STEELERS TRAINING CAMP 2025 IN LATROBE IS IN FULL SWING. (PHOTO BY MARLON MARTIN)
:10—I have to keep repeating to myself—”It’s only the exhibition season, it’s only the exhibition season.” But hope springs eternal. Football season is here, the Hall of Fame game already in the books, the Chargers’ backups drubbing the Lions’ backups and daily we get updates on the happenings at St. Vincent so let’s dive in on our Pittsburgh Steelers.
:09—I have not cruised out to St. Vincent yet but I have eyes and ears everywhere, so what’s being reported back to me is a very sharp and in focus Aaron Rodgers. Despite his rather cool reputation, all the other QBs on the roster have nothing but high praise for Rodgers, the way he has shared all the experience he has gained through the years and has let Mason Rudolph and Will Howard pick his brain for insight on this and that. Plus Rodgers has shown his formidable arm strength and accuracy throughout early camp and has let the receivers know who is in charge, letting Roman Wilson know he was not happy with Wilson running a wrong route the other day and getting the Rodgers glare all the way back to the huddle. I’m thinking Aaron Rodgers is going to be a major upgrade over last year’s QBs.
:08—With T.J. Watt back in the fold and happy he is the NFL’s highest paid player that’s not a QB, I expect big things from our defense. Cam Hayward is Cam Hayward even at 36, rookie Derrick Harmon is going to be a sensation, Payton Wilson at
right inside linebacker is a pass defense expert with unbelievable speed, Patrick Queen and Alex Highsmith are good solid linebackers. T.J. is going to have a monster season and I will not be shocked if he’s the sack leader in the NFL again.
:07—Remember where ya heard it first, our defensive backfield is the best in the NFL. Joey Porter Jr., Darius Slay and the stellar new addition Jalen Ramsey are cornerbacks ready to shut down any combination of WRs in the NFL. And although losing Minkah Fitzpatrick sucks, DeShon Elliott was Pro Bowl-level last year and is going to be even better this year with Chuck Clark as his backup and free safety Juan Thornhill roaming the deep part of the field.
:06—Back to the offense —Zach Frazier is stepping right in as the next great center in a long line of great, Hall of Fame centers, the glue of the offensive line and already highly praised by Aaron Rodgers. The rest of the line, guards Isaac Seumalo and Mason McCormick and tackles Troy Fautanu and Broderick Jones (a little banged up at the moment) have looked sharp and appear to be ready for great things, springing holes for Jaylen Warren and rookie Kaleb Johnson and giving Aaron Rodgers plenty of time to sling the ball all over the field to D.K. Metcalf, Calvin Austin III and Roman Wilson at wideouts and let’s not forget Pat Freiermuth, new addition and excellent pass-catcher Jonnu Smith from Miami and the massive Darnell Washington at tight end. Let the good times roll.
:05—Kicker Chris Boswell. All-Pro. Best kicker in the NFL. ’nuff said.
:04—Word on the street is the Pirates want to negotiate a long term contract with Pitcher Paul Skenes. I can’t even wrap my head around this rumor. Why on earth would Skenes even consider this, the Pirates will never win with the front office and owner they have. The offer would have to be 7 years for something like $400 million. Never, ever ever gonna happen.
:03—The Pirates at the trade deadline gave away David Bednar to the Yankees, Ke’Bryan Hayes to the Reds and left-handed pitcher Bailey Falter to the Royals. They received the dreaded “prospects” for the future (which never arrives) for these men and, yeah, I know, Ke’Bryan Hayes can’t hit his way out of a wet paper bag but his glove is the best in the Major Leagues. You have to get at least one bat for David Bednar, an elite closer and a good solid major leaguer for Falter. This was a salary dump, nothing more. And no trades for players like Tommy Pham, hitting like an All-Star for the last 2 months and a free agent at the end of the year is just negligence on the front office’s part. Terrible. Just terrible.
:02—I’m glad they didn’t trade Mitch Keller, a true #2 starter behind the unbelievable Paul Skenes. Unfortunately Skenes will be gone after next season due to arbitration and his salary skyrocketing into the stratosphere of around $35-plus million. The end is near, boys and girls, watch him while you still have a chance to see the best pitcher in the majors at PNC Park.
:01—There may be a lockout in 2027 as the owners and players negotiate a new revenue deal and maybe, just maybe, put a salary cap in place. It would certainly help the baseball landscape somewhat but teams like the Pirates will always spend only up to the salary cap floor while the Mets, Dodgers, Yankees and other rich teams will spend to the max cap space. I hope for all the diehard Pirates fans something gets done to change the system because right now it’s broken.
GAME OVER.