyst Daniel Jeremiah’s board. A converted wide receiver, the 6-2 Layne started two seasons as a corner at Michigan State.