Steelers Afternoon Drive

Welcome to Steelers Morning Rush, our new daily short-form podcast with Alan Saunders, giving a longer perspective on a single news topic surrounding the Pittsburgh Steelers or the National Football League. Today, it's how to avoid having bad takes on the internet about the Steelers. There's an understandable negativity about the state of the team with five straight losses to end the 2024 season, no playoff wins since 2016, and a string of mediocre finishes in a row. But don't confuse the justifiable frustration about where the Steelers are with incompetence. They're still pretty good at this -- one of the better-run teams in the league. Plenty would love to be where the Steelers are. Alan breaks it down. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Alan Saunders and Zachary Smith discuss all things Pittsburgh Steelers. On today's episode, we discuss the team still waiting on a decision from Aaron Rodgers, as he makes his decision between the Steelers, Giants and potentially the Vikings. As this happens, Russell Wilson will visit the Browns and Giants over the next couple of days to explore his options. It's more and more clear the Steelers have no intention of bringing Rusell Wilson back. The team officially signed CB Darius Slay to a one-year contract and also brought in DB Brandin Echols. How long can the Steelers wait out their QB process? Let's go for another Steelers Afternoon Drive and discuss all this and more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to Steelers Morning Rush, our new daily short-form podcast with Alan Saunders, giving a longer perspective on a single news topic surrounding the Pittsburgh Steelers or the National Football League. Today, it's how the Steelers and general manager Omar Khan manage the salary cap, and if they should be more aggressive like other teams. The New Orleans Saints have significant salary cap problems, as they entered the week over $50 million over the cap, but they were still able to sign edge rusher Chase Young to a big deal. How? The Saints restructured a bunch of contracts, pushing money into the 2026 season at the expense of 2027. Pittsburgh is in a far better place, with $60 million to spend this week, the ability to make more space, and basically the full cap to work with in 2026 and beyond. So should they be more aggressive? Alan breaks it down. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Alan Saunders and Zachary Smith discuss all things Pittsburgh Steelers. On today's episode, we discuss the team losing Najee Harris, Elandon Roberts and James Daniels to free agency. The team also signed former Ravens LB Malik Harrison to presumably replace Elandon Roberts and also contribute on special teams. The team still doesn't have their QB signed for 2025, though it'll likely be one of Aaron Rodgers or Russell Wilson. Should the team instead be looking to swing a trade for Joe Milton, Malik Willis or potentially even Anthony Richardson? What have we made of the early portions of free agency for the Steelers and what do we make of Omar Khan's approach? Let's go for another Steelers Afternoon Drive and discuss all this and more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to Steelers Morning Rush, our new daily short-form podcast with Alan Saunders, giving a longer perspective on a single news topic surrounding the Pittsburgh Steelers or the National Football League. Today, it's the Steelers quarterback situation and who they're going to sign for the 2025 season. General manager Omar Khan and Justin Fields remained far apart on a contract offer, particularly in terms of guaranteed money, leading the former Pittsburgh quarterback to agree to sign with the New York Jets on Monday. The Black and Gold also passed on Sam Darnold, who agreed a $100 million deal with the Minnesota Vikings. So who is left? The Steelers are staring at Aaron Rodgers -- who apparently has a ridiculously high contract demand -- and a return of Russell Wilson, which is starting to look like a better and better option. Alan breaks it down. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Alan Saunders and Zachary Smith discuss all things Pittsburgh Steelers. On today's episode, we discuss the team acquiring WR DK Metcalf in a trade from the Seattle Seahawks. They sent a 2025 2nd-round pick and immediately inked Metcalf to a 5-year, $150 million deal. What do we make of this move and what does it mean for George Pickens? We then discuss the early portion of free agency with the contact period opening up. Justin Fields to the Jets, Donte Jackson to the Chargers and Dan Moore Jr. to the Titans got us rolling. The Steelers still don't have their QB, but they are bringing in veteran CB Darius Slay fresh off winning a Super Bowl with the Philadelphia Eagles. Will they turn to Aaron Rodgers or Russell Wilson for 2025? Let's go for another Steelers Afternoon Drive and discuss all this and more! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to Steelers Morning Rush, our new daily short-form podcast with Alan Saunders