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Pittsburgh Steelers News & Rumors

Latest On Potential Minkah Fitzpatrick Extension

August 14th, 2021 at 9:21am CST by Ben Levine

Minkah Fitzpatrick won’t be getting an extension any time soon. Since the Steelers recently picked up the safety’s fifth-year option, the team “won’t extend” the player’s contract, per Ed Bouchette of The Athletic.

The fifth-year option locks in Fitzpatrick through the 2022 season, so there’s no urgency on the front office’s part to lock the player in to a long-term pact. After Fitzpatrick plays out the fourth year of his rookie pact in 2021, the defensive back will earn a fully guaranteed $10.612MM in 2022. Of course, this number could end up being irrelevant if Fitzpatrick and the organization agree to an extension next offseason.

Considering the haul Pittsburgh traded to Miami for Fitzpatrick (first-, fifth-, and sixth-round picks), the front office would surely want him in uniform for the foreseeable future. Fitzpatrick has also looked the part of a top safety during his stint in Pittsburgh. The 24-year-old earned his second-straight All-Pro nod in 2021 after tallying four interceptions, 79 total stops, and eleven passes defensed in 16 games. He also took one of those interceptions back for a pick six, giving him four career defensive TDs.

Fitzpatrick isn’t the only Steelers defensive back who’s up for an extension. We learned recently that Joe Haden was pushing for a new deal.

Minor NFL Transactions: 8/10/21

August 10th, 2021 at 6:58pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here are Tuesday’s minor moves, with the list being updated throughout the day:

Arizona Cardinals

Buffalo Bills

Carolina Panthers

  • Waived: FB Mikey Daniel

Chicago Bears

Houston Texans

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Rams

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

New York Giants

Philadelphia Eagles

Pittsburgh Steelers

  • Released from IR via injury settlement: G Anthony Coyle

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Tennessee Titans

Joe Haden Seeking Steelers Extension

August 9th, 2021 at 3:26pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Steelers’ Joe Haden partnership has worked out remarkably well. The Pro Bowl cornerback has signed two contracts with the team and has played a key role in Pittsburgh’s defensive re-emergence over the past two seasons.

Haden is going into a contract year, however, with his two-year, $22MM agreement expiring after the 2021 season. The 12th-year veteran would prefer not to test free agency, instead seeking to sign a third Steelers pact and retire with the franchise.

“I would rather have a contract more than this year because I want to end my career here,” Haden said, via The Athletic’s Mark Kaboly (subscription required). “We will see what happens, but we want to get T.J. Watt signed first, obviously. He’s the main priority.”

[RELATED: T.J. Watt Staging Hold-In]

Haden’s age (32) will complicate matters, and the Steelers do have Watt and Minkah Fitzpatrick due for monster extensions. The latter is under contract through 2022, however, via the fifth-year option the Steelers exercised in May. The team, which parted ways with several veteran starters this offseason, is due to carry more than $70MM in cap space come 2022. And the perennial contenders are fond of moving money onto future caps to increase flexibility. If the Steelers want to keep Haden, they could.

This will be Haden’s fifth season with the Steelers, and the team will count on him after making big changes at corner. Pittsburgh moved on from its other two primary corners — Mike Hilton and Steven Nelson — in March and did not acquire notable replacements. The Steelers did re-sign Cameron Sutton, but they will count on at least one unproven player to log a major workload in a Haden-led position group this year.

The former Browns first-round pick signed a three-year, $27MM deal to join the Steelers in 2017, and he returned to the Pro Bowl in 2019 — months after signing his second contract with the team. After being largely an offense-oriented team during their “Killer B’s” run, the Steelers have ranked third and first in defensive DVOA over the past two seasons. The team now faces some decisions involving the key principals from this ascent.

Minor NFL Transactions: 8/8/21

August 8th, 2021 at 8:27pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here are the latest minor moves from around the league:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Denver Broncos

Indianapolis Colts

Jacksonville Jaguars

Kansas City Chiefs

Los Angeles Chargers

New England Patriots

New York Giants

Pittsburgh Steelers

  • Signed: RB Pete Guerriero

San Francisco 49ers

Washington Football Team

  • Waived: OL Cole Boozer

T.J. Watt Staging Hold-In

August 8th, 2021 at 12:06pm CST by Rory Parks

Steelers outside linebacker T.J. Watt is staging a hold-in. Although Watt has been in attendance at training camp since it opened, he is not participating in any hitting or team drills. Defensive coordinator Keith Butler confirmed that is because Watt is waiting on a contract extension.

“I don’t blame him for [sitting out] because you don’t want to get hurt when you are trying to get your contract done; then you lose some sort of flexibility in terms of what you can sign,” Butler said (via Mark Kaboly of The Athletic). “I hope they get it done.”

The Steelers do not like to engage in contract negotiations once a season begins, which means that the club’s Week 1 matchup with the Bills on September 12 would be the deadline for finalizing a Watt extension this year. But while head coach Mike Tomlin generally eases his top players into the grind of training camp, the team still wants Watt to get involved in team activities well before the regular season opener.

Regardless of when it happens, the Steelers will need to dole out a ton of cash to keep Watt in the fold for the long haul. Kaboly expects the Wisconsin product to become the highest-paid defensive player in league history, which would mean an AAV of over $27MM with roughly $80MM in full guarantees. 

Watt’s performance to date justifies that type of expenditure. Stout against the run and pass, the 26-year-old (27 in October) graded out as Pro Football Focus’ third-best edge player last season out of 108 qualifiers. He is a three-time Pro Bowler and two-time First Team All-Pro, and he has averaged about 14 sacks a year since his sophomore campaign. Even though Pittsburgh is entering something of an organizational crossroads due to its quarterback situation, retaining Watt seems like an absolute must.

