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Pittsburgh Steelers News & Rumors

Steelers Sign Round 1 DL Derrick Harmon, Wrap Draft Class Deals

May 21st, 2025 at 5:57pm CST by Sam Robinson

Add the Steelers to the list of teams to have their first-round pick under contract. Pittsburgh agreed to terms with defensive lineman Derrick Harmon on Wednesday, NFL.com’s Tom Pelissero notes.

Harmon’s rookie pact, as the No. 21 overall pick, will run through 2028. The Steelers will have a fifth-year option on the contract, one the team must exercise by May 2028. The Oregon alum will be tied to a fully guaranteed $17.97MM deal. Harmon is the first D-lineman the Steelers have drafted in Round 1 since Cameron Heyward in 2011.

While the Steelers will pair Heyward and Harmon this season, the Oregon prospect profiles as one the team will hope anchors the D-line after Heyward retires. Two seasons remain on Heyward’s deal, though no guarantees are in place beyond 2025. Heyward is heading into his age-36 season; Harmon will not turn 22 until August.

Viewed as a clear landing spot for either Jaxson Dart or Shedeur Sanders, the Steelers instead fortified a D-line by adding a first-rounder alongside Heyward and 2023 second-rounder Keeanu Benton. The Giants were leery of the Steelers’ QB need at No. 21, but New York’s front office expected Pittsburgh to pass. This led to Big Blue trading up (via the Texans) at No. 25 for Dart, a player the Steelers are believed to have graded as a first-round talent.

Pittsburgh’s Aaron Rodgers wait has surpassed two months now, but the organization remains optimistic. The team entered the draft aiming to take its swing for a long-term QB — after missing on Kenny Pickett — in either the 2025 or ’26 drafts. The Harmon pick points such a move to 2026, as the Steelers added an extra third-round pick via the post-draft George Pickens trade with the Cowboys.

Harmon put up career-best numbers during his one season at Oregon. The Michigan State transfer posted five sacks, 11 tackles for loss and two forced fumbles, helping the Ducks to the No. 1 seed in the College Football Playoff. The 311-pounder’s quickness and power make him a menace inside the tackles, but he also showed the ability to line up outside. Although Heyward played sparingly as a rookie 14 years ago, the Steelers will likely turn to Harmon as an immediate regular along their D-line.

This signing wraps the Steelers’ draft class contracts. Here is how Pittsburgh’s class looks heading into OTAs:

NFL Minor Transactions: 5/20/25

May 20th, 2025 at 8:38pm CST by Ben Levine

Today’s minor moves:

Buffalo Bills

Carolina Panthers

Houston Texans

  • Signed: DB Keydrain Calligan

Pittsburgh Steelers

Seattle Seahawks

Moose Muhammad III was a notable UDFA signing by the Panthers considering his connection to the organization. The wide receiver’s father is Muhsin Muhammad, who is in the franchise’s Hall of Fame. Unfortunately, the younger Muhammad suffered an undisclosed injury that cost him his roster spot, although he’ll likely pass through waivers and land on the team’s IR.

Steelers Informed Mason Rudolph Of QB Plan During Free Agency

May 19th, 2025 at 1:15pm CST by Adam La Rose

Once it became clear neither Justin Fields nor Russell Wilson would return to the Steelers in 2025, the team pivoted to other options at the quarterback spot. One of those was a reunion with Mason Rudolph.

The former third-rounder drew interest from the Giants in free agency, but before a visit could be arranged he signed a two-year, $7.5MM deal to return to Pittsburgh. That pact came against the backdrop of the Titans showing interest in a 2025 arrangement after he played there last year, but Rudolph’s preference was to re-join the team that drafted him.

Owner Art Rooney II made it clear this offseason that Pittsburgh would target a starting-caliber passer in this year’s draft or the 2026 event, and of course for much of the spring the possibility of an Aaron Rodgers signing has loomed over the organization. Rudolph has been made aware of the team’s plans under center throughout this process, though. The 29-year-old declined to get into specifics about conversations he had on that front, but Rudolph made it clear he knew competition would be coming after he signed.

