SCB Steelers Hot Reads – We are Officially in Limbo

Welcome to Hot Reads!

After many years of giving you “Quick Hitters” we felt it was time for a rebrand. Hot Reads will look and feel very similar to that but I’m hoping to offer up a few different things along the way. The subject matter is of course the Pittsburgh Steelers, the NFL and some random thoughts along the way. In essence, I’m going back to when I started nearly 20 years ago. I hope you enjoy it.

Waiting…

So here’s what we know. The Steelers and Niners have an agreement to trade for Brandon Aiyuk. The ball is literally in Aiyuk’s court. It is, according to Ian Rapoport and others, up to Aiyuk as to whether or not this happens.

From His Perspective

I always try to look at these things from the perspective of the player. If I’m Brandon Aiyuk, why do I want to stay in San Francisco?

1. I’ve been to a couple of Super Bowls and the team seems ready to do it again.

2. I’m playing in a terrific and innovative offense.

3. I won’t get as much money as if I go elsewhere but I’ll likely be in the postseason and competing for titles for the foreseeable future.

4. The Steelers are very uncertain at QB.

5. Their division is much tougher.

Why do I want to go to Pittsburgh?

1. I’m going to get PAID.

2. I play for Mike Tomlin.

3. I won’t pay nearly as much taxes in PA as I would in CA.

4. I won’t have to worry about lingering contract issues.

There are numerous other reasons – like Primanti’s of course – as to why Aiyuk would want to come to the Steel City. But there are also reasons for him to stay too. I still believe he will end up staying with the 49ers but… All I can say is that I hope this ends… TODAY.

Social Posting…

I truly don’t understand why people feel the need to be this cruel and awful. Especially when it comes unprovoked. What drives a person to sit down and intentionally disparage someone like this??

Fields

The further we get from the game last Friday the more criticism of Justin Fields I’ve seen and heard. There’s no question he did things that he did in his three years at Chicago (which weren’t good) and there’s no question he did a few nice things too. Until we see Russell Wilson get some game action, Fields is the guy but I don’t expect it to be much longer.

Obviously I’m interested in how the 53-man roster eventually shakes out but oddly enough I’m really curious about Jack Colletto. To be clear, the only way he makes the roster is if he can prove his worth on several Special Teams. If he can’t then this is a moot point. Arthur Smith likes to utilize the fullback and he’s done so a lot so far in camp. What is likely to happen is that Connor Heyward makes the roster as a tight end but spends some time as a fullback/H-Back type. But I won’t be surprised if Colletto makes the roster. If he doesn’t, I suspect he’ll be picked up quickly by someone.