Steelers Not Bringing Back RB Coach James Saxon
More changes are coming to the Steelers’ coaching staff. After they announced a few days ago they wouldn’t be bringing back linebackers coach Joey Porter, the team announced in a tweet they weren’t retaining running backs coach James Saxon. 
Steelers coach Mike Tomlin is shaking up his staff after a disappointing season where Pittsburgh missed the playoffs and the team became embroiled in internal drama. While Tomlin’s job is safe, he’s clearly starting to feel a little bit of heat as things seem to be falling apart in Pittsburgh.
After going one and done in the playoffs last season, the team didn’t bring back offensive coordinator Todd Haley. Now the team is letting go multiple assistant coaches, and it’s definitely possible they aren’t done. After the announcement about Porter, Mike Florio of ProFootballTalk.com, wrote that it felt “like a warning shot” to Tomlin from ownership, and that the decision on his assistant coaches might not be his.
Steelers offensive line coach Mike Munchak is reportedly the early favorite for the Broncos’ head coaching job, so next year’s Steelers coaching staff could look radically different. The team is reportedly set to trade Antonio Brown, so it looks like an offseason of change for Pittsburgh.
NFL Reserve/Futures Contracts: 1/6/19
Here are the latest reserve/futures contract signings from around the NFL. These deals will go into effect on the first day of the 2019 league year, with players joining their respective clubs’ offseason 90-man rosters:
Chicago Bears
- LB Jameer Thurman
New York Jets
- DB Tevaughn Campbell
- DL Charles Tapper
Pittsburgh Steelers
- LB Tegray Scales
- WR Diontae Spencer
Steelers Expected To Trade Antonio Brown By March?
Not only will the Steelers be entertaining trade offers for Antonio Brown, but ESPN’s Chris Mortensen expects Brown to be dealt by the first week of March (video link). Mortensen says the star wideout has ignored phone calls from ownership and from head coach Mike Tomlin, and while he has had some communication with support staff, it looks as though he is trying to separate himself from Pittsburgh.
Brown is due a $2.5MM roster bonus when the new league year begins in March, and Mortensen believes the Steelers will trade Brown before they have to pay that bonus. While Brown’s significant salary cap hit has been cited as a deterrent to such a trade, Mortensen observes that the Steelers will be credited with $14.5MM towards the 2019 cap because of the Le’Veon Bell situation, and if the team extends quarterback Ben Roethlisberger as expected, that could open up more cap space.
Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com tweets that one NFL GM believes Brown will not be traded and that the Steelers will be able to resolve their differences with him. But if that does not happen, Pittsburgh may have enough cap flexibility to make a trade feasible.
The Steelers are said to be seeking at least a first-round pick in exchange for the increasingly-mercurial Brown.
Steelers Expected To Extend Roethlisberger
Ben Roethlisberger will be entering the final season of his contract in 2019, but it sounds like the Steelers quarterback may be sticking around for longer than that. ESPN’s Adam Schefter reports (via Twitter) that the Steelers and Roethlisberger are expected to “restructure and extend” the quarterback’s deal prior to the beginning of the league year on March 13th.
In recent years, there have seemingly been whispers every offseason that the 36-year-old Roethlisberger could decide to hang up his cleats, although the veteran has hinted that he’s open to playing beyond his current contract. The Steelers did use a third-round pick on Oklahoma State quarterback Mason Rudolph in this past year’s draft, but that wouldn’t necessarily prevent Roethlisberger from playing another handful of seasons. ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler notes that team president Art Rooney II previously said that he’d like to ink Roethlisberger to one more contract.
Despite being up there in age, the veteran quarterback set career-highs in completions (452), pass attempts (675), passing yards (5,129), and touchdowns (34) this past season. Roethlisberger has taken an absolute beating throughout his career, and his 24 sacks in 2018 was his highest total since 2014. Still, the signal-caller managed to play in all 16 games for the first time since (of course) 2014.
The quarterback signed an extension with Pittsburgh back in 2015, and he’s set to have a cap charges of $23.2MM. As Schefter notes, an extension could open up some extra cap space for the Steelers, perhaps making an Antonio Brown trade more tolerable.
