Pittsburgh Steelers

The Steelers signed tight end Jaheim Bell to a one-year contract, the team announced on Monday. Financial terms of the contract were undisclosed.

The Eagles waived Bell last week.

The Patriots selected Bell in the seventh round in 2024 out of Florida State. He appeared in 15 games for New England as a rookie, catching two passes for 20 yards.

New England cut him out of the 2025 preseason, and he signed with the Eagles’ practice squad in October. The Eagles waived him a week later, and he spent a few weeks on the Steelers’ practice squad before signing a futures contract with Philadelphia after the season.

Bell, 24, did play a game in 2025.

Like last year, the Steelers are waiting for quarterback Aaron Rodgers. Unlike last year, there’s been no visit to Pittsburgh or reports of any other sit-down(s) between Rodgers and members of the team’s new coaching staff.

Also, the 2026 tap dance has included a contractual chess move at a time when no one realized the two sides were playing chess.

So where do things stand? No one knows, but Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette suggests that the team’s “patience could be starting to wear thin.”

There’s no way of knowing whether Dulac is simply speculating, or whether he’s been told something tangible with the understanding that he’ll characterize the situation as his own thoughts, and not as anything coming from the team.

Regardless, the fact that the Steelers applied the unrestricted free agency tender to Rodgers shows that they don’t know what he’s planning to do. If they did, there would have been no reason to position themselves for a compensatory draft pick, if Rodgers surprises everyone and signs with another team.

The UFA tender also blocks Rodgers’s ability to do nothing, to wait for a potential Super Bowl contender to lose a quarterback during the season, and to swoop in and finish the job. As of July 22, the Steelers will acquire exclusive negotiating rights to Rodgers, with November 17 looming as the deadline for playing anywhere in 2026.

So what’s really going on? It’s possible that the Steelers don’t really want Rodgers, but that they want him to break up with them. It’s also possible that Rodgers is waiting for the Steelers to close the door.

It’s also possible that the two sides aren’t on the same page regarding his contract for 2026. Last year, he gave them a break by taking only $13.65 million in salary. This year, what if he wants more? If former Packers quarterback Malik Willis is worth $25 million per year to the Dolphins despite having only six career starts, what is Rodgers worth to the Steelers?

The problem is that, by giving the Steelers a sweetheart deal a year ago, they may be expecting him to do it again.

The UFA tender puts more than $15 million on the table. Rodgers may want more than that. Depending on how much more he wants, the two sides could reach an impasse.

Regardless, Dulac writes that the Steelers will continue to wait for Rodgers. Even if they’re wondering, at this point, “What are we waiting for?”

After drafting quarterback Drew Allar last month, the Steelers moved on from quarterback/receiver John Rhys Plumlee. In lieu of looking for another landing spot on a 90-man offseason roster, Plumlee has made the leap to the UFL.

The spring league announced on Saturday that the Houston Gamblers have signed Plumlee. He was listed in the announcement only as a quarterback.

The Gamblers have had injury issues at the quarterback position. On Friday, the Gamblers lost to the Columbus Aviators, falling to 2-4.

Rhys Plumlee, who played college football at Ole Miss and UCF, entered the NFL in 2024 as an undrafted free agent. He has spent time with the Steelers, Jaguars, and Seahawks.

Late in the 2024 season, Plumlee was signed to Seattle’s active roster as a receiver. He has appeared in no regular-season games.

He was the eleventh overall pick in the draft. As of Friday, however, Cowboys safety Caleb Downs had the top-selling jersey among all rookies.

Fanatics has announced, via Fox Sports, the ten best-selling rookie jerseys in the wake of the 2026 draft. Downs leads the way.

Raiders quarterback Fernando Mendoza, the No. 1 overall pick, lands at No. 5. That’s one spot behind Steelers rookie quarterback Drew Allar, a third-round pick, who sits at No. 4.

Here’s the full top ten: (1) Downs; (2) Dolphins linebacker Jacob Rodriguez; (3) Cowboys linebacker Malachi Lawrence; (4) Allar; (5) Mendoza; (6) Dolphins cornerback Chris Johnson; (7) Cardinals running back Jeremiyah Love; (8) Patriots offensive lineman Caleb Lomu; (9) Bears safety Dillon Thieneman; (10) Jets linebacker David Bailey.

