HEADLINES

Pittsburgh Steelers News & Rumors

Steelers Looking For Upgrades

November 2nd, 2021 at 11:03am CST by Zachary Links

The Steelers kicked off deadline day by trading Melvin Ingram to the Chiefs. However, there could still be more trades to come. The Steelers are looking to make more deals with an eye on improving their outlook for 2021, according to sources who spoke with NFL.com’s Aditi Kinkhabwala (Twitter link).

[RELATED: Steelers Trade Ingram To Chiefs]

The Steelers are mainly focused on finding defensive line help, Kinkhabwala hears. Ingram could have been useful at defensive end, but the Steelers couldn’t carve out enough playing time to satisfy the veteran. In any event, they could use some additional DL support while Stephon Tuitt continues to rehab from his knee injury. The Steelers are also without defensive tackle Carlos Davis, who was parked on injured reserve last week.

Ingram’s departure also leaves the Steelers with a need at OLB. As it stands, starters T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith have only one true backstop in former Broncos seventh-rounder Derrek Tuszka. Then again, newly promoted edge rusher Taco Charlton could help on that front.

The Steelers may have missed out on Whitney Mercilus earlier this month, but they could be hours away from bolstering their front seven. As of this writing, Kevin Colbert & Co. have less than four hours to get a deal done.

Steelers Trade Melvin Ingram To Chiefs

November 2nd, 2021 at 9:04am CST by Zachary Links

The Steelers have agreed to trade edge rusher Melvin Ingram to the Chiefs (Twitter link via NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport). In exchange, Kansas City will send a sixth-round pick to Pittsburgh. The deal is now official, per a press release from the Steelers. 

The Chiefs made an offer on Ingram late last week, following a one-sided loss to the Titans. Even with Frank Clark and Chris Jones back on the field, the Chiefs clearly needed to bolster their pass rush. They’ve done just that by acquiring Ingram, a proven vet who was eager for a change of scenery.

So far this year, Ingram has ten tackles, one pass defensed, and one sack across six games. Those numbers don’t exactly jump off of the screen, but he’s been healthy, and that’s good news after his injury-riddled 2020. Ingram’s knee kept him to just seven games with the Bolts last year. Before that, he saw three straight Pro Bowl nods from 2017-2019.

The Chiefs met with Ingram in the early part of the offseason but passed on their opportunity to sign him. In other words, they could have had the 32-year-old on a similar deal without coughing up a draft pick. Still, it’s only a sixth-round choice, so the Chiefs haven’t depleted their stockpile too badly.

Ingram will make his debut on Sunday when the Chiefs host the Packers at Arrowhead Stadium.

Minor NFL Transactions: 10/30/21

October 30th, 2021 at 4:59pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here is the Week 8 Saturday minor move blitz:

Atlanta Falcons

Buffalo Bills

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Cincinnati Bengals

Cleveland Browns

Denver Broncos

Detroit Lions

Houston Texans

Los Angeles Rams

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

New York Jets 

Philadelphia Eagles

Pittsburgh Steelers

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

Washington Football Team

Chiefs Send Steelers Melvin Ingram Offer

October 28th, 2021 at 10:51am CST by Sam Robinson

Melvin Ingram visited the Chiefs in March, but the defending AFC champions passed. This led Ingram to Pittsburgh. Months later, the veteran edge rusher is back on Kansas City’s radar.

Mentioned as a team monitoring Ingram, the Chiefs have now made an offer for the 10th-year pass rusher, NFL.com’s Aditi Kinkhabwala reports (on Twitter). Ingram wants to be traded, after seeing the Steelers reduce his playing time.

As is generally the case involving trades of notable performers, the Steelers do not want to send Ingram to a team in the conference, Kinkhabwala adds. The former Pro Bowl sack artist being on the block is certainly notable, as NFC teams assess their pass-rushing stables ahead of the Nov. 2 trade deadline, but the Chiefs certainly could use whatever defensive help they can find.

