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2023 Pittsburgh Steelers. Banged up team loses to Buffalo. Looking ahead to 2024 now (5 Viewers)

I agree.  Plus we learned last year the team has the final say on what get's shown.  I don't think it is much of a big deal anymore, could be fun...

 
Fromm entering the draft is good news. Not that I like Fromm but I do like Jalen Hurts and the Steelers FO has liked scrambling AND high efficiency QB’s in the past. If Fromm pushes him further down I’m all for it. Would love to see Hurts in a Steelers uniform even if he doesn’t work out as a front end starter his scrambling ability should make him a far more apt reserve than what they have right now.

 
If they would draft Hurts I would like to see him get into the mix right away for a few plays a game, even if Ben is healthy.  

 
Just dotting this for future reference.

I'd be ok with Hurts, though I was never that impressed with him at Alabama.  Much better at Oklahoma.

 
Don't like Hurts. Really don't like Hard Knocks. However, I am getting jazzed for the Hall of Fame game and may even make a pilgrimage to Canton to see and hear Troy Polamalu.

 
Steelers wouldn’t have beaten the Patriots wit duck at QB.  The Titans knocked out the Pats and Ravens.  They are legit and definitely a good thing that they made it in.

 
grateful zed said:
do they draft another RB, or sit tight?
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I like the top RBs they have but if Tomlin wants a bell-cow then they must.   Conner can't stay healthy, Snell is ok but not talented enough to be a feature back,  Whyte and Samuels are better suited as role players.

 
Donnie Shell named to the HoF.   Very deserving:  4 time SB champion, 5-time Pro Bowler, 4-time All pro, team MVP in 1980 on a team filled with HoF players, finalist for the NFL's 100th Anniversary Team.   

Not bad for an undrafted Free agent.

 
Godsbrother said:
Donnie Shell named to the HoF.   Very deserving:  4 time SB champion, 5-time Pro Bowler, 4-time All pro, team MVP in 1980 on a team filled with HoF players, finalist for the NFL's 100th Anniversary Team.   

Not bad for an undrafted Free agent.
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He had 51 interceptions - the most ever by a strong safety in NFL history.  He also had 19 fumble recoveries.

Well deserved election to the HOF.

 
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Cowher, Shell and probably Troy as inductees and it is likely the Steelers play in the HOF game.

Who is going to make the trip from here?

 
PITTSBURGH (AP) — Art Rooney II isn't quite sure what to make of what the Pittsburgh Steelers president called one of the “craziest” seasons he's experienced during his 50-plus years around the NFL.

The Steelers lost quarterback Ben Roethlisberger at halftime of Week 2. They pulled off an audacious trade for safety Minkah Fitzpatrick that had Rooney “pacing the floor” as he weighed the pros and cons of the franchise trading a first-round draft pick for the first time in more than half a century. They spent the final 14 weeks jockeying between Mason Rudolph and undrafted rookie free agent quarterback Devlin “Duck” Hodges.

And still Pittsburgh was in playoff contention on the final day of the regular season before finishing 8-8, a testament to what Rooney described as a “great job” by head coach Mike Tomlin.

“I was proud of the way our guys kept fighting through all the adversity, and unfortunately we couldn't keep it going there the last few weeks of the season," Rooney said on Wednesday. "But at least we had our chance and maybe with a little more stability at the quarterback position we could have gone a little farther.”

Rooney expects that stability under center to return in 2020. Roethlisberger remains in the early stages of rehabilitation after undergoing surgery to repair his right elbow in September, but expects to pick up the pace in the near future. Rooney praised the two-time Super Bowl winner's attitude and doesn't believe the team needs to bring in a veteran backup as a precaution should Roethlisberger's comeback hit a snag.

Both Rudolph and Hodges played well at times and skittishly at others as the Steelers settled in the bottom five in the league in yards passing, touchdown passes and interceptions. Rudolph endured what Rooney described as an “unusual” season that included being knocked unconscious against Baltimore;getting into a fight with Cleveland defensive end Myles Garrett that ended with Garrett ripping of Rudolph's helmet, then smacking him in the head with it; and hurting his left shoulder in Week 16 against the New York Jets.

“Hopefully it was something, what's the old story, what doesn't kill you makes you stronger?" Rooney said. "Hopefully it's that kind of situation for him. But I think we're all pretty comfortable with Mason coming back as our backup and being a guy that can continue to develop.”

To help speed up the process, the Steelers hired Matt Canada as quarterbacks coach on Wednesday. Canada spent two years as the offensive coordinator at the University of Pittsburgh — which shares a practice facility with the Steelers — before moving on to LSU and Maryland. The Steelers spent the last two years without an official quarterbacks coach after promoting Randy Fichtner to offensive coordinator in 2018.