“I assumed they were going to sign people and add to the roster because they always go to training camp with four quarterbacks,” the Oklahoma State product said (via Mark Kaboly of the Pat McAfee Show). “I knew that going in. I am going to respect the privacy of what [general manager] Omar [Khan] told me specifically. That’s for him to decide when, or whatever, they add a fourth.”

Rodgers and Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin have remained in contact, and in the middle of the draft Rooney repeated his confidence that the four-time MVP will eventually sign. The latest development on that front saw the end of May floated as a potential deadline, and if Rodgers is in place by then (or later), he will take on starting duties for 2025. Until and unless that happens, however, Rudolph is atop the depth chart with the backing of Tomlin and Co. to handle QB1 duties if needed.

In 2023, a Kenny Pickett injury opened the door for Rudolph to take over starting duties; he remained in that role even after Pickett was healthy down the stretch and through the wild-card round. Rudolph’s three interception-free starts helped get Pittsburgh into the postseason, although he struggled during the team’s loss to the Bills (during which he did throw a pick). Still, that showing gave Pittsburgh confidence in reuniting with him for at least a backup role in 2025.

The Steelers drafted Will Howard in the sixth round last month and still have Skylar Thompson in the fold in advance of training camp. Rodgers could join that group, but even if that does take place Rudolph will not be caught off guard.

Aaron Rodgers To Sign With Steelers By End Of May?

May 18th, 2025 at 10:27pm CST by Rory Parks

It has long seemed like a foregone conclusion that, assuming Aaron Rodgers chooses to play in 2025, he will suit up for the Steelers. A report from earlier this week indicated Pittsburgh was still optimistic it would get a deal done with the future Hall of Famer, and signs continue to point in that direction.

Rodgers’ biographer, Ian O’Connor, recently appeared on 93.7 The Fan’s The PM Team and predicted the 41-year-old would put pen to paper by the end of May (h/t Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk). Although he declined to disclose the personal issues that Rodgers himself has cited for his delay in signing with a club, O’Connor does not believe those issues – which pertain to a member of Rodgers’ inner circle – would preclude him from playing football.

Florio previously expressed his belief, supported by a source who knows Rodgers but who has no specific knowledge of the current situation, that the eccentric signal-caller may have wanted to avoid being a distraction by signing a contract with the Steelers but remaining away from the team for the early stages of the club’s offseason program as he sorts out his personal matter. Of course, given Rodgers’ status and the coverage that constantly surrounds him, the fact that he has not signed a contract at all is its own form of distraction. Still, it is fair to conclude that officially joining Pittsburgh and not reporting during the first phases of the offseason – which Rodgers has openly opposed anyway – would have invited even more scrutiny.

“I just think verbally, behind the scenes, not that he guaranteed it, but he’s told [the Steelers], ‘Listen, I’m gonna play for you. I just don’t want to go there and then miss part of mandatory minicamp because of my personal issues. I’m pretty sure they’re gonna be solved by the end of May, at least in my satisfaction where I can give you my all,'” O’Connor said (via Ross McCorkle of SteelersDepot.com).

Florio believes O’Connor was referring to the offseason program in general and not mandatory minicamp specifically, as mandatory minicamp does not take place until June 10. Florio also believes there is a good chance Rodgers will have signed with Pittsburgh by next week, as OTAs get underway on May 27.

Outside of the quarterback position, the Steelers have a playoff-worthy roster and did not select a signal-caller in this year’s draft until they added Ohio State’s Will Howard in the sixth round. As such, the runway is very much clear for Rodgers to come aboard and supplant Mason Rudolph as Pittsburgh’s QB1.

O’Connor, who interviewed 250 people for his book Out of the Darkness: The Mystery of Aaron Rodgers, believes Pittsburgh is the “perfect place” for Rodgers to finish his playing career.

“It may be me as an optimist, but I think this is gonna work out,” O’Connor said. “Do I think the Steelers will win the Super Bowl next year? No. But if you told me 11-6 with at least one playoff victory … I think that’s realistic.”

