HEADLINES

Pittsburgh Steelers News & Rumors

Ben Roethlisberger To Continue Playing Beyond 2021?

May 2nd, 2019 at 7:53pm CST by Rory Parks

The Steelers recently inked quarterback Ben Roethlisberger to a lucrative contract extension that will keep him under club control through 2021. At the time, GM Kevin Colbert said that the contract would likely be Big Ben’s last.

That jibed with the sentiments that Colbert expressed earlier this year when he first indicated that he was exploring a new deal for his star quarterback. But now he’s suggesting that he would be open to keeping Roethlisberger around in 2022 — which would be Roethlisberger’s age-40 season — and beyond.

Colbert said (via Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk), “I know [Roethlisberger] doesn’t have an expiration date. We just felt that [the extension] was a foreseeable future that we were able to do, and he was agreeable to. But I’m sure that he doesn’t have an expiration date. I know that he’s still very competitive. He still wants to do this at a high level.”

Of course, Tom Brady will be 42 before the season starts, Drew Brees will play his age-40 season this year, and Peyton Manning was almost 40 when he played his last game. Although those future Hall-of-Famers have not absorbed as many hits as Roethlisberger throughout their careers, they have shown that geriatric signal-callers have plenty to offer.

Colbert added, “What [Roethlisberger] wants is more Super Bowls. And he wants to continue to try to win, and we’re gonna support that. And that was a big part of why we were willing to do what we did, and now it’s our job to help him help us get there.”

Minor NFL Transactions: 5/1/19

May 1st, 2019 at 7:31pm CST by Dallas Robinson

Today’s minor moves:

Cleveland Browns

  • Waived: G David Bright

Jacksonville Jaguars

Los Angeles Rams

Miami Dolphins

Philadelphia Eagles

Pittsburgh Steelers

  • Signed: S P.J. Locke (undrafted college free agent)

Seattle Seahawks

  • Waived: OL Marcus Henry

Steelers To Decline CB Artie Burns’ Option

May 1st, 2019 at 6:33pm CST by Dallas Robinson

The Steelers are not expected to exercise cornerback Artie Burns‘ fifth-year option for the 2020 season, as Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com tweets.

[RELATED: 2020 Fifth-Year Option Decision Tracker]

Burns turns 24 years old today, so Pittsburgh’s decision comes as an unwelcome birthday present. Had the Steelers opted to pick up his option, Burns would have been scheduled to earn $9.954MM in 2020, but that total would have guaranteed for injury only. If Burns had remained healthy but underwhelmed with his play during the upcoming season, Pittsburgh could have cut bait with no financial ramifications.

The 25th pick of the 2016 draft, Burns started 25 games during his first two years with the Steelers, posting four total interceptions during that time. Things fell apart in 2018, as Burns was benched multiple times and ultimately started only six contests. Football Outsiders charted Burns with just a 42% success rate in coverage, which would have ranked him in the bottom-third of the league had he posted enough snaps to qualify.

Burns isn’t necessarily a lock for the Steelers’ 2019 roster, as the club would incur only ~$1.3MM in dead money by waiving him in the coming months. If he does return, Burns is likely to be buried on Pittsburgh’s secondary depth chart. Joe Haden, Mike Hilton, and free agent addition Steven Nelson project as the Steelers’ starting corners, while 2017 third-round pick Cameron Sutton and rookie third-rounder Justin Layne will also compete for snaps.

Steelers Place Ryan Shazier On PUP List

April 29th, 2019 at 12:41pm CST by Zachary Links

On Monday, the Steelers officially placed Ryan Shazier on Reserve/Physically Unable to Perform List. By taking this step, the Steelers will ensure that Ryan Shazier will continue to collect his salary for the 2019 season. For cap purposes, he’ll count for $473K against the books. 

Shazier has remained steadfast in his insistence that he wants to return to the field one day, but it won’t be in 2019. The Steelers, meanwhile, are doing right by the linebacker, who was lauded for his leadership and on-field abilities before a devastating injury suffered in 2017.

The former first-round pick out of Ohio State tallied 68 tackles and 11 pass defenses before he was nearly paralyzed in 2017. He also earned a Pro Bowl selection despite playing in only 12 games. Prior to that, he logged 55 tackles in each of the previous two seasons.

“We will continue to support Ryan’s efforts to return to play,” Steelers GM Kevin Colbert said in a statement earlier this offseason. “Although he won’t be able to help us on the field in 2019, his leadership, insight, and emotional support have always been very valuable to us, and we look forward to his contributions in our pursuit of a championship.”

Steelers Sign 10 UDFAs

April 27th, 2019 at 7:39pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

Now that the NFL draft is over, teams are beginning to sign undrafted free agents. As teams officially announce their entire UDFA classes, we’ll be posting them. The Steelers became the first team to make such an announcement, inking a crop of ten players:

The Steelers didn’t sign any of the biggest names available, but a few of the signings are notable. McMillan spent the first three years of his career at Virginia Tech before transferring to Colorado, and he had a very productive senior season. Last year he carried the ball 201 times for 1,009 yards and seven touchdowns. The last Colorado running back to sign as an undrafted free agent was Phillip Lindsay, and he ended up making the Pro Bowl. McMillan will be competing for a backup spot behind James Conner.