“We're happy somebody like Matt, who we knew from down the hall here, was a known quantity for us and we liked some of the work he's done and happy to have him on board," Rooney said.

Canada's hiring might be the only significant staff change heading into 2020. Though longtime general manager Kevin Colbert's contract is up after the draft, Rooney said he's “optimistic” something can be worked out to keep the 63-year-old Colbert in the fold. There may be an opening at wide receivers coach. Ray Sherman came out of retirement to coach the position following Darryl Drake's sudden passing during training camp, but Rooney deferred any movement there to Tomlin.

Tomlin called locking down outside linebacker Bud Dupree a priority after Dupree made a career-high 11 1/2 sacks while teaming with T.J. Watt to become one of the best edge-rush tandems in the NFL. Rooney said there is “no question” the Steelers would like to keep Dupree, even if that means using the franchise tag.

The last time the team applied the franchise tag, things got weird. Running back Le'Veon Bell opted to sit out all of 2018 rather than sign the franchise tender for a second straight year. Rooney isn't concerned about history repeating itself.

“We had one I'll call it unusual experience and I think it was that, an unusual experience,” Rooney said.

The team often approaches young players about a contract extension as they prepare to enter the final year of their rookie contracts. Wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster and running back James Conner both fit that category, but are coming off injury-marred years that limited their productivity. Rooney said the team still believes Smith-Schuster will be an “outstanding player” while admitting he'd like to see what Conner could do if healthy for a full season, something that hasn't happened during any of Conner's three years in the league.

Pittsburgh must also figure out how to approach the future of linebacker Ryan Shazier. Shazier continues to work toward a potential comeback following spinal stabilization surgery in December, 2017. Rooney said the Steelers would like to have Shazier with the team “in some capacity."

“I don't want to say he's given up on the idea of being a player,” Rooney said. “He's here every day working out. I just saw him downstairs working out. He's a remarkable young man, determined young man. I don't want to speak for him in terms of saying where he wants to go from here.”

WILL GRAVES AP

January 15, 2020, 9:27 PM UTC

 
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JoeSteeler said:
Rooney ... doesn't believe the team needs to bring in a veteran backup as a precaution should Roethlisberger's comeback hit a snag.
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Well, that sucks.  I really wanted them to bring someone in who could be an insurance policy should Ben get hurt and possibly a bridge to the next franchise QB (because Mason isn't it).

 
Leeroy Jenkins said:
Cowher, Shell and probably Troy as inductees and it is likely the Steelers play in the HOF game.

Who is going to make the trip from here?
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I considered it but it's way more expensive than I thought.  For example, this 2 day package costs $549 per person:  https://hofexperiences.com/enshrinement-ticket-packages/2-day-blue-package  I live in FL with 4 in my family so we'll be watching on TV rather than spending $4K on flights, hotels, etc. for a trip to Ohio :lol:  

 
Steeler said:
Well, that sucks.  I really wanted them to bring someone in who could be an insurance policy should Ben get hurt and possibly a bridge to the next franchise QB (because Mason isn't it).
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Yeah they still might do that.   I don't think they go into the pre-season with Rudolph, Duck and Lynch unless they have a REALLY, REALLY good feeling Ben will be back for week 1.   

 
Also keep in mind...just because Rooney doesn't think they need to doesn't mean Colbert/Tomlin agree with him.  It's not like Rooney is a Jerry Jones type of owner.  Colbert has always seemed to be able to make his own calls on personnel.

 
Current Available Picks: 49, 114, 125, 179, 210 (Will almost surely also have a 3rd round comp pick, comps will push picks 114 and on further back) - 6 total

Offseason priorities IMO:

  • Most important, figure out QB situation. Is Ben going to be healthy in 2020? Should know more after Feb Checkup. 

    Either way, draft a QB
  • If Ben is done, and he retires or is let go, $25 mil cap hit, $8 mil in cap savings this year and off the books next year. 

[*]Upgrade offensive line

  • Pouncey and Foster sucked this year. Just from watching the games, mishandled snaps and missed blocks. It was rough. They're both getting old too, time to draft/sign replacement for Foster and look into an heir apparent for Pouncey. 
  • I'm not a big fan of Big Al, I think he's overrated, but he did grade out pretty well this year. Feiler has been surprisingly solid and is a RFA so we should be able to keep him. And Decastro is doing his best to make up for weakness to his left. 
  • Hopefully determine if Chuks can start at LT in 2021 since Big Al is in final year of contract in 2020. 
  • Foster could get cut to save $4 million.

[*]Figure out D-line

  • Cut McCullers, save $1.1 Mil against the cap
  • Resign Hargrave.
  • Extend Hayward, reduce his cap hit this year. Big Ben will be gone in 1-2 years, then his monster cap hit will be too. I expect lots of money to get displaced into the 2-4 year timeframe this offseason.

