Pittsburgh Steelers General Thread

Don Wassall said:

Rudolph was treated very poorly by Mike Tomlin during his first go round in Pittsburgh, to the point that after six years of mostly sitting on the bench there was no market for Rudolph, esp. after being thrust into a starting role for several games on a horrible Tennessee offense last year.

But this signing is one of (possibly temporary) mutual convenience as the Steelers' QB situation is getting desperate. If Aaron Rodgers turns down their offer and Russell Wilson goes elsewhere, Rudolph could have a decent shot at starting, and he might beat out Wilson even if Russell stays in Pittsburgh. Rudolph was quite good down the stretch in '23 after Kenny Pickett was injured, being the reason they made the playoffs that season. It also increases the chances that the organization will now try to draft Jaxson Dart in the first round or second at the latest, though if they wait until the second round Dart may be gone.

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I listen to the Pittsburgh talk shows often...Pompianni, Starkey, Poni and Mueller, etc. They’ve done polls where almost all of Pittsburgh is rooting for Mason to start over Rodgers or RWilson....Turning of events for Mason, for sure.

I'd love to see the Rodge get a last chance at glory with the Steelers (the Jets were such a dumpster fire that even Brady in his prime couldn't have made them into a winning team) but if Mason gets the starting gig I'll root for him wholeheartedly. He's been screwed over by the league for too many years.

Rocky B said:

I listen to the Pittsburgh talk shows often...Pompianni, Starkey, Poni and Mueller, etc. They’ve done polls where almost all of Pittsburgh is rooting for Mason to start over Rodgers or RWilson....Turning of events for Mason, for sure.

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Most Steelers DWFs were in despair over the QB situation, but the signing of Rudolph was greeted very positively overall. He may not be the long-term answer, or even short-term depending on the draft and any other moves they may make, but he's a better quarterback than he's given credit for.

Most Steelers fans embrace Mason Rudolph’s return for the right reasons​

Steelers trade Pickens to the Cowboys. Rumor is they are targeting Lazard so it seems Rodgers will not be far behind. Steelers will become one of the more interesting teams to watch next season, especially on defense.

I don’t get much into podcasts but this one from Ben Roethlisberger’s YouTube channel came across my YouTube feed and decided to watch. Came away very impressed with Will Howard and Jack Sawyer. Rooting for them both. Interesting how both Howard and Ben touched on race in basketball as well.

The Steelers remain the NFL's "leader" when it comes to drafting head cases at receiver. Pickens' "English" is almost impossible to understand and he had the infamous "character issues" at Georgia that only seemed to get worse in the NFL.

Pickens' "replacement," the small Roman Wilson, already has the makings of a bust, missing all but one game of his rookie season and recording no stats:

ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reports the Steelers are “counting on” a 2025 jump for WR Roman Wilson. Wilson, per Fowler, “looks like a different player than from his injury riddled rookie campaign.” Steelers general manager Omar Khan said in February that the team has “a lot of confidence” in Wilson, the 84th overall selection in the 2024 NFL Draft who played just five offensive snaps as a rookie after suffering a serious hamstring injury in October. Wilson, entering his age-24 season, had 789 yards and 12 touchdowns on 49 catches in his final season at Michigan. He was 19th among all college wideouts in yards per route run in 2023. An injury-free offseason could position Wilson as the clear No. 2 receiver behind DK Metcalf in 2025.

George Pickens, the illiterate receiver the Steelers just traded to Dallas, is a real class act. He couldn't have landed on a better team:

Report: George Pickens fires back at Payton Wilson, rips Pittsburgh Steelers after Cowboys trade​

I have a feeling Will Howard will be starting for the Steelers, and perhaps sooner than just about anyone expects.

Don Wassall said:

I have a feeling Will Howard will be starting for the Steelers, and perhaps sooner than just about anyone expects.

