Fun fact, I’m writing this in a Starbucks near State College. Quick tip for everyone planning a fun getaway – make sure the place that your family books has good wifi.
Anyway, welcome to the weekly mailbag. This is genuinely one of my favorite pieces of the week, so I appreciate all who consistently submit questions/comments. Let’s get into it.
Q: If Aaron Rodgers takes the first snap, feels some pain in his wrist, and then Mason Rudolph comes in and the Steelers win by 50, does Aaron get the win?
Asking for a buddy. – Polamolicules Dude
A: If the Steelers are winning when Mason comes in and they win, Aaron gets the win. If they are losing and Mason brings them back, he gets the win.
Q: In recent memory, can we name a worse offseason this team has had in terms of moves that negatively affected the team?
Slay signing: Pierre looks leaps and bounds better. Slay has been nothing short of abysmal when he’s on the field
DK trade: Dk has shown us he’s a guy that needs a star across from him to succeed. If he’s doubled, it’s game over. You don’t pay 30 mill a year to a guy who can’t work through double coverage.
Pickens trade: we traded a top 10 wideout under age 25 for a third round pick….a guy who is nearly doubling DK’s numbers. I don’t care about the locker room stuff. We did not take all the steps we could’ve with him. Didn’t even try to sit him at all. We got fleeced hard in both trades. We pretty much traded Pickens for DK and took on a monster contract in the process.
We got no help at receiver, knowing full well that we were going to be in the same situation with Metcalf that Pickens was in. Except Pickens is far better than DK. Every plan they seemed to have going into this year seems to have completely crumbled around them, and despite a 6-4 record the outlook right now is just not very good. – Sir Frederick
A: 2022 was pretty bad, more so for drafting Pickett. In terms of Metcalf, getting him was a good move, but not getting a WR2 again is hurting the offense. Slay is 35, I don’t know what they expected to be there. They’ve done this at CB2 for half a decade – Ahkello Witherspoon, Levi Wallace, Patrick Peterson, Donte Jackson, Slay. Now that Asante Samuel is in the picture, he and Porter should be the outside starters. They’ve drafted well, and the trades they’ve made have been good, which has helped the roster a lot. However, their free agent signings have been very hit or miss.
Q: With the caveat that there’s still a wide range of possible outcomes with 7 weeks left to play – care to hazard a guess on the likelihood of various staff members being replaced next year? I particularly have DC Austin and OL coach Meyer in mind – their units are both performing better lately after poor starts, but I think they’re also both on expiring contracts and have plenty of warts – along with OC Smith who may get some HC interviews. But if you feel like tossing out other names, go nuts. – hearts and smarts
A: We can hope Austin is gone, but he’s Tomlin’s right hand and doesn’t pose any sort of threat, so I’m not going to count on it. Pat Meyer apparently is never going anywhere either, so any sort of major changes don’t feel likely. We know how the Steelers, particularly Mike Tomlin, operate in that department.
Q: If the Bears have a depleted secondary and no pass rush, shouldn’t we be able to have a good offensive day? And our defense should have another good day, so why is everyone picking the Bears to win. I don’t hold to all that “we hardly have ever won there” talk. Rodgers has the mojo on them. Even if he does not play, it will rub off. – steelwoman
A: Not having T.J Edwards, Tremaine Edmunds, or Noah Sewell on the field for Chicago should help the Steelers run the ball. Chicago already struggles against the run, so that’s a plus for Pittsburgh. Looks like Jaylon Johnson will play. He is listed as questionable, but he was a full participant on Thursday and Friday. Kyler Gordon was also a full participant Friday, so I’d expect him to go. Regardless of who the quarterback is, I expect a lot of running the ball.
Q: Does anyone, i.e. true insiders, et. al. has any indication on what the F.O. is planning to do about the QB situation going into 2026? As we know, this QB draft class seemingly went from better than last year to worse than last year in just a few months. What are the real options for a franchise QB in this draft? – IroncladTheory
A: Fernando Mendoza, Dante Moore, and Ty Simpson are the three who seem to be the consensus top three. We always see names skyrocket, though. Jaxson Dart wasn’t a name going in the first round until after the Senior Bowl, and then he went at the tail end of the first round. Same with Bo Nix and Michael Penix. Some names will rise. I’d still bet a lot of money on Pittsburgh taking a quarterback in round one.
Q: I don’t recall seeing an injury report for the game. Are the Steelers expecting any players who missed last week’s game to return against Chicago? – SteelerSince73!
A: Alex Highsmith is doubtful, so it doesn’t look like he’s playing. Slay and Warren are questionable.
Q: Haven’t heard much about the right side of the Oline lately. How are McCormick and Fautanu doing over there? On the flip side, Harmon and Yahya got a lot of press early but I haven’t heard much of anything about them lately. Are we getting what we thought we would get from them? – Reno SteelersFan
A: Fautanu has been terrific. Hasn’t allowed a ton of pressure, and PFF has him credited with just one sack allowed. McCormick only has one penalty on the season and has been a good run blocker and interior pass protector. Been really pleased with them this season.
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