Wright is the all-time career points leader at UCF. The Steelers signing a kicker is notable because Chris Boswell struggled mightily last season. Boswell had been widely regarded as one of the league’s best kickers, but he collapsed last year. There was talk of the Steelers replacing Boswell mid-season during the 2018 campaign, and Wright should have a legitimate shot at unseating him in training camp.

Steelers Release LB Jon Bostic

April 27th, 2019 at 6:55pm CST by Andrew Ortenberg

Right after the draft ended, the Steelers made a signifiant move. Pittsburgh is releasing linebacker Jon Bostic, the team announced in a tweet.

Bostic signed a two-year, $4MM deal with the team last March, but was unable to make it all the way through the pact. The Steelers traded up to draft inside linebacker Devin Bush from Michigan, which meant they no longer had any need for Bostic. After Ryan Shazier suffered his horrific injury during the 2017 season, inside linebacker became a huge need for the Steelers. They signed Bostic last offseason hoping he would be able to help vill the void, but things didn’t work out.

Bostic appeared in all 16 games last season and started 14, but he fell out of favor with the coaching staff down the stretch. The journeyman had said back in February he was hoping to stay in Pittsburgh in 2019 even with his reduced role. The Steelers wanted to address the position more permanently, and made the move up to get Bush.

Last year Bostic had 73 tackles, 2.5 sacks, and three passes defended while earning average marks from Pro Football Focus. Wherever he ends up signing next, it’ll be his fifth team. Bostic was originally drafted in the second round by the Bears back in 2013, but has bounced around ever since. He’s spent time with Chicago, New England, Detroit, and Indianapolis, and always seems to end up starting games while underwhelming.

Still only 27, he should resurface somewhere else before too long. Ever since Shazier went down, Pittsburgh’s run defense has been very vulnerable. They moved up to the tenth overall pick in order to get Bush, and the hope is he’ll stabilize things for the foreseeable future.

As for the financial implications, Mark Kaboly of The Athletic tweets that the Steelers will save $1.8MM in cash by cutting Bostic. There will be $700K of dead money, so they’ll only save $1.1MM against the cap. Kaboly points out that the Steelers now have a whopping $26.5MM of cap space committed to players not currently on the roster.

Steelers GM: Likely Big Ben’s Last Deal

April 26th, 2019 at 11:59am CST by Zachary Links

This week, Ben Roethlisberger inked a lucrative new extension with the Steelers to take him through the 2021 season. This deal, GM Kevin Colbert says, will likely be his last (Twitter link via Aditi Kinkhabwala of NFL.com). 

This doesn’t come as a huge surprise – Roethlisberger celebrated his 37th birthday in March and the new pact will take him through his age-39 campaign. Roethlisberger has flirted with retirement a few times in the past, so it was never expected that he would plan for the Tom Brady route.

Even in his old age, Big Ben remains effective. He’s also healthier than he has been in the past. Roethlisberger started all 16 games last year, marking his first perfect attendance campaign since 2014.

This year, Big Ben will seek to prove that he can conquer both father time and the absence of star wide receiver Antonio Brown. There’s plenty of reason to believe that he can pull it off – he finished fourth in Total QBR and eighth in adjusted net yards per attempt last season, even though the Steelers fell just shy of the playoffs.

Steelers Acquire No. 10 From Broncos

April 25th, 2019 at 8:27pm CST by Ben Levine

We have a trade! The Broncos have traded the No. 10 pick to the Steelers, reports Ross Tucker of The Athletic (via Twitter). Pittsburgh has used the pick to select Michigan linebacker Devin Bush.

In exchange for the 10th-overall pick, the Broncos acquired three draft selections. ESPN’s Field Yates tweets that the Steelers will send Denver No. 20, No. 52, and a 2020 third-rounder.

Bush will provide the Steelers with a talented three-down linebacker who they can immediately insert into their starting lineup. Bush has shown an ability to thrive in both man-to-man and zone coverage, and he also flashed some pass-rushing prowess during his tenure at Michigan. The 20-year-old followed up a breakout 2017 campaign with another impressive season in 2018. Bush ultimately finished the year having compiled 41 tackles, 8.5 tackles for loss, and 4.5 sacks.

The Steelers currently have two former first-rounders, T.J. Watt and Bud Dupree, slotted in as starting linebackers. Bush will likely occupy one of the two inside spots alongside either Vince Williams or free agent addition Mark Barron.

Despite the offseason addition of veteran Joe Flacco, there were whispers that the Broncos could end up selecting a quarterback with the 10th pick. The team could still end up taking a signal-caller at No. 20, where a number of prospects should still be available. Either way, the trade allows the team to add some much needed depth.

Devin Bush Out Of Steelers' Reach?

April 25th, 2019 at 4:26pm CST by Sam Robinson
  • The Steelers made calls about possibly trading up for a defender, but they may be resigned to the fact they will not be able to add one of their targets. They do not view Bush as an attainable player, per JLC (on Twitter). With the Broncos linked to Bush at 10, the Steelers would have to likely jump at least 11 draft slots to be in strong position to land the Michigan linebacker prospect.
Load More Posts