Rodgers has never been linked in any meaningful way to the Saints this offseason, and that did not change after it became clear Derek Carr would retire, per NOLA.com’s Jeff Duncan. New Orleans will conduct an open competition between second-round rookie Tyler Shough and holdovers Spencer Rattler and Jake Haener as it seeks its starting quarterback for 2025.

First Round Fallout: Giants, Dart, Sanders, Steelers, Broncos, Alexander

May 18th, 2025 at 10:20pm CST by Rory Parks

The Giants, heavily connected to Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders throughout the pre-draft process, used the No. 3 overall in last month’s draft – a pick once seemingly ticketed for Sanders – on Penn State edge rusher Abdul Carter. The club ultimately got the player it hopes will become its franchise passer when it struck an agreement with the Texans to trade up from No. 34 to No. 25 and select Ole Miss QB Jaxson Dart.

A recent episode of Giants Life, which is worth a watch for any NFL fan and for Giants fans in particular, offers a behind-the-scenes glimpse at how the trade-up with Houston materialized (video link). As New York GM Joe Schoen confirms, rival teams knew that Big Blue, after having used its first selection on a non-quarterback, was still in the market for a QB. As such, when the draft proceeded to the No. 18 pick (at which point the Seahawks were on the clock), Schoen began getting calls from other GMs looking to trade down to No. 34.

When the draft moved into the 20s, Schoen himself became proactive and began making calls to determine who was interested in trading down. As Ryan Dunleavy of the New York Post observes, Schoen believed he could swing a deal with the Broncos to acquire Denver’s No. 20 overall pick, which would have allowed him to leapfrog the Steelers and their No. 21 choice. Schoen knew Pittsburgh was in need of a quarterback as well, though he had intelligence indicating the team was also looking to trade back, which suggested the Steelers were not prepared to take a signal-caller at that point.

He nonetheless considered offering the Steelers the same deal that apparently had been discussed with multiple clubs. However, per ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, the Giants were banking on the belief that Pittsburgh would select a defensive player with the No. 21 pick, thereby obviating the need to trade for No. 20 or No. 21. This is despite Schoen’s concern, as he voiced in Giants Life, that the QB-needy Browns or Saints could also move back into the first round (though he knew division rivals Pittsburgh and Cleveland would not come together on a trade of that magnitude). Fowler also says New York did not want to part with its No. 65 selection, which the Texans were willing to exclude from a trade package.

Ultimately, the Giants and Texans agreed to a trade that sent the Nos. 34 and 99 picks of the 2025 draft, along with a 2026 third-rounder, to Houston in exchange for the No. 25 pick and the right to select Dart. As Schoen admitted, no one will remember the third-round picks that went to the Texans if he got the Dart pick right. Interestingly, right before Houston GM Nick Caserio called Schoen to formally accept the deal, it looks as if Schoen received a call from Rams GM Les Snead. Los Angeles originally held the No. 26 pick, one spot behind the Texans, so Schoen naturally put Snead on hold to talk to Caserio and finalize a trade. Ultimately, Snead found a taker for his No. 26 selection, which he dealt to the Falcons in exchange for a package fronted by a 2026 first-rounder.

Dunleavy highlighted the portion of Schoen’s war room conversations in which he told head coach Brian Daboll, “you guys are convicted in [Dart]. You believe in him. We did the process. He checked all the boxes. Let’s roll the dice.” That exchange leads Dunleavy to believe the Dart pick, as previously reported, was indeed driven by the coaching staff.

Earlier reports also indicated Daboll was one of the coaches who did not see eye-to-eye with Sanders, and while the Giants reportedly still would have entertained a trade-up for Sanders if Dart had been taken off the board, multiple Daboll-Dart connections formed in the run-up to the draft. It became clear that Dart was Daboll’s preferred target, and Sanders himself acknowledged that he “didn’t hit it off with Giants coaches,” according to Fowler.

The No. 65 pick that the Giants did not want to include in a trade-up maneuver was used to select Toledo defensive end Darius Alexander. Though New York had already added the high-ceiling Carter to a group that includes Dexter Lawrence, Brian Burns and Kayvon Thibodeaux, the club further leaned into its defensive front with Alexander, whom many scouts viewed as an ascending prospect. One team source told Fowler, “when you think of the New York Giants, you think of how they are built up front.”