Steelers Will Consider Trade Offers For WR Antonio Brown
While there are some clear financial hurdles to overcome, the Steelers will be listening to offers for Antonio Brown this offseason. NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport reports that the organization is “expected to consider trade requests” for their star wide receiver prior to the start of free agency.
As our own Zach Links previously detailed, the Steelers may be a bit wary of trading or cutting Brown due to the impending financial implications. Thanks in part to the $19MM signing bonus he received in his four-year, $68MM extension and the $12.96MM restructuring bonus he later secured, cutting or trading Brown would result in a $21.12MM cap charge for 2019.
However, as Rapoport points out, the Steelers could see some slight savings if they trade Brown prior to the third day of the league year. The receiver is due a $2.5MM roster bonus on that date, and trading Brown would save the team $1MM in cap savings. Furthermore, the team would also see around $15MM in “cash savings.”
Of course, the Steelers aren’t simply looking to give Brown away. Rapoport writes that several team executives believe the asking price is a first-round pick, while others believe it’d take “multiple high picks” in order to pry him away from Pittsburgh. On the flip side, other source told Rapoport that they wouldn’t be surprised if the organization somehow remedies the situation, leading to the receiver sticking with the Steelers in 2019.
Following his curious behavior leading up to a crucial Week 17, there have been conflicting reports about whether Brown requested a trade out of Pittsburgh. If the 30-year-old is indeed on his way out, the Steelers surely won’t be lacking for suitors. While it was a “down year” by his standards, Brown still finished the campaign with 104 receptions for 1,297 yards and a league-leading 15 touchdown receptions.
Steelers Not Bringing Back LB Coach Joey Porter
Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin announced the team will not be renewing outside linebackers coach Joey Porter‘s contract, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler writes. 
“I have informed outside linebackers coach Joey Porter that we will not renew his contract,” Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said in a statement. “These are difficult decisions when it comes to someone like Joey who has meant a lot to this organization as both a player and coach. I want to thank Joey for his coaching efforts over the past five years on our defensive staff. We wish him the best in his future coaching career.”
On the surface, the move seems like an odd one, seeing how the Steelers led the league in sacks in each of the past two seasons and finished third in 2015, Porter’s first year on the job. One possible explanation is the move could’ve come from above Mike Tomlin, with an ownership looking to send a message, according to Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio.
Florio notes that nowhere in Tomlin’s statement does the coach say that he initiated the move and cites Bruce Arians’ retirement in 2012 as precedent for such a move.
However, Porter has been a distraction off the field during his tenure. In 2017, the former Steelers linebacker was arrested for public drunkenness and assault, but the charges were dropped. In the past postseason, he also got into it with cornerback Adam Jones during a game.
Latest On Antonio Brown, Steelers
Antonio Brown‘s Week 17 blowup at practice may have been triggered by JuJu Smith-Schuster being voted as the team MVP by Steelers players, Albert Breer of The MMQB hears. The ugly blowup has led to conflicting reports on whether Brown wants to be traded and has teammates questioning his commitment to the organization. 
Whether Brown wants out or not may be immaterial. The Steelers, by all accounts, do not want to trade their star wide receiver, and moving on from him would be an expensive proposition.
Thanks to the $19MM signing bonus he received in his four-year, $68MM extension and the $12.96MM restructuring bonus he later secured, cutting or trading Brown would result in a $21.12MM cap charge in 2019. In theory, a rival club could blow the Steelers away with an offer, but it would set a bad precedent for the team and they would still be facing a future without one of the NFL’s most deadly weapons.
Brown’s 2018 stats were not as gaudy as they were in past years, but the attention paid to him clearly benefitted Smith-Schuster. The youngster took a huge step forward this past season as he averaged 89.1 yards per contest and reeled in 1,426 yards in total. His 1,400+ yards topped Brown’s total (1,297), making it the first time Brown has not led the Steelers in receiving since 2012.