Kansas City’s defense has taken a significant step back this season. The Chiefs rank 28th in total defense and last in sacks, having registered just eight. Despite Chris Jones and Frank Clark playing together for the first time since Week 2, the Chiefs could not stop the Titans in a blowout Week 7 loss. Clark, who was arrested twice on gun charges this offseason, has yet to register a sack in his third year with the Chiefs. Kansas City, which has won five straight AFC West titles, is 3-4 and looking up at the Raiders and Chargers in a suddenly competitive division.

Ingram has one sack and six quarterback hits on his 2021 resume. While the former first-round pick is a bit removed from his peak, he could conceivably help a team as a complementary rusher. The Steelers have moved toward Alex Highsmith as T.J. Watt‘s primary sidekick and played Ingram on only 26% of their defensive snaps in Week 6. This was down from 60% in Week 5. Money is not a major issue here, as Ingram is attached to just a $1.075MM base salary. But the Steelers (3-3) are not exactly out of contention. Would they deal away cheap pass-rushing depth?

This Chiefs regime obviously knows Ingram well from his Chargers days. Working alongside Joey Bosa, Ingram made three straight Pro Bowls from 2017-19 and recorded 43 sacks from 2015-19. That led the Bolts to give him a big-ticket extension in 2017. After giving Bosa a record-setting re-up last year, the Chargers led Ingram walk in free agency.

NFL Practice Squad Updates: 10/27/21

October 27th, 2021 at 6:46pm CST by Ben Levine

Today’s practice squad moves:

Denver Broncos

Miami Dolphins

New England Patriots

New York Giants

Pittsburgh Steelers

Seattle Seahawks

Tennessee Titans

Washington Football Team

NFL Minor Transactions: 10/27/21

October 27th, 2021 at 6:30pm CST by Ben Levine

All of today’s minor transactions in one place:

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Detroit Lions

Houston Texans

New England Patriots

New Orleans Saints

New York Jets

Pittsburgh Steelers

San Francisco 49ers

Steelers HC Mike Tomlin Denies NCAA Speculation

October 26th, 2021 at 7:36pm CST by Ben Levine

Despite some speculation from talking heads that Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin could leave Pittsburgh for the NCAA, the head coach made it abundantly clear today that he has no interest in pivoting to college football.

“Hey guys, I don’t have time for that speculation,” Tomlin said when asked about the rumblings. “That’s a joke to me. I have one of the best jobs in all professional sports. Why would I have any interests in coaching college football? That will be the last time I address that and not only today but moving forward. Never say never — but never. OK? Anybody else have any questions about college jobs? There is not a booster with a big enough blank check.”

Mark Kaboly of The Athletic provides a great explanation of how we even got to this point. A handful of pundits had previously connected Tomlin to jobs at USC and LSU, and Kaboly opines that the whole story was a “media creation.”

As Kaboly writes, Tomlin’s connection to neither the USC job nor the LSU job made a whole lot of sense. He has no connection to the schools, he’d be taking a proverbial step back in terms of job status, and the salary improvement would be insignificant. However, even if there was no truth to the “rumors,” those whispers got loud enough to warrant a question at a press conference.

Tomlin has spent 14 years in Pittsburgh, making nine playoffs and winning one Super Bowl.

Steelers’ Melvin Ingram Drawing Interest

October 24th, 2021 at 2:33pm CST by Zachary Links

The Steelers have been receiving trade inquiries on pass rusher Melvin Ingram, according to NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport. Even though Ingram hasn’t necessarily impressed in Pittsburgh, teams are interested in adding his experience at an affordable salary. 

Another club would only have to pay Ingram the prorated portion of his $1.075MM base salary, since the Steelers have already paid his $2.925MM signing bonus. It’s not clear which teams have called on the veteran, but RapSheet notes that the Chiefs have been on the lookout for edge help. The Chiefs were also among the teams to meet with Ingram in the offseason, prior to his July deal with Pittsburgh.

