Ben Roethlisberger's transition to new offensive coordinator Todd Haley's playbook is not going as smoothly as Steelers fans had hoped. Roethlisberger said Thursday that so far it's been "frustrating at times" but that he's going to put in "extra work" to understand what Haley wants him to do. "I think coach (Haley) really wants to challenge us," Big Ben said on a radio interview, per the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. "Me, maybe, in particular, I think he felt like I was real comfortable... [Read More]
Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker James Harrison thinks that all of the NFL's players stand to benefit from Saints linebacker Jonathan Vilma's defamation lawsuit against commissioner Roger Goodell, even if he loses his fight. "It is really a win-win, whether he wins the case or if he loses it," Harrison said. "If he loses it, it shows that Goodell does have too much power and if he wins it, it opens up the floodgates." Harrison has long been an outspoken critic of the NFL's commissioner and has been... [Read More]
Pittsburgh Steelers running back Rashard Mendenhall says he will play in 2012, perhaps even in week one. That's a bold statement from Mendenhall, who tore his ACL on Jan. 1. "They never said a time. With a knee, it can take anywhere from six to 12 months, so everybody's time frame is different," Mendenhall said on the Steelers website. "I'll be back at some point. It's just a matter of what point that is." The Steelers didn't do very much to address the position in the off-season. Holdovers Isaac... [Read More]
After nine outrageously successful seasons in the NFL, Troy Polamalu has earned the right to manage the offseason any way he chooses. This time around, the All-Pro safety is breaking from his normal program to join the Pittsburgh Steelers for organized team activities. Polamalu, who regularly skipped OTA sessions in past years to work with his Los Angeles-based trainer, was on the field Tuesday for drills. With a handful of veteran defenders no longer on the roster -- linebacker James Farrior, defensive end Aaron Smith... [Read More]
When the Pittsburgh Steelers gather for Tuesday's organized team activities, they'll be asked to tread new ground. After five seasons running Bruce Arians' offense, Ben Roethlisberger and Co. will begin to install a new attack under coordinator Todd Haley; a look the quarterback described as "a 90 percent change" from the scheme run for so long in the Steel City. An awkward offseason transition from Arians (now the Indianapolis Colts' coordinator) to Haley generated press in Pittsburgh. Roethlisberger and... [Read More]
Three key Steelers will be missing when the team kicks off its offseason team activities on Tuesday, according to a report in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Sunday. Rookies David DeCastro (Stanford) and Mike Adams (Ohio State) are not allowed to report to the team until their respective schools' semester ends. The biggest absence reportedly will be disgruntled WR Mike Wallace, who is unhappy about the lack of a contract extension and still has not signed the one-year, $2.742 million restricted free-agent tender the team... [Read More]
The Steelers have revamped their offensive line via the draft. They recently moved Willie Colon to left guard, but at this time Max Starks seems to be the odd man out. The veteran free agent has yet to be contacted by the Steelers according to Mark Kaboly of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. “I have not had contact with management or anybody like that,” Starks said Friday while on his way to rehab his surgically repaired knee in Phoenix. “I guess eventually I will hear something from them … or maybe not.” The Steelers... [Read More]
San Francisco linebacker Aldon Smith told the Sacramento Bee that the 49ers weren't targeting Ben Roethlisberger's injured ankle in a Dec. 19 game. "Our goal was to win the game," said Smith, who had 2.5 sacks that game. "We don't go out and talk about hurting other players, their ankles, or injuries or any of that. We were going out to win the game. The quarterback, he controls the game. So if he got hit, it happens." While no one expected any of the 49ers to admit they went after Roethlisberger's... [Read More]
Restricted free agent Mike Wallace really isn't a free agent anymore. Per the terms of the collective bargaining agreement, Wallace's chance to sign elsewhere expired in April, meaning that his only two options are to sign his one-year, $2.7 million tender with the Steelers, or hold out. According to ESPN, Wallace will wait to sign his tender until the last possible minute, which will likely be June 15. Per the CBA, the Steelers can drop the guaranteed value of the one-year tender to under $600,000 after June 15, which... [Read More]
The Pittsburgh Steelers tried out former Baltimore Ravens and New England Patriots long snapper Matt Katula, according to a league source. Katula, 29, played in five games last season for the Minnesota Vikings, filling in when Cullen Loeffler broke a bone in his lower back. A former Wisconsin player, Katula played with the Ravens from 2005 to 2009 and played eight games two years ago for the Patriots. For his career, the 6-foot-6, 265-pounder has played in 93 games.
The Pittsburgh Steelers have used this offseason to aggressively patch up an offensive line that stood out as perhaps the team's greatest weakness in 2011. First-round pick David DeCastro is an immediate starter at right guard. The team's second-round pick Mike Adams is penciled in at tackle, along with their second-round pick of 2011, Marcus Gilbert. That means changes for veteran Willie Colon, who confirmed Wednesday he'll shift from right tackle to the inside. "I've made the transition to left guard. I like it.... [Read More]
The Buffalo Bills have signed former Houston Texan receiver/tight end Dorin Dickerson. Dickerson is a former seventh-round pick of the Texans (2010) and appeared in seven games as a rookie mainly on special teams. Released by Houston last September during final cuts, he had short stints on the Pittsburgh and New England practice squads. The Bills see him as an off the line tight end/H-back prospect, which is where he saw most of his work during the club’s three-day rookie minicamp.
Former Jaguars DE Matt Roth reportedly is visiting the Steelers as a free agent, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter. He registered 3.5 sacks in nine games last season, but the Jaguars did not try to re-sign him. He missed the last six games of the season with a concussion.
Pittsburgh formally has two SMU products on the roster. Seventh-round pick Kelvin Beachum agreed to a four-year deal with the team Thursday. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Beachum, a 6-foot-1, 306-pound offensive guard, joins WR Emmanuel Sanders as SMU football alumni for the Steelers. He'll look to add to the depth of the suddenly formidable Steelers offensive line.
The Pittsburgh Steelers finalized four-year deals for a pair of seventh-round draft picks: tight end David Paulson and cornerback Terrence Frederick. The deals are worth roughly $2.14 million. Paulson caught 67 career passes for 1,041 yards and 10 touchdowns at Oregon. Frederick had 205 career tackles at Texas A&M with six sacks and four interceptions.
