Good Monday to You Steelers’ Fans.
With the truly deadest period of the summer upon us, one has to wonder just what to make of this team now that they’ve endured an offseason of turmoil and three phases of OTAs. On the surface, there are many doubters. Those that do not believe the Steelers can make up for the loss of a certain, disgruntled receiver and those that just don’t see enough talent to be a threat in the AFC. There are all kinds of varying opinions on where the Steelers will end up in 2019, Most of the top betting sites are predicting a good start to the 2019/2020 season, however these predictions are very early. Perhaps this is blessing in disguise. Perhaps no longer being the ‘hunted’ will benefit this team. It’s hard to say of course when you still have a roster of 90 guys and have yet to even crack heads in Training Camp, there’s a lot to like about the direction of things. If there’s been one comment about the improved aura of the locker room there’s been a thousand. That’s a positive sign and something I hope can be built upon. This doesn’t mean that there won’t still be questions of course. Can James Conner stay healthy? Just how good will Devin Bush be? Can JuJu and company keep up the pace of recent passing seasons? Those are but a few of many questions that will ultimately be answered. One thing is for certain, this team feels more like it’s “all in” than Steelers’ teams of the recent past.
Speaking of JuJu… He was in Las Vegas this past weekend. At this time I do not know if Chris has been able to track him down and get a pic with him but then again Chris has been known to stalk from time to time. I’m kidding!
Tweet of the Day… If Ben Roethlisberger said this there would likely be a Congressional Investigation launched.
Aaron Rodgers wants more freedom at the line of scrimmage – ProFootballTalk #Packers https://t.co/iFQ34TLCAW
— ?FB on the KNOW (@fb_know) June 17, 2019
Lots of talk in recent days about Joe Haden and his pending contract. This is the final year of Haden’s current deal in which he’ll make over $10 million. Now at 30 years old, Haden said recently he’d like to retire a Steeler but that’s easier said than done. While his play has been very good he does not have the ability to stay with some of the faster receivers in the game any longer. Will the Steelers want to pay the type of money Haden will likely want which will be over the $10 million he currently makes. If Haden is willing to take less than that? I think you have to strongly consider it. As many of you know, the Steelers do not negotiate contracts once the season has begun so any chance of an extension must be done prior to the September 8th opener.
We have been told that the Steelers are very high on Marcus Allen heading into Training Camp. That’s saying a lot for a guy they drafted in 2018 and hardly ever saw the field in his rookie season. We’ll take a ‘wait and see approach on this because we had doubts about Allen period when he was drafted. If the team is able to make him into a defensive contributor then we’ll be happy to see it happen.
Have a great start to the week Steeler Nation!
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