AFC Staff Updates: Jaguars, Patriots, Steelers, Jets, Dolphins, Titans, Colts

May 17th, 2025 at 6:01pm CST by Ely Allen

With rookie general manager James Gladstone and rookie head coach Liam Coen taking over in Jacksonville, we’ve seen a mass migration of coaches and front office staff from Los Angeles to Duval this offseason. Gladstone and Coen created several connections during their time with the Rams, and Sean McVay has never been known to keep his coaches from pursuing positions with upwards mobility elsewhere.

The latest staff members we see making the move are former national scout Brian Hill and former director of draft management JW Jordan. Per Neil Stratton of SucceedinFootball.com, Hill is set to become the new director of college scouting in Jacksonville. Hill had been with the Rams since 2013, spending two years as a scouting assistant and ten years as an area scout responsible for the Midwest region. He had just been promoted to national scout in March, but he will pass up the opportunity for an even bigger elevation with the Jaguars.

Jordan has been with the Rams for 13 years, spending the last six in his role as director of draft management and serving as a scouting consultant before that. His new role has not yet been announced, but Aaron Wilson of KPRC 2 tells us that it will be an executive role.

Here are some other staff updates from around the AFC:

  • Stratton also gave us two recent updates for the Patriots scouting staff. Just over a week after Tennessee moved on from scouting director A.J. Highsmith, he has found a role in New England as the new director of pro scouting. The move puts Highsmith on the same team as his father, Alonzo Highsmith, who is entering his second season as a senior personnel executive with the Patriots. Stratton also informed us that southeast area scout Josh Hinch will not be returning to the team in 2025.
  • After four years with the Steelers, it appears Mike Sullivan will not be back next season. It’s unclear if something occurred, but ESPN’s Brooke Pryor pointed out that he no longer appears on the team’s website. The 58-year-old spent three years as Pittsburgh’s quarterbacks coach before moving to a senior offensive assistant role last year. Additionally, the Steelers have hired Luke Smith to serve as a quality control coach for the team in 2025. The nephew of Steelers special teams coordinator Danny Smith, Luke has spent the past eight years as the wide receivers coach at nearby Duquesne, per Alex Kozora of Steelers Depot. This will be Smith’s first position in the NFL.
  • Stratton gave us another front office update recently, pointing out a change to the LinkedIn profile of Jets assistant director of pro personnel Kevin Murphy. Murphy seems to have indicated on the account that his time with New York has come to an end. The profile currently does not indicate any next steps for the pro personnel specialist who spent time with the Texans, Bills, and Jets over the last 19 years.
  • Jordan Happle has been hired as a new player personnel scout for the Dolphins. According to Stratton, the former collegiate safety who played at both Boise State and Oregon was recently added to Miami’s website in the new position.
  • Stratton also tells us that the Titans are hiring former Pitt director of college scouting Alex Kline to their scouting department this season. Kline began his football career as a wide receiver at John Caroll University before becoming a grad assistant and, eventually, a coach and coordinator at Saint Vincent College. He worked for a year at Pitt as an offensive quality control coach before leaving for a recruiting role at Akron. He returned to Pitt as the wide receivers coach before leaving once again for the director of player personnel job at Memphis. He returned once more to Pitt in 2022 in his most recent role before making the trip back to Tennessee. It stands to be seen whether or not he’ll attempt to continue his back-and-forth career movement between coaching and personnel.
  • Lastly, Seth Walder of ESPN informs us that Ashleigh Prugh is joining the Colts as a football analytics fellow. This will be Prugh’s first position in the NFL following an internship with SumerSports.

Aaron Rodgers Still In Steelers’ QB Plans

May 15th, 2025 at 10:02pm CST by Adam La Rose

The 2025 draft came and went without any clarity emerging on the Aaron Rodgers front, leading to further questions regarding where (if at all) he will play this year. If the future Hall of Famer suits up, Pittsburgh remains the likeliest destination.