The presence of two Cowboys defensive players in the top three and two Dolphins defensive players in the top six could be a reflection of the overall optimism the fans of those teams are currently feeling. For Dallas, the offense is among the best in the league; it won’t take much defensive improvement to make the team a contender. As to the Dolphins, it’s a new era with the hiring of G.M. Jon-Eric Sullivan and coach Jeff Hafley.

It’s somewhat surprising that none of the four receivers taken in the first round made the list. And the absence of Rams quarterback Ty Simpson reflects the reality that he’ll be spending a year (or two, or maybe three) behind Matthew Stafford.

The numbers will surely change once the depth charts are determined for 2026 and, after that, the games are played. The rookies who play and play well will see a spike in jersey sales.

One of the most unusual stories that emerged from the 2026 draft in Pittsburgh originated in Pittsburgh, where the Steelers called receiver Makai Lemon before the Steelers were on the clock. The Eagles traded up to take Lemon, one spot before the Steelers at No. 21.

Mike Sando of The Athletic reports the move may not have been unprecedented.

Multiple unnamed sources “suggested” that the Steelers have done it before.

“They think they are tying up the phone lines so the other team moves on because they can’t get in touch with the player,” one unnamed executive told Sando. “All it takes is you to call the player, and if another team calls the agent and they’re like, ‘Oh, he’s on the phone with so-and-so,’ now they know who you’re picking.”

Either way, there’s a belief that it’s not something that should be done.

“You don’t make the call until you’re on the clock,” another unnamed executive said. “It’s crazy.”

Former Eagles executive Jake Rosenberg tweeted the day after the draft that the move violates the rules. The NFL, responding to a question regarding the practice, said this: “The league reviews all aspects of the Draft the week after its conclusion.”

Steelers wide receiver DK Metcalf will not face criminal charges for his altercation with a fan during a game against the Lions at Ford Field, prosecutors in Detroit announced today.

The fan, Ryan Kennedy, is pursuing a civil lawsuit, but the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office says it will not prosecute.

“At approximately 5:30 p.m., it is alleged that [Kennedy] left his seat holding a Metcalf jersey to get an autograph. As he approached the front railing of the stands, he said something to Mr. Metcalf. As Mr. Metcalf approached the stands, there was a brief interaction where Mr. Metcalf grabbed his shirt and pushed him back. The fan did not appear to be injured, nor did he seek medical attention at the game. After an extensive review of all the relevant evidence, the Wayne County Prosecutor’s Office has determined that charges will not issue in this case,” the prosecutor’s statement said, via the Detroit Free Press.

In addition to suing Metcalf, Kennedy is suing Ford Field management and former NFL players Chad Johnson and Shannon Sharpe, who suggested that Metcalf was motivated by Kennedy using racist language, which Kennedy denies. Kennedy’s lawyer says the decision not to file criminal charges has no bearing on the civil lawsuit.

Earlier this week, free-agent quarterback Russell Wilson had a visit with the Jets. He’s also looking at another potential path.

Andrew Marchand of The Athletic reports that Wilson is in “deep discussions” to embark on a television career. Per Marchand, CBS is considered to be the favorite.

Wilson has made bye-week appearances with CBS, and its Sunday studio show currently has an opening after the departure of Matt Ryan for a high-level job with the Falcons.

Marchand also reports that CBS has shown interest in Hall of Fame linebacker Luke Kuechly.

With Wilson firmly in the backup-at-best phase of his football career, it makes sense to explore available options in TV. Very few quarterbacks who were once the highest-paid player in the league choose to continue as understudies when their opportunities as starters have dried up. (Joe Flacco is the rare exception.)

Wilson, who seems to be interested in remaining in the New York area, could work for CBS from its Manhattan studio. It makes too much sense to not happen, if CBS ultimately decides to make him an offer — and if he accepts it.

Wilson, a third-round pick in 2012, won a Super Bowl and went to another during a decade with the Seahawks. He then spent two seasons with the Broncos, one with the Steelers, and one with the Giants. He started three games in 2025 before being benched for rookie Jaxson Dart.

With the Jets, Wilson would be the backup to Geno Smith, Wilson’s former backup in Seattle.

The Steelers are declining the fifth-year option for left tackle Broderick Jones, Jeremy Fowler of ESPN reports.

The move is not unexpected, given it would have paid Jones a fully guaranteed $19.1 million for 2027.

Jones is coming off a neck injury that required a spinal fusion, which leaves uncertainty over his availability for 2026.

He has 38 career starts.

The Steelers selected Arizona State offensive tackle Max Iheanachor with the 21st overall pick, providing them insurance if Jones has to miss time.

