Pittsburgh Steelers General Thread

[Bucky]

Hopeful, but so many accolades and 7/11 always open about the low round and UDFA skill players end up getting cut or on the practice squad. “Upside” , fragile black egos, and cuck coaches typically prevail.

Agreed. I’m jaded at this point.

McCarthy and Khan deseve kudos for a kick ass draft class though. Reminiscent of an old Thompson/McCarthy class, before the Packers reverted to being the Blackers.

 

[Bucky]

LOL People’s Champion

 

[Freethinker]

LOL People’s Champion

Love Rodgers telling it like it is with no filter. Dunking on Fauci, calling out BSPN and even taking a shot at the Jets for being the lousy organization they are. The System put him (and most of us) through so much sh1t during the Covid years, that it’s nice he gets to get his revenge now.

 

[Bucky]

Love Rodgers telling it like it is with no filter. Dunking on Fauci, calling out BSPN and even taking a shot at the Jets for being the lousy organization they are. The System put him (and most of us) through so much sh1t during the Covid years, that it’s nice he gets to get his revenge now.

Even took a shot at Brady! I love it!

 

[TwentyTwo]

Aaron Rodgers has become of my favorites over the years; esp during Covid! Hope he has an epic final season @ age 43!

Possibly the most exciting Rookie for the 2026 season...

 

[Don Wassall]

Aaron Rodgers has become of my favorites over the years; esp during Covid! Hope he has an epic final season @ age 43!

Possibly the most exciting Rookie for the 2026 season...

I'm also hoping for a memorable last season for Rodgers. If anyone can help bring it about it's Mike McCarthy.

The Steelers have a significant number of White players on their roster. The only question is how they will be used as some may be primarily WSTDs and deep backups, while others like Eli Heidenreich may be destined for the practice squad or even cut. We'll have to see but the demographic trendline has been going in a favorable direction for a few years now. The departure of hard-core Caste clown Kevin Colbert as GM and his replacement by the mixed Omar Khan would seem to have been the catalyst for the unexpected change in direction.

 

[Freethinker]

I'm also hoping for a memorable last season for Rodgers. If anyone can help bring it about it's Mike McCarthy.

The Steelers have a significant number of White players on their roster. The only question is how they will be used as some may be primarily WSTDs and deep backups, while others like Eli Heidenreich may be destined for the practice squad or even cut. We'll have to see but the demographic trendline has been going in a favorable direction for a few years now. The departure of hard-core Caste clown Kevin Colbert as GM and his replacement by the mixed Omar Khan would seem to have been the catalyst for the unexpected change in direction.

Don, I’ve been wondering a lot about Heidenreich and have been seeking out news on how he’s doing. Can’t find much, other than he’s been popular with the local fanbase. As our “local beat reporter”, what is the consensus on how he’s done? Seems like he’s a roster bubble guy so I’m hoping he has some memorable plays in the upcoming games.

 

[Snow Plow]

Good news is they play on NFL Network this Thursday night so he’ll get some instant national exposure if he makes any good plays.

Bad news is they play Green Bay.

 

[Don Wassall]

Don, I’ve been wondering a lot about Heidenreich and have been seeking out news on how he’s doing. Can’t find much, other than he’s been popular with the local fanbase. As our “local beat reporter”, what is the consensus on how he’s done? Seems like he’s a roster bubble guy so I’m hoping he has some memorable plays in the upcoming games.

They drafted RB Kaleb Johnson in the third round in '25, and he was a huge bust his rookie year, so Heidenreich's making the 53 might depend on if they part ways with Johnson after just one year. It's a new regime and some "analysts" are predicting Johnson will be cut or traded.

It's interesting too that Max Hurleman is getting favorable publicity, with some predicting he'll be kept over Eli.

There's so much hype and puffery in training camp it's hard to know how it'll pan out. What the Steelers do with their four quarterbacks is also a big topic -- will Mason Rudolph back up Rodgers or will the far less experienced Will Howard or Drew Allar? The consensus is that either Rudolph or Howard will be cut as few teams keep four QBs and Allar will be the third QB regardless. Maybe Allar having a "convenient" injury and being put on IR is the solution.

What McCarthy does with the White talent on the team, some of it viewed as mere special teams fodder or in the case of Wetjen a kick returner, is still up in the air. I try to be cautiously optimistic but the NFL disappoints every year. If Heidenreich is placed on the practice squad he'll likely be picked up by another team so I'm hoping he sticks and a role develops for him as the season goes along.