The Steelers are still “optimistic” Rodgers will sign, ESPN’s Dan Graziano reports. Team and player have remained in contact well after meeting in person during free agency, but the 41-year-old’s most recent public comments on his situation made it clear personal matters are the top priority for now. A starting gig would await Rodgers upon arrival in Pittsburgh, especially if his stated willingness to take a one-year pact for as little as $10MM holds true.

Mason Rudolph returned to the organization after a one-year absence, and the Steelers have repeatedly expressed confidence in his ability to handle QB1 duties for at least the 2025 campaign. As Graziano writes, Pittsburgh’s stance on the quarterback situation is more positive internally than it is viewed from the outside. Skylar Thompson and sixth-round rookie Will Howard round out the depth chart at this point.

The Steelers fully intend to bring four signal-callers to training camp, per usual. As a result, an addition of some kind will need to be made, and Kirk Cousins looms as the other notable veteran who could be obtained (albeit via trade, and in a manner which would no doubt require a more lucrative financial commitment than a Rodgers signing). The Vikings are – in all likelihood – no longer in the market for an addition under center, taking Rodgers’ preferred team out of the running.

Shedeur Sanders loomed as an option for the Steelers at pick No. 21 last month, but the team was split on drafting the Colorado product. Pittsburgh waited until much later to add a developmental rookie, with owner Art Rooney II saying in between that Rodgers wants to play for his team in 2025. A short-term arrangement would leave open the possibility of adding a starting-caliber rookie next year, thus meeting Pittsburgh’s goal of acquiring a long-term passer within the 2025 or ’26 drafts.

Rudolph helped lead the Steelers to the postseason in 2023 upon taking over from Kenny Pickett. The latter was unable to deliver on expectations as a Ben Roethlisberger successor, something Rodgers will of course not be viewed as even in the event he signs. An agreement on that front would nevertheless add intrigue to the prospects for a team whose regular season schedule begins with a Jets matchup and includes a Week 8 Sunday night contest in Green Bay.

AFC North Notes: Browns, Bengals, Smith

May 14th, 2025 at 6:07pm CST by Nikhil Mehta

The Browns‘ quarterback room has been under a microscope for years, but this offseason drew added scrutiny with the pure volume of Cleveland’s transactions at the position.

The Browns first traded for Kenny Pickett before reuniting with Joe Flacco in free agency. They then double-dipped on quarterbacks in the draft, taking Dillon Gabriel in the third round and Shedeur Sanders in the fifth.

Gabriel was expected to be a Day 3 pick, making his selection in the third round a “mild surprise,” according to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, though Cleveland wasn’t a shocking destination. They hosted the left-handed passer for a visit on the same day as Sanders and Cam Ward, who both received more media attention for their links with the Browns. But the team was planning to take Gabriel at pick No. 94 all along, even if Jalen Milroe – who went one pick earlier to the Seahawks – was still available.

The Browns’ acquisition of four quarterbacks this offseason has raised questions about their plans for the position moving forward. At least one will likely be surplus to roster requirements in Cleveland, but as Fowler notes, injuries around the league could draw trade interest in Pickett or Flacco, both of whom have moveable one-year contracts.

Here is the latest from the AFC North:

Steelers Faced Small George Pickens Trade Market; Latest On Cowboys’ Acquisition Plan

May 13th, 2025 at 10:00pm CST by Adam La Rose

By the time George Pickens was dealt, it hardly came as a surprise given the chatter surrounding a trade from the Steelers. The Cowboys acquired him last week, but not because they won a wide-ranging bidding war.

Few teams showed interest in the pending free agent receiver, Mark Kaboly of The Pat McAfee Show reports. Acquiring Pickens as a one-year rental would have provided a boost to the passing attack of any number of suitors, but the cost of doing so would be weighed against the off-field concerns which played a key role in Pittsburgh’s decision to move on. Pickens is eligible to sign a long-term pact with Dallas, but he is not focused on that right now.

