Hey Steelers Fans. Welcome to Wednesday.
The Kickoff
You could make the argument that DeShon Elliott was the most consistent and perhaps best player on the Pittsburgh Steelers’ defense last season. Elliott was rewarded for his play this week with a new contract. He has signed a new three-year deal worth up to $15.5 million. Elliott was the most consistent tackler in 2024 and his willingness to be a vocal leader clearly inspired the Steelers to keep him in the Black and Gold. There are plenty of other storylines to follow right now but I often point back to deals like this following successful seasons. I’m totally on board with this.
AB
Former Steeler Antonio Brown is wanted for attempted murder in South Florida yet he continues to push out social media content. For all of the things that Mike Tomlin has accomplished, keeping Brown under wraps as long as he did may be the best.
Stop Me If You’ve Heard This Before
It appears that one of the major problems with the Steelers’ defense last season – the secondary especially – was “miscommunication.” How many years are we going to keep dealing with this? According to Mike DeFabo of The Athletic, it was a huge issue in 2024 and was one of the reasons that Beanie Bishop didn’t play as much once Cam Sutton returned. We know that Tomlin always prefers veterans when all else is equal but that’s not that point. Miscommunication has been a constant thorn in the Steelers’ side for YEARS and may be why Gerald Alexander was brought back to coach the DBs. This has to be cleaned up, period.
Watt
I’m starting to think T.J. Watt doesn’t sign an extension/new deal until right before the season opener. Both sides want something done but clearly guaranteed money is a hang up. I don’t expect Watt to rush into the Steelers’ offense and sign as he did during his last contract dispute. He may want to but he won’t. There’s too much at stake in what will be his final “massive” contract.
New Show Thursday Night
We have a great new show coming up on the SCB Steelers Podcast presented by DEK Roofing Inc this week. Now that we are 25 years into the 21st century, we will start selecting the Steelers “All 21st Century Team.” We’ll start with the offense this week. Tune in and see if you agree with our selections!
Random Reads
Caitlin Clark appears to be dealing with the same issues that Michael Jordan dealt with early in his career. She’s being targeted with physicality and cheap shots. Will she bulk up as Jordan did? We shall see… It was reported this week that Pat McAfee was upset that a clip of him swinging and missing at a pitch from an Oklahoma softball pitcher made it into a clip aired on “Gameday.” If this is true, McAfee needs to get over himself… Things seem to have quieted surrounding Jonnu Smith coming to the Steelers. I have to wonder how Pat Freiermuth has been handling it… Congrats to the Florida Panthers on their second straight Stanley Cup. I don’t know where they rank among all-time great teams but they’re fun to watch I know that much… One of the most interesting things to watch in Training Camp for me anyway will be Kaleb Johnson’s pass blocking. He didn’t have to do a lot of it at Iowa and he knows he has work to do, but the effort sure is there. If he gains Tomlin’s confidence then it will be curious to see how much playing time he gets.
Hot Reads is presented by