[*]Linebackers

  • Let Dupree walk. He had good chemistry with Watt, but he wasn't getting way more pressure than the previous 3 seasons, he just got more stats. For his position, I think that Hargrave is more valuable to this team and that a drafted Rusher, or Ola, can step in for 2020. (That said, I think the Steelers do the opposite and pay Dupree a ton and let Hargrave walk, a mistake in my opinion.)
  • Cut Barron. Saves $5 million in cap space and Bush should be better next year and line up next to Vince. 
  • Extend Watt this offseason. Don't do the 5th year deal, and get him locked up. He's vying for DPOY this year and is still improving. The only risk is injury, and I think it's worth it to give him the big $$ right now for a 5 year extension. Lock him up long term, put most of the cap hit starting in 2021 or 2022 (still guaranteed).

[*]Secondary

  • Don't resign/extend anyone except Mike Hilton, who is restricted. (looking at you Joe) Haden is starting to slow down, and while he had a good 2019, I don't think we need to extend him past this year.
  • PLEASE get someone to fight Edmunds for starting time. Almost 80% of the time that there's a big play against us, it's because Edmunds was out of position, late to the receiver, or whiffed on a tackle. I am not a fan, haven't been from day 1, and hope we can replace him with someone to pair with Minkah for the long term.

[*]RBs/WRs

  • We need an influx of talent. Our corps is thin and one or two injuries and it's depleted of talent. I would love for the Steelers to get Clyde Edwards-Helaire in the 4th, but after his championship run I bet he starts to move up draft boards. 
  • Our WR corps has athleticism, but it doesn't always come together. Hoping that they can get Cain more involved next year because he's was great in limited work.
  • I think we should try and resign Juju this offseason. I don't think that his 2019 campaign was indicative of what he has to offer, and this could be a buy low opportunity. It is risky though, and I'm not sure he'd even go for it. He'll probably gamble on himself being much better next year.
  • I like Diontae and James Washington, but we need another strong WR. I'd like one in our top 4 picks because this class has some real WR talent. 

Overall, the team still has a lot of talent and if Big Ben comes back next year 95% healthy, we have a shot at being great. But, that's very short term. We now know that Mason and Duck are not the answer. We have 6 picks to work with, and I think that should go towards QB, RB, WR, O-line, Pass Rusher, D-line, in no particular order. 

 
steelers1080 said:
We have 6 picks to work with, and I think that should go towards QB, RB, WR, O-line, Pass Rusher, D-line, in no particular order. 
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Is that all????

A QB drafted after the 2nd round is likely not going to be any better than Rudolph so if you're looking for a potential replacement for Ben you're down to Jordan Love, Jake Fromm or Jacob Eason.   If you're looking for an eventual starter then maybe but  if you're worried about Ben not coming back then I think you're better off getting a free agent QB and using the 2nd pick for another position, maybe o-line, TE or edge LB.

 
Godsbrother said:
Is that all????

A QB drafted after the 2nd round is likely not going to be any better than Rudolph so if you're looking for a potential replacement for Ben you're down to Jordan Love, Jake Fromm or Jacob Eason.   If you're looking for an eventual starter then maybe but  if you're worried about Ben not coming back then I think you're better off getting a free agent QB and using the 2nd pick for another position, maybe o-line, TE or edge LB.
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Art says the 'team is comfy'.

------------------------------------------------

Steelers Depot @Steelersdepot

Art Rooney II indicates probably unlikely team will add a QB in free agency says team is comfortable right now with QBs currently under contract. #Steelers

5:41 PM · Feb 5, 2020·

------------------------------------

Ben had been mentioning retirement before the injury.   

The early medical  reports are positive but he 'appears' out of shape so you have to wonder about his conditioning and how that might effect his season or his odds of future injury.  

 
Bracie Smathers said:
Art says the 'team is comfy'.

------------------------------------------------

Steelers Depot @Steelersdepot

Art Rooney II indicates probably unlikely team will add a QB in free agency says team is comfortable right now with QBs currently under contract. #Steelers

5:41 PM · Feb 5, 2020·

------------------------------------

Ben had been mentioning retirement before the injury.   

The early medical  reports are positive but he 'appears' out of shape so you have to wonder about his conditioning and how that might effect his season or his odds of future injury.  
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I don't put much stock in "appears to be out of shape" comments.   If his elbow is okay AND he has the desire to play he'll be in shape.  If not then it really doesn't matter.

Also one of the reasons Rooney has to say he is comfy is the Steelers have a lot of cap space tied up with Ben.  As long as he comes back they'll stick with Rudolph/Hodges/Lynch as backups

 
Godsbrother said:
I don't put much stock in "appears to be out of shape" comments.   If his elbow is okay AND he has the desire to play he'll be in shape.  If not then it really doesn't matter.

