Steelers rookie guard Gennings Dunker hasn’t put the pads on for an NFL practice yet, but he’s already noticing differences between college and pro football players.
Dunker said that just from his brief experiences at the Steelers’ non-contact Organized Team Activities, he’s already recognizing that NFL speed is different. Dunker says he’ll have to adjust to blitzing NFL linebackers who are more athletic than the ones he saw during his college career as a three-year starter at Iowa.
“These guys are a lot faster than college linebackers,” Dunker said. “They’re pretty quick, so maybe taking a little bit different angles because they’re definitely a lot better athletes than me.”
The Steelers made offensive line a priority in the 2026 NFL draft, selecting tackle Max Iheanachor in the first round before adding Dunker in the third. They’ll be counting on their young offensive lineman making a quick adjustment to NFL speed.
Steelers linebacker Patrick Queen says he and the team have talked about a new contract, but so far, it’s all talk.
Queen told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette he’s seen speculation that he could be traded or released but doesn’t think much of it.
“I saw the whole charade that went on all this offseason, but I mean it’s talks. Obviously, no movement either way,” he said. “So, at the end of the day, [the Steelers] have business to handle. I’ve got business handled at home, and my business is to go out there and play the best football I can and put myself in a good position and put our team in a good position so that we both get successful.”
Queen is heading into the final year of his contract and has a salary cap hit of $17.2 million this season. If he were to be traded after June 1, the Steelers would save $13.3 million in cap space. But Queen said he doesn’t put a lot of stalk in rumors that he could be traded.
“Some of it was true, but some of it was extended truth, just people rambling and stuff,” Queen said. “That’s what you can have with social media nowadays. You know, everybody wants the first say whatever happens — and wants to hope to be right. [There were] very [few] facts out there.”
Ultimately, Queen said, he’s good with either playing out his current contract or getting a new deal.
“I’ve got a good amount of money coming in this year,” Queen said. “So at the end of the day, I couldn’t care less. If they do want to extend, cool. If not, cool. At the end of the day, it’s as a business.”
On Friday morning, ESPN reported that the Steelers had fired seniors special-teams assistant Derius Swinton II for a violation of team policy. Later in the day, more information emerged.
Brooke Pryor of ESPN reports that Swinton was fired for “workplace misconduct.”
The nature of the alleged misconduct was not specified.
Swinton, 41, has worked for the Rams, Chiefs, Broncos, Bears (twice), 49ers, Lions, Cardinals, Chargers, and Raiders. He was the special-teams coordinator for the Chargers in 2021. He finished the 2025 season as the interim special-teams coordinator with the Raiders.
Swinton had been hired as part of coach Mike McCarthy’s initial staff. Danny Crossman is the special-teams coordinator.
The Steelers hired Derius Swinton as a senior assistant special teams coach this offseason, but he won’t be with the team for the 2026 season.
Adam Schefter of ESPN reports that Swinton has been dismissed for a violation of team policy. The nature of the violation is not known.
Swinton spent the last three seasons as an assistant special teams coach for the Raiders and he finished out last season as their interim special teams coordinator. He has been a coordinator with the 49ers and Chargers during an NFL coaching career that has featured stints with 10 different teams.
Danny Crossman is the special teams coordinator on head coach Mike McCarthy’s staff.
Rico Dowdle emerged as the lead back with the Panthers during the 2025 season and posted his second straight 1,000-yard season, but he won’t be back in Carolina for the 2026 campaign.
Dowdle moved on to the Steelers as a free agent, which means that he also didn’t secure a clear path to the No. 1 running back job. Jaylen Warren is back for his fifth season in Pittsburgh and one of the offseason tasks in Pittsburgh is sorting out how they are going to divvy up the playing time in the backfield.
Dowdle said his approach to any competition will have an inward focus.
“We got two guys who can go out there and do the job at a high level,” Dowdle said, via Will Graves of the Associated Press. “The coaches will decide how that goes. And I just come out here and put my best foot forward each day and let the rest take care of itself.”
While Warren is the incumbent in Pittsburgh, Dowdle may have one thing working in his favor. His first 1,000-yard season came with the Cowboys in 2024 while playing for Mike McCarthy, who is now the head coach for the Steelers.