Kaboly adds the Steelers were not prepared to accept anything less than a third-round pick for Pickens; Dallas originally offered a fourth-rounder but eventually met that asking price while also swapping seventh-round picks in 2027. In spite of that marginal return relative to the 24-year-old’s on-field abilities, his absence is not expected to be an issue moving forward. Per Kaboly, multiple Steelers players became “fed up” with Pickens over the course of his three years in Pittsburgh to the point they saw retaining him as something which could be “counterproductive.”

When addressing the trade, Steelers general manager Omar Khan said the agreement with Dallas came about in short order after the draft. Selecting a rookie receiver was seen by many as a Cowboys priority, and the team did indeed have a number of prospects on its radar at the position. In the end, though, Dallas elected to take the highest-rated players at other spots during the opening rounds, thus waiting until the post-draft period to explore a receiver addition via trade.

“We had a nice list of guys that we were looking at, comparing that to what was available in the draft, and giving up the pick versus picking one,” Cowboys COO Stephen Jones said in an interview with Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer. “And as you know, when you pick a receiver in the draft, you get him for a good number for four years, so obviously that was one of the routes we were looking at hard.”

For now, Pickens represents a one-year investment as a wideout to complement CeeDee Lamb. The latter is attached to a $34MM-per-year pact, so finding cost-effective receivers is key for Dallas. Pickens has amassed over 2,800 yards and scored 12 touchdowns to date in his career, one which has been spent on less-than-stellar Steelers offenses. A strong showing with his new team could put the Georgia product on track for a notable payday next spring, but improvement with respect to the factors driving his trade would no doubt be required as well.

Minor NFL Transactions: 5/12/25

May 12th, 2025 at 9:56pm CST by Nikhil Mehta

Here are the latest minor moves from around the NFL:

Atlanta Falcons

Baltimore Ravens

Chicago Bears

  • Signed: CB Jeremiah Walker
  • Placed on Exempt/International Player list: P Tory Taylor

Cincinnati Bengals

Cleveland Browns

Denver Broncos

  • Signed: LB Jordan Turner, WR Kyrese White, LS Zach Triner, TE Cole Fotheringham
  • Waived: CB Kendall Bohler, LB K.J. Cloyd, NT Christian Dowell, TE Thomas Yassmin
  • Placed on Exempt/International Player list: P Jeremy Crawshaw

Detroit Lions

Green Bay Packers

  • Signed: QB Taylor Elgersma
  • Released: OL Marquis Hayes

Indianapolis Colts

  • Signed: C Mose Vavao
  • Waived: DT Joe Evans

Las Vegas Raiders

Los Angeles Chargers

  • Signed: WR Dalevon Campbell, LB Kana’i Mauga
  • Waived: OL Bucky Williams

Miami Dolphins

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

  • Signed: DT Isaiah Iton, G Mehki Butler, DT Wilfried Pene
  • Waived: OT Cole Birdow

New Orleans Saints

New York Giants

  • Signed: CB T.J. Moore
  • Waived: DB R.J. Delancey, DB Tommy McCormick

Pittsburgh Steelers

San Francisco 49ers

Seattle Seahawks

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Tennessee Titans

  • Signed: TE Drake Dabney,WR TJ Sheffield
  • Waived: CB Virgil Lemons, S Jerrin Thompson

Hoyland converted 79.3% of his field goal attempts for the Wyoming Cowboys across the last five years. He was ultra-consistent on extra points with 147 makes on 148 tries. Hoyland will compete with sixth-round pick Tyler Loop for the Ravens’ kicking job after the team released Justin Tucker.

Sheffield brings some much-needed experience to the Dolphins’ cornerback room, though he hasn’t started since 2020. He could provide crucial veteran depth in Miami, especially if Jalen Ramsey is traded.

Elgersma was the starting quarterback at Wilfried Laurier University in Ontario, Canada, for the last three years. In 2024, he won the Hec Crighton Trophy – the Canadian equivalent to the Heisman – and earned an invitation to the Senior Bowl, the first-ever for a Canadian QB. Elgersma was drafted in the second round of the 2025 CFL Draft by the Winnepeg Blue Bombers, but a successful tryout with the Packers will give him a chance at making an NFL roster.

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