The club did add a little pass rushing support for Watt when it signed Melvin Ingram last month. Pittsburgh was also in on Justin Houston, who ultimately signed with the division-rival Ravens. Houston himself said he was very close to signing with the Steelers, but that Baltimore was his first choice (Twitter link via Jeff Zrebiec of The Athletic). Ingram, like Houston, is a complementary piece at this stage of his career, and his presence doesn’t necessarily give Pittsburgh any more leverage in Watt negotiations.

Steelers’ James Washington Requests Trade?

August 8th, 2021 at 9:54am CST by Zachary Links

Aug. 8: Head coach Mike Tomlin says that Washington has not requested a trade or expressed dissatisfaction with his role on the team, as Brian Batko of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette writes. “Those unnamed sources, we don’t react to or respond to,” Tomlin said. “James has been great here, working, and having a good camp.”

Canada expressed similar sentiments, adding that Washington has a “good role” in the offense.

Aug. 6: Steelers wide receiver James Washington has asked for a trade (Twitter link via Adam Schefter of ESPN.com). It’s not immediately clear whether the Steelers will accommodate the request.

Washington, a 2018 second-round pick, saw a jump from 38 targets as a rookie to 80 looks in 2019. Last year, however, the ball was thrown in his direction just 56 times. And, so far in training camp, Washington hasn’t been getting the kind of reps he wants.

Washington’s best year as a pro came in ’19 when he caught 44 passes for 735 yards and three touchdowns. Last year, he posted 30 grabs for 392 yards and five scores. His yards per catch average also dropped, going from 16.7 to 13.1. He’s hoping for a fresh start elsewhere, allowing him to reestablish himself as a quality deep threat.

Despite the request, recently promoted offensive coordinator Matt Canada would probably prefer to keep him in Pittsburgh. However, if the front office trades the 25-year-old, he’ll be able to move forward with JuJu Smith-Schuster, Chase Claypool, and Diontae Johnson as his top options.

Minor NFL Transactions: 8/5/21

August 5th, 2021 at 5:20pm CST by Zachary Links

We’ll keep track of today’s minor moves here:

Atlanta Falcons 

Carolina Panthers

Denver Broncos

  • Reverted to IR: OT Cody Conway

Green Bay Packers

Los Angeles Chargers

Los Angeles Rams

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

  • Waived: QB Case Cookus

New Orleans Saints

  • Waived: DE Kendall Donnerson

New York Jets

  • Reverted to IR: S Brandon White

Philadelphia Eagles

Pittsburgh Steelers

  • Reverted to IR: G Anthony Coyle

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Minor NFL Transactions: 8/4/21

August 4th, 2021 at 4:39pm CST by Sam Robinson

Here are Wednesday’s minor moves, with the list being updated throughout the day:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Buffalo Bills

Carolina Panthers

Chicago Bears

Denver Broncos

  • Signed: CB Saivion Smith
  • Waived/injured: OT Cody Conway; Conway suffered a torn ACL

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Rams

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

New York Jets

  • Waived/injured: S Brandon White

Pittsburgh Steelers

  • Placed on IR: DB DeMarkus Acy; Acy suffered a torn ACL
  • Waived/injured: OT Anthony Coyle

Steelers Not Ruling Out Ben Roethlisberger Return In 2022

August 4th, 2021 at 3:56pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

For a while this offseason, it looked like the Steelers might not bring Ben Roethlisberger back. Then they reached an agreement on a revised contract (with Roethlisberger taking a pay-cut) that would keep him in the fold for 2021, but it seemed the writing was on the wall that this would be his last go-round with Pittsburgh.

Steelers owner Art Rooney II is saying not so fast. Although Roethlisberger isn’t under contract for 2022, “it’s not written in stone that this is his last year,” Rooney told reporters at training camp, per Brooke Pryor of ESPN.com. He didn’t exactly offer a ringing endorsement of the prospect of multiple more years of Big Ben, however.

“We’re aware this could be Ben’s last year,” he said. “We hope it’s a great one. That’s as far as we can go with it right now. Obviously, if this is his last year, then next year we’ll be making decisions on a quarterback, and we’ll address it as the time comes up.” 

Perhaps the Steelers aren’t ruling out Roethlisberger coming back simply because they don’t have many other options currently. They gave Mason Rudolph a mini-extension to make him the only passer under contract for 2022, and the former third-round pick has said he hopes to start in 2022. Rudolph hasn’t looked particularly promising in his nine career NFL starts, but he hasn’t been a complete disaster either.

Beyond Rudolph, the team also has Joshua Dobbs and former Washington first-round pick Dwayne Haskins currently on the roster. Pittsburgh, of course, started off 11-0 last year before completely falling apart down the stretch as Roethlisberger and the offense struggled.

Roethlisberger looked like his arm might not have much left at times last season, but to be fair he was coming off major elbow surgery. Big Ben turned 39 in March, and it’ll be very interesting to see how much he’s got left in the tank physically when the Steelers kickoff their season Week 1 against the Bills.

Minor NFL Transactions: 8/3/21

August 3rd, 2021 at 8:58am CST by Zachary Links

We’ll keep track of today’s minor moves here:

Arizona Cardinals

Atlanta Falcons

Carolina Panthers

  • Claimed off waivers (from Texans): LB Nate Hall

Green Bay Packers

  • Signed: DT Josh Avery

Pittsburgh Steelers

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