Pittsburgh Steelers Rookie Quarterback Will Howard Reveals Help from Ben Roethlisberger

Pittsburgh Steelers Rookie Quarterback Will Howard Reveals Help from Ben Roethlisberger

sports.yahoo.com

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Rooting for Howard. Any of the predraft stuff I read or watched on him gave me an appreciation for his mindset and talent.

Terry Bradshaw doesn't like Aaron Rodgers, but what's interesting is what he says about Kenny Pickett:

Bradshaw believes the Steelers should have given 2022 first-rounder Kenny Pickett more of a chance. "I liked Kenny Pickett," Bradshaw said "I liked him at Pitt. I know him, I know what he's like. And when they got him to Pittsburgh, here's what they didn't do. They didn't protect him . . . they didn't get him an offensive line. They wanted to run the football, but they didn't have an offensive line that could protect, and they didn't have weapons. He had no wide receivers to speak of.

"And then they throw a kid in there for two years and you've got an offense that doesn't fit and doesn't work, and they can't run because their offensive line's not even good enough for a run blocking team. And therefore they say Pickett was a failure. He wasn't a failure, the Steelers were a failure."

Don Wassall said:

Terry Bradshaw doesn't like Aaron Rodgers, but what's interesting is what he says about Kenny Pickett:

Bradshaw believes the Steelers should have given 2022 first-rounder Kenny Pickett more of a chance. "I liked Kenny Pickett," Bradshaw said "I liked him at Pitt. I know him, I know what he's like. And when they got him to Pittsburgh, here's what they didn't do. They didn't protect him . . . they didn't get him an offensive line. They wanted to run the football, but they didn't have an offensive line that could protect, and they didn't have weapons. He had no wide receivers to speak of.

"And then they throw a kid in there for two years and you've got an offense that doesn't fit and doesn't work, and they can't run because their offensive line's not even good enough for a run blocking team. And therefore they say Pickett was a failure. He wasn't a failure, the Steelers were a failure."

Terry Bradshaw calls Steelers potentially signing Aaron Rodgers "a joke"

Hall of Fame QB believes Steelers failed Kenny Pickett.

sports.yahoo.com

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I'll be an advocate for Pickett as long as he is in the league. The Matt Canada offense was awful and Pickett never had the chance under a different OC. Bradshaw is also spot on with the bad offensive line and mediocre Najee Harris at running back. The late season mystery around his injury in 2023 and the media/organization spreading rumors about his response to not starting over Rudolph were bush league. Not to mention when they went out and signed Wilson/Fields only to end up in the exact same spot a year later without giving Pickett a full season to prove himself.

As for Rodgers he is the best option the Steelers have if he ends up signing with them and his play last year on a bad Jets team shows he still has enough left in the tank. A Rodgers, Rudolph, Howard QB room would not be the worst thing in the world, especially after what the Steelers had last year.

Don Wassall said:

Terry Bradshaw doesn't like Aaron Rodgers, but what's interesting is what he says about Kenny Pickett:

Bradshaw believes the Steelers should have given 2022 first-rounder Kenny Pickett more of a chance. "I liked Kenny Pickett," Bradshaw said "I liked him at Pitt. I know him, I know what he's like. And when they got him to Pittsburgh, here's what they didn't do. They didn't protect him . . . they didn't get him an offensive line. They wanted to run the football, but they didn't have an offensive line that could protect, and they didn't have weapons. He had no wide receivers to speak of.

"And then they throw a kid in there for two years and you've got an offense that doesn't fit and doesn't work, and they can't run because their offensive line's not even good enough for a run blocking team. And therefore they say Pickett was a failure. He wasn't a failure, the Steelers were a failure."

Terry Bradshaw calls Steelers potentially signing Aaron Rodgers "a joke"

Hall of Fame QB believes Steelers failed Kenny Pickett.

sports.yahoo.com

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I just hope that Pickett can do a "reset" and mentally get back to what made him special at Pitt. There are countless QB's that have been thrown into bad situations and been crushed mentally. Pickett was especially terrible after this happened to him. Be nice if he could do a Baker Mayfield and overcome.