Steelers Observe Patrick Mahomes' Pro Day
- Cognizant that Ben Roethlisberger isn’t going to be around forever, the Steelers have made it known that they’ll consider drafting a potential long-term successor this year. That could be Texas Tech’s Patrick Mahomes, whom the Steelers observed Friday at his pro day. Pittsburgh sent “at least one” representative to watch Mahomes, writes Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com.
Reinstatement Likely For Martavis Bryant
It appears Steelers wide receiver Martavis’ Bryant year-plus suspension is on the verge of ending. Those close to Bryant are “confident” the league will reinstate him soon, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (via Chris Wesseling of NFL.com). The Steelers are also optimistic, reports the NFL Network’s Aditi Kinkhabwala, who tweets that there’s “legit hope” Bryant will be back in the fold when the team begins offseason workouts April 17.
The league banned Bryant last March after he missed multiple drug tests. Bryant previously sat four games in 2015 for marijuana usage, meaning suspensions have cost the ex-Clemson Tiger 20 contests since he entered the league as a fourth-round pick in 2014. The 25-year-old has also missed seven games while dealing with injuries, so he has only suited up 21 of a possible 48 times in the regular season.
When on the field, Bryant has been a major threat. He caught 50 passes for 765 yards and eight touchdowns in just 11 games in 2015. That came after he hauled in eight scores and averaged a ridiculous 21.1 yards per catch in 10 games as a rookie. In all, the 6-foot-4, 211-pounder has amassed 76 receptions, 14 scores and posted a 17.3 YPC. Should he gain reinstatement and rejoin the Steelers, he’d immediately become their best wideout after Antonio Brown.
Martavis Bryant Still Awaiting Reinstatement
Steelers wide receiver Martavis Bryant has not been reinstated from suspension yet, NFL sources tell Aaron Wilson of The Houston Chronicle (on Twitter). There’s no indication of when reinstatement will occur, but Wilson hears it is still expected to happen eventually. 
[RELATED: Steelers Notes: Roethlisberger, Needs]
Bryant is currently in the midst of his second career suspension as an NFL player. In 2015, he served a four-game ban for multiple substance abuse violations. This time around, Bryant was sidelined by the league for missing multiple missed drug tests. Initially, the 25-year-old considered appealing the ban, but he decided against it and eventually entered rehab for depression issues.
In a statement from last March, the Steelers said that Bryant would have to make “significant changes…in his personal life if he wants to regain his career as a Pittsburgh Steeler.”
The ex-Clemson Tiger caught 50 passes for 765 yards and eight touchdowns in just 11 games in 2015. All told, Bryant has totaled 76 receptions with 14 touchdowns and a 17.3 YPC average in 21 games.
Steelers Notes: Roethlisberger, Needs
- Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger has mulled retirement this offseason, but it seems the 35-year-old will play in 2017. Roethlisberger said earlier this month he’s “leaning towards” continuing his career, and head coach Mike Tomlin revealed Monday the two have had “pretty fluid conversation” about the Steelers’ offseason moves (via Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com).
- Tomlin also laid out Monday what the Steelers’ main needs are entering the draft, telling Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that they must add pass rushers and defensive backs who can play man coverage. “Our inability to play man-to-man effectively and our inability to apply pressure on the quarterback without blitzing were issues in that game,” Tomlin said of the Steelers’ 36-17 loss to the Patriots in the AFC title game, in which Tom Brady completed 32 of 42 passes for 384 yards and three touchdowns.
Steelers Notes: Linebackers, Bell
- Pittsburgh took a serious run at inside linebacker Dont’a Hightower in free agency before he re-signed with the Patriots, which Steelers general manager Kevin Colbert addressed Sunday. “We made an attempt (to sign Hightower). It didn’t work. We’re fine, we move on,” said Colbert (via Joe Rutter of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review). The Steelers also lost stalwart ILB Lawrence Timmons in free agency, though Colbert insists that they’re “very confident” that Vince Williams is capable of stepping up in the wake of Timmons’ departure. Williams has only started six games since an 11-start rookie campaign in 2013, though, and played just 25.7 percent of the Steelers’ defensive snaps last season. It “remains to be seen” if the 27-year-old has what it takes to be a three-down player, offered Colbert.