Also one of the reasons Rooney has to say he is comfy is the Steelers have a lot of cap space tied up with Ben.  As long as he comes back they'll stick with Rudolph/Hodges/Lynch as backups
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Appearances can be deceiving. I saw the pics on the sideline where he was in a puffy jacket and looked huge. But he was photographed in a polo with some fan and looked like he had lost 30 lbs. So, I won't judge Ben until we see him in training camp.

And yeah, I want a QB, but I doubt a QB that would be an upgrade falls to us and I don't really want us to use pick to go get him.

My fondest wish right now is that we franchise Dupree and trade him for a pick or to move up. At this point, I don't think the Steelers should resign Dupree ($16 mil per year estimated cost) or Hargrave ($14 mil per year estimated cost). They're both solid, but we have to keep $$ for Watt and Fitzpatrick and other young players that imo are more talented. 

 
Also, if we let Hargrave and Dupree walk, along with some of our other UFAs, and don't sign a bunch of people, we have a chance at 2 third round comp picks next year. Combine that with the chance that Big Ben could definitely be done after this season, and having 2 extra thirds would be mighty helpful. 

 
steelers1080 said:
Appearances can be deceiving. I saw the pics on the sideline where he was in a puffy jacket and looked huge. But he was photographed in a polo with some fan and looked like he had lost 30 lbs. So, I won't judge Ben until we see him in training camp.

And yeah, I want a QB, but I doubt a QB that would be an upgrade falls to us and I don't really want us to use pick to go get him.

My fondest wish right now is that we franchise Dupree and trade him for a pick or to move up. At this point, I don't think the Steelers should resign Dupree ($16 mil per year estimated cost) or Hargrave ($14 mil per year estimated cost). They're both solid, but we have to keep $$ for Watt and Fitzpatrick and other young players that imo are more talented. 
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Agree appearances can be deceiving. At times I'd swear Mahomes looks a bit chunky.

I would like an upgrade on our current backup but don't really want them to draft one, and for sure not early. They are not any good at it IMO. Where they excel at identifying WR's they stink at identifying QB's. Granted they've not committed a lot to the position since drafting Ben but the shots they've taken have been poor. I also don't like Jalen Hurts as I just get this feeling that if they draft a QB in round 2 or 3 it would be him which is why I'm especially down on them drafting one early. Replacing Big Ben with someone as good as he has been won't be easy, we went almost 25 years between franchise QB's after all,  but I think getting competent QB play might be easier then it's been over last decade. QB just seems to be getting deeper. Granted Ben, Brady, Rivers, Brees and soon Rodgers will fall off but seems like more are coming then exiting. This year I anticipate we see one or more starter worthy QB's get left out in the cold with respect to starting job in the off season of QB musical chairs. Hopefully the market will be similar when Ben is done.

I also don't mind using the tag on Dupree and keeping him for a year but want no part of him on a multi-year extension even if it lessens the cap charge this year. Don't trust him over long haul and as you pointed out we got some key players, more key then him, to extend later. But team is in win now mode, that's my true belief anyway and I say that with respect to both the talent level on the team being in position to win now and Ben's age and age of some of the OL making this window pretty small.   Dupree on a one year deal kinda fits what I want them to do, go all in on this year on moves that don't hurt you in following years.

 
Cleveland Browns defensive end Myles Garrett again alleged on Thursday that Steelers quarterback Mason Rudolph used a racial slur to ignite a brawl during a Nov. 14 game.

In an interview with ESPN, Garrett said Rudolph “called me the N-word. He called me a ‘stupid N-word.’”
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It is nice to see Garrett was sincere about being remorseful. 

 
Godsbrother said:
It is nice to see Garrett was sincere about being remorseful. 
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Whatevs.

In other news, rumors that Big Ben had Tommy Johns surgery, after initial reports that it wasn't. If it was, I think that could be better for his long term outlook, but might mean that he's not ready to go to start the season. Usually pitches who have gotten the surgery come back better than before. The main case in Football was Jake Delhomme, and he came back worse, but he was already on the down side of his career, so who knows. 

 
steelers1080 said:
Whatevs.

In other news, rumors that Big Ben had Tommy Johns surgery, after initial reports that it wasn't. If it was, I think that could be better for his long term outlook, but might mean that he's not ready to go to start the season. Usually pitches who have gotten the surgery come back better than before. The main case in Football was Jake Delhomme, and he came back worse, but he was already on the down side of his career, so who knows. 
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My buddy’s wife is a nurse with supposed inside info on Big Ben’s surgery and made the remark that he is going to be fine, possibly better than before.

Im not sure how much she really knows cause she won’t say any more so take it for what it’s worth which I know isn’t much.

My concern is if Ben really has the desire to come back after essentially a year away from the game.  He certainly doesn’t need the money.

 
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