BTW, I get Google Alerts on a lot of different players I follow, and receive updates on Heidenreich just about every day.

 

[Freethinker]

They drafted RB Kaleb Johnson in the third round in '25, and he was a huge bust his rookie year, so Heidenreich's making the 53 might depend on if they part ways with Johnson after just one year. It's a new regime and some "analysts" are predicting Johnson will be cut or traded.

It's interesting too that Max Hurleman is getting favorable publicity, with some predicting he'll be kept over Eli.

There's so much hype and puffery in training camp it's hard to know how it'll pan out. What the Steelers do with their four quarterbacks is also a big topic -- will Mason Rudolph back up Rodgers or will the far less experienced Will Howard or Drew Allar? The consensus is that either Rudolph or Howard will be cut as few teams keep four QBs and Allar will be the third QB regardless. Maybe Allar having a "convenient" injury and being put on IR is the solution.

What McCarthy does with the White talent on the team, some of it viewed as mere special teams fodder or in the case of Wetjen a kick returner, is still up in the air. I try to be cautiously optimistic but the NFL disappoints every year. If Heidenreich is placed on the practice squad he'll likely be picked up by another team so I'm hoping he sticks and a role develops for him as the season goes along.

BTW, I get Google Alerts on a lot of different players I follow, and I receiver updates on Heidenreich just about every day.

Thanks! I’ve been searching the old fashion (and inefficient) way. I’ll try some more options.

It is a funny thing that the Steelers, after a decade or two of being the Crawfords, have morphed into the team with the most White players of interest. They are the only one I can think of that has multiple RBs, WRs, many defenders and even 4 QBs to follow. Other teams have some of these components, but not all.

 

[Don Wassall]

Thanks! I’ve been searching the old fashion (and inefficient) way. I’ll try some more options.

It is a funny thing that the Steelers, after a decade or two of being the Crawfords, have morphed into the team with the most White players of interest. They are the only one I can think of that has multiple RBs, WRs, many defenders and even 4 QBs to follow. Other teams have some of these components, but not all.

I'm more optimistic about the defensive talent. I consider Herbig to be White (enough) and he was just signed to a huge contract. He, Watt and Sawyer should be dynamic even if Herbig and Sawyer don't get starter's snaps, and Cole Holcomb is still around, also second year man Carson Bruener, son of Steelers TE Mark who was an excellent one. Carson is working very hard to get "promoted" from WSTD to backup ILB.

Skowronek is going to be a WSTD anchor who might get a few receptions again. Wetjen is viewed as a kick returner and special teams gunner only. Heidenreich and Hurleman are currently seen as bottom of the bench players, which is why I think we may be disappointed the way it shakes out. But the four White QBs is cool, none of the racial dynamics surrounding black QBs is in play.

 

[Jimmy Chitwood]

Hurleman is an interesting prospect. a former running back/wideout/returner who can also play cornerback. i guess his poor 40 time at his pro day doomed his chances at corner, but he’s an impressive athlete.

 

[Don Wassall]

As I've mentioned a few times, it's best not to be optimistic about some of the lunchpailers on the Steelers, especially on offense. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette's sports section today has a big article titled "Battle Stations," about various positions going into tonight's game against Buffalo and who may win some of the backup roles.

At running back, Eli Heidenreich isn't deemed worthy of a single mention. Instead, last year's third round bust Kaleb Johnson, Travis Homer and Lew Nichols are the three contenders listed as battling to be the third running back after Rico Dowdle and Jaylon Warren. Heidenreich is considerably more well-rounded and athletic than Johnson, Homer and Nichols.

Same story at receiver, with neither Ben Skowronek, Kaden Wetjen or Max Hurleman mentioned at all. Roman Wilson is in the lead to be WR3, but "he hasn't played well in either preseason game." Quite a contrast to how Wetjen looks. Germie Bernard was drafted in the second round this year, but he "hasn't flashed as much as Wilson," quite a low bar considering how bad Wilson has been.

Skowronek will most likely made the team as a WSTD and fifth or sixth receiver. Wetjen will be kept as a kick returner and WSTD, Hurleman will be cut or put on the practice squad, but don't expect more.