NFL Workout Updates: 1/3/19
Today’s workout updates, all courtesy of veteran NFL reporter Howard Balzer (on Twitter):
Chicago Bears
- T Dakoda Shepley; G Ethan Cooper; LB Sam Eguavoen; K Ty Long
Detroit Lions
- DEs Avery Ellis, Tony Nelson; LB Sam Eguavoen
Green Bay Packers
- WR Devin Smith
Houston Texans
Indianapolis Colts
- QBs Jon Jennings, Bo Levi Mitchell; WRs Sammie Coates, Greg Ward, Taj Williams; T Dakoda Shepley; LBs Sam Eguavoen, Jameer Thurman
Kansas City Chiefs
- DTs Henry Mondeaux, Cavon Walker; CB DeAndre Elliott
Los Angeles Chargers
- LB Alex Singleton; LS Tanner Carew; K Ty Long; P Shane Tripucka
New England Patriots
- WR Jordan Williams-Lambert
New Orleans Saints
- DE Geneo Grissom; LB Lorenzo Mauldin
New York Jets
- WR Stacy Coley; DE Charles Tapper
Pittsburgh Steelers
- RBs Terry Swanson, Malik Williams; WR Diontae Spencer
Seattle Seahawks
NFL Reserve/Futures Contracts: 1/3/19
Here are the latest reserve/futures contract signings from around the NFL. These deals will go into effect on the first day of the 2019 league year, with players joining their respective clubs’ offseason 90-man rosters:
Baltimore Ravens
- LB Ejuan Price
- LB Matthew Thomas
Detroit Lions
Pittsburgh Steelers
- QB Brogan Roback
- WR Ka’Raun White
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
- DE Hunter Dimick
- LB Corey Nelson
Washington Redskins
Latest On Antonio Brown, Steelers
Not only did the Steelers produce a six-Pro Bowler team that just missed the playoffs, they are dealing with another soap opera-esque plot development involving a superstar player. Antonio Brown has been unhappy for a while, according to ESPN.com’s Jeremy Fowler, and a Steelers source informed him the situation has “gotten worse” in 2018.
Reports Brown went AWOL on the Steelers last week have now led to teammates doubting if he was legitimately injured. Some, per NFL.com’s Aditi Kinkabwala (on Twitter), are skeptical. Mike Tomlin said the Steelers ordered a Brown MRI because of knee pain but that the All-Pro wide receiver did not show up for the exam. This has ignited Brown trade rumors, and players from other teams are making pitches.
As for a trade scenario, the Steelers would eat a $21MM dead-money hit in 2019 by shipping Brown elsewhere. This cap hit could be spread over multiple years if a deal occurs after June 1. As Tom Pelissero of NFL.com points out (via Twitter), no cap ramifications exist after 2019 — barring a post-June 1 trade — but the issue of trading the best player on the team may pose a problem for Pittsburgh’s high-powered offense. The Steelers, who frequently put money on future caps via restructures, have $28MM-plus in projected 2019 cap space.
One Steelers source’s working theory about Brown’s Week 17 actions is forcing JuJu Smith-Schuster, who was voted team MVP, to act as Pittsburgh’s top receiver, per Fowler. Smith-Schuster took a major leap forward this season, his receiving average shooting up from 65.5 yards per game to 89.1 per contest. Smith Schuster’s 1,426 yards topped Brown’s total (1,297), making it the first time Brown has not led the Steelers in receiving since 2012.
Brown still made the Pro Bowl and remains an elite pass-catcher, commanding top attention from defenses and creating better matchups for his younger sidekick. Fowler adds Brown was not happy Ben Roethlisberger — the target of his latest outburst — criticized his route-running after a November loss to the Broncos.
This century, the Steelers have only made substantial long-term wide receiver commitments to Brown and Hines Ward, reaching trade agreements to unload other talented receivers and letting other capable starters walk in free agency. Brown, 31 in July, has not requested a trade. Three more seasons remaining on the four-year, $68MM extension Brown signed during the 2017 offseason. Smith-Schuster cannot be extended until after the 2019 season.
Tomlin said Drew Rosenhaus’ Sunday-morning update his client was ready to play against the Bengals — despite leaving practice and missing Saturday Steeler activities — did not go over well with him. The 12th-year Pittsburgh coach told the high-powered agent Brown playing Sunday was off the table. Tomlin did meet with Brown on Sunday morning, per Mark Kaboly of The Athletic (subscription required), but hasn’t met with him since.
Defensive end Cameron Heyward also criticized Brown’s actions, calling them “unacceptable,” while indicating the Steelers still want Brown on the team. Linemen’s responses to the Le’Veon Bell drama affected the Steelers earlier this year, and Bell is on his way to free agency.