Cowboys receiver George Pickens has accepted the franchise tender for 2026. Why would he do it?

It’s not complicated.

Pickens could have stayed away, for all of the offseason program, all of training camp, all of the preseason. He could have waited until the days preceding the start of the regular season to show up, take the tender, and make every penny of his $27.298 million.

He also could have skipped the first 10 weeks of the regular season before showing up, making $12.13 million, and getting credit for the contract year.

He could have demanded a trade. He could have insisted on better terms than the franchise tender offered, whether it be more money or a commitment to not tag him again in 2027.

Pickens did none of those things. He took the tender. Now. He’s under contract. Now. He can still skip the mandatory minicamp, but he’ll be fined. He can skip days of training camp. Again, he’ll be fined.

He could have done that without accepting the franchise tag.

The inescapable message is this. He’s handling the situation like quarterback Dak Prescott did in 2020. Accept the circumstances, show up, work hard, and see what happens in 2027.

Given Pickens’s reputation (right or wrong) during his three years in Pittsburgh, he needs to keep putting distance between his time with the Steelers and his time with the Cowboys. He needs to have another season like the one he had last year.

Even though the franchise tag for the receiver position falls $15 million short of the new-money APY for the top of the receiver market, Pickens will make more than anyone ever would have thought he’d make before he was traded to the Cowboys last May.

And so the play is simple. Play well enough this year to put the Cowboys in a bind next year. They can sign him to a long-term deal (which possibly may require them to move on from receiver CeeDee Lamb) or tag Pickens again, at a 20-percent bump over his 2026 salary ($32.76 million).

They surely wouldn’t tag him for a third year. It would be too expensive — at least $47.17 million. So he bookends three up-and-down years in Pittsburgh with three strong seasons in Dallas, and he hits the market. He will have just turned 27. He’ll have gas in the tank and, if the next two seasons go well, more than $60 million in new earnings and a shot at the open market.

That’s why he signed the tender. That’s the best play. Given the way his career began, it’s the only play.

Two days later, the Steelers’ decision to apply the unrestricted free agency tender to quarterback Aaron Rodgers makes no sense.

The explanation from owner Art Rooney II didn’t help it make sense. He downplayed it as something that helps them preserve the ability to get a compensatory draft pick, if Rodgers signs with another team.

There’s currently no reason to think that will happen. And the fact that the Steelers don’t know with sufficient certainty that it will be them or no one shows how little they actually know about Rodgers’s plans for 2026.

The most significant consequence of the UFA tender, in our view, is the part Rooney didn’t mention. As of July 22, the Steelers acquire exclusive negotiation rights to Rodgers, if he has yet to sign a contract with the Steelers or any other team. That takes away his option to play the waiting game, remaining a free agent for as much of the season as he chooses before joining a team wherever and whenever he chooses.

And that’s the wrinkle that shows how different 2026 is from 2025 for the Steelers and Rodgers.

Last year, it wasn’t about the articles and sections of the Collective Bargaining Agreement. It was about Rodgers wanting to play for the Steelers and the Steelers wanting Rodgers, with Rodgers taking less than he could have gotten to play where he wanted to play. He could have easily expected $30 million or more. He took $13.65 million. It was a favor to the Steelers.

This year, the Steelers opted to do him no favors. They elected not to allow him to retain full freedom as it relates to his future. It shows that, in hindsight, he should have insisted on a structure that would have forced the Steelers to terminate the contract, which would have blocked them from putting him in checkmate — if he was indeed considering the possibility of joining another team during the season.

That’s reason enough for Rodgers to be upset with the situation. He didn’t play games with them in 2025. Now, they’re suddenly playing games with him.

It reinforces the possibility that the Steelers are trying to get Rodgers to be the one to choose not to continue the relationship. If the Steelers cut the cord, who knows what Rodgers will say about the Steelers the next time he dials up Pat McAfee and company?

For now, they’ve given Rodgers something he can use, if he so chooses to eventually put the Steelers on blast. He could say it wasn’t supposed to go like this. That Mike Tomlin wouldn’t have pulled something like this. That Tomlin would have given Rodgers full flexibility to do whatever he ultimately decided to do.

While it’s less potent than the grievances Rodgers was able to air about the Jets in 2025, there’s still a way that he can bemoan the fact that he never wanted the relationship with the Steelers to be about business leverage. And that, if he’d known that this is what they’d do, he would have both asked for more money in 2025 along with a structure that would have prevented them from playing CBA “gotcha” in 2026.