 

[Don Wassall]

Eli Heidenreich was the star of his high school football team, Mt. Lebanon High School, located in a fairly wealthy area just four miles from downtown Pittsburgh. Mt. Lebanon won a state championship while Eli was there, with a mostly White team. It should surprise no one that Eli received no scholarship offers, choosing to go to Navy instead.

I was just reading an article about him and instantly noticed this paragraph: "[Mick] Yokitis [associate head coach at Navy] called Heidenreich a classic late bloomer. He weighed 160 pounds as a sophomore at Mt. Lebanon. By the time he arrived in Indianapolis for the NFL combine in February he weighed in at 202 pounds."

And this: “It’s kind of crazy,” said Yokitis. “To think about where he was when I recruited him at Mt. Lebanon to where he is now. No one wanted him. No one was recruiting him. It just goes to show you what someone can accomplish when they put their minds to it.”

So Eli was the star of a state championship team and yet was still developing physically. It's another example of something we've discussed often, namely that the Caste System uses the fact that blacks often develop physically at a younger age than Whites as a reason (excuse) to overlook deserving White kids and not recruit them. Realizing that many White kids are still developing should be an incentive to recruit them but of course isn't.

And what's never remarked upon by the corporate media is that those black kids who look like they started shaving at the age of 10 are often at their peak physically while Whites are still filling out when it comes to weight and even height. That partially explains why so many blacks peak or plateau in college or their early NFL years and then decline, often rapidly.

Here's the article if interested. Considering this year's White purge, Eli making the Steelers as their third running back is to me the biggest positive, just gotta hope that he isn't quickly demoted or used only as a WSTD.

Mt. Lebanon’s Eli Heidenreich makes the cut as the Steelers trim their roster

Five years ago, Bob Palko won WPIAL and PIAA football championships with Eli Heidenreich as one of his star players at Mt. Lebanon High School. On Sunday...

www.post-gazette.com

 

[White Lightning]

Finally some good news. We need it more than ever. I'm excited to watch the Steelers this fall. Best team optically in a very long time!

 

[jphoss]

Eli Heidenreich was the star of his high school football team, Mt. Lebanon High School, located in a fairly wealthy area just four miles from downtown Pittsburgh. Mt. Lebanon won a state championship while Eli was there, with a mostly White team. It should surprise no one that Eli received no scholarship offers, choosing to go to Navy instead.

I was just reading an article about him and instantly noticed this paragraph: "[Mick] Yokitis [associate head coach at Navy] called Heidenreich a classic late bloomer. He weighed 160 pounds as a sophomore at Mt. Lebanon. By the time he arrived in Indianapolis for the NFL combine in February he weighed in at 202 pounds."

And this: “It’s kind of crazy,” said Yokitis. “To think about where he was when I recruited him at Mt. Lebanon to where he is now. No one wanted him. No one was recruiting him. It just goes to show you what someone can accomplish when they put their minds to it.”

So Eli was the star of a state championship team and yet was still developing physically. It's another example of something we've discussed often, namely that the Caste System uses the fact that blacks often develop physically at a younger age than Whites as a reason (excuse) to overlook deserving White kids and not recruit them. Realizing that many White kids are still developing should be an incentive to recruit them but of course isn't.

And what's never remarked upon by the corporate media is that those black kids who look like they started shaving at the age of 10 are often at their peak physically while Whites are still filling out when it comes to weight and even height. That partially explains why so many blacks peak or plateau in college or their early NFL years and then decline, often rapidly.

Here's the article if interested. Considering this year's White purge, Eli making the Steelers as their third running back is to me the biggest positive, just gotta hope that he isn't quickly demoted or used only as a WSTD.

Mt. Lebanon’s Eli Heidenreich makes the cut as the Steelers trim their roster

Five years ago, Bob Palko won WPIAL and PIAA football championships with Eli Heidenreich as one of his star players at Mt. Lebanon High School. On Sunday...

www.post-gazette.com

Absolutely correct Don and a point that needs to be brought up continuously. There are so many examples, but one that immediately came to me was Joe Alt. He was 220 lbs and played tight end his junior year. If it wasn’t for his dad being a great chiefs lineman I doubt he gets many, if any, offers to play d1 as a lineman. But look at what he became as his body continued to mature. There are countless other white high school players like this who get overlooked and never get a chance since they do not have a dad who played in the NFL.

 

[Leonardfan]

@Don Wassall Looks like we are all yinzers again this year at CF