- A far more prominent member of the Steelers, running back Le’Veon Bell, is entering a contract year as the team’s franchise player. Long-term negotiations between the two sides will ramp up after the draft, per Rutter. “It will be a very complicated type of deal,” said Colbert, who added that locking up Bell “always has been our goal.” The leaguewide deadline to re-up franchise tag recipients to multiyear pacts is July 15, which will give the Steelers two-plus months to get a deal done with Bell if they take a post-draft approach.
Steelers Could Look For QB In Draft
- Although the Steelers are proceeding as if veteran quarterback Ben Roethlisberger will return in 2017, the club is still expected to search for a long-term successor in the draft, according to Jeremy Bergman of NFL.com. “I think we’ve been in that mindset for the last several years, that’s what this business tells us to be in,” said Pittsburgh head coach Mike Tomlin. “We better start sharpening our sword in terms of evaluation of quarterbacks and what’s available to us or potentially available to us, that’s just due diligence. So yes, we have.” Steelers general manager Kevin Colbert also indicated earlier this year that his team would start to look for a Roethlisberger replacement at some point, a course of action PFR suggested when assessing Pittsburgh’s top offseason needs.
Steelers Likely Done Signing Free Agents
The Steelers weren’t overly active in the free agent market, but the mid-level signings the club did make will likely comprise the entirety of Pittsburgh’s offseason transactions. General manager Kevin Colbert told reporters, including Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (Twitter link), that the Steelers probably won’t ink any more players during the free agent period.
Pittsburgh mostly focused on internal players over the past month, as it assigned the franchise tag to running back Le’Veon Bell and extended wide receiver Antonio Brown. Additionally, the club re-signed linebackers James Harrison and Steven Johnson, quarterback Landry Jones, and tight end David Johnson. Wideout Justin Hunter, cornerback Coty Sensabaugh, running back Knile Davis, and defensive lineman Tyson Alualu represent the Steelers’ external additions.
One free agent still on the board is backup running back DeAngelo Williams, who remains unsigned more than two weeks into free agency. While Colbert didn’t intimate Williams is in the Steelers’ plans, he said the club won’t close the door on the veteran back until “[they] have to,” tweets Mark Kaboly of DKPittsburghSports.com. Williams, 34 next month, is PFR’s No. 5 free agent running back.
Because Pittsburgh didn’t do much during free agency, the team’s draft strategy hasn’t been affected by additions, per Colbert (Twitter link via Dulac). PFR pointed to the pass rush and cornerback as areas of need when assessing the Steelers’ potential offseason plans earlier this year.
Steelers Interested In Josh Jones
- Scouts view North Carolina State safety Josh Jones as a top-50 pick, according to Pauline, and a number of clubs have already expressed interest. Jones has worked out for the Jaguars and will meet with the Cardinals, Steelers, Ravens, Dolphins, and Jets. While Mel Kiper Jr. of ESPN.com ranks Jones as just the seventh-best safety on the board, Daniel Jeremiah of NFL.com places Jones within his top-50 players (No. 48).
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Steelers Meet With Davis Webb
Multiple clubs have informed Cal quarterback Davis Webb they view him as a “first-round talent,” tweets Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle. Jason Cole of Bleacher Report indicated earlier this week that Webb could be selected in the first round, and noted as many as five clubs had expressed interest in the 6’5″ signal-caller. That number has now grown to 12, per Branch, and Webb has met with the Cardinals and Steelers, according to Tony Pauline of DraftAnalyst.com.
Steelers Offered Hightower More Than Pats
- Dont’a Hightower agreed to take less money from the Patriots than he would have gotten from the Jets as a UFA, but the Steelers also offered the linebacker a better deal, Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports reports. Pittsburgh offered the sixth-year linebacker a deal that would have paid him more then $9MM per year. He signed to stay with the Patriots for $8.7MM AAV. However, both the Steelers and Jets were concerned with Hightower’s health. This led to the Jets pulling their offer after Hightower’s physical. La Canfora adds the Jets and Steelers felt they were being used as leverage during this process.