The Steelers appear to be listening on Ingram, per Rapoport, a sign that a deal could come together soon. The Steelers have a little over week until the Nov. 2 trade deadline if they want to turn the 32-year-old into future draft capital.

Ingram’s knee trouble held him to just seven games for the Chargers last year. But, before that, he notched 49 career sacks en route to three straight Pro Bowls from 2017-19. He had exactly zero sacks in 2020, but Pro Football Focus gave him a solid 76.3 pass-rushing score, good for top-20 among all OLBs/DEs.

So far this year, Ingram has ten tackles, one pass defensed, and one sack across six games.

Chiefs, Steelers Pursued Whitney Mercilus

October 21st, 2021 at 9:19am CST by Sam Robinson

In adding Whitney Mercilus, the Packers scooped up another longtime Texas-stationed linebacker this month. Mercilus will join Jaylon Smith in Green Bay. As in Smith’s case, other suitors were in the mix.

Both the Chiefs and Steelers attempted to sign the former Texans edge rusher, according to Sports Talk 790’s Aaron Wilson and ESPN.com’s Jeremy Fowler (Twitter links). Mercilus considered both teams, per Wilson, but opted to sign with the Packers.

Green Bay, which is set to be without top sack artist Za’Darius Smith until at least late in the season, won a recruiting battle of sorts, with Houston still on the hook for Mercilus’ 2021 base salary. This was also the case in the Smith sweepstakes, which included Carolina and Washington making pushes. Mercilus, 31, joins Preston Smith and Rashan Gary among the Packers’ outside linebackers.

The Chiefs have been without their top two defensive linemen at various points this season. Chris Jones has missed the past two games with a wrist injury, while Frank Clark missed time earlier this season due to a hamstring injury. Clark also is facing NFL punishment at some point after being arrested on gun charges twice this offseason. Kansas City’s defense has struggled this season, recording an NFL-worst seven sacks through six games.

Mercilus would have strengthened a deep Steelers edge-rushing corps. Pittsburgh houses All-Pro T.J. Watt and second-year rusher Alex Highsmith, and the team added Melvin Ingram late this offseason. Watt and Highsmith missed time due to groin injuries this year, while Ingram was down much of last season due to injury. Pittsburgh, which has led the league in sacks in each of the past four seasons, has seen Ingram play every game this season.

A 10th-year pro, Mercilus has registered three sacks this season, doing so despite playing only 52% of the rebuilding Texans’ defensive snaps. He now has 57 sacks over the course of his career.

North Notes: Darrisaw, Carpenter, McFarland

October 17th, 2021 at 11:17am CST by Rory Parks

Let’s round up a few items from the league’s North divisions:

  • Vikings LT Christian Darrisaw, the No. 23 overall pick of this year’s draft, has undergone two procedures for a groin injury in 2021, which delayed the start to his pro career. But he saw his first snaps at the left tackle position in last week’s win over the Lions, and he will get the start there against the Panthers today, as Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press tweets. Rashod Hill had been trying to hold down the fort in Darrisaw’s absence, but he struggled, and today marks the true beginning of the Darrisaw era on the blindside.
  • The Ravens worked out free agent guard James Carpenter on Friday, as Doug Kyed of Pro Football Focus tweets. Baltimore is on the lookout for OL depth after placing rookie guard Ben Cleveland on IR earlier this week. This marks the first reported interest in Carpenter since he was released by the Falcons in March.
  • Even though the Steelers drafted RB Najee Harris in the first round of this year’s draft, 2020 draftee Anthony McFarland hoped to have a meaningful role on offense. But as Joe Rutter of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review details, McFarland sustained a torn MCL during the preseason and has been on IR ever since. He was designated for return last week, and Rutter says the Maryland product will most likely be back on the field after the Steelers’ Week 7 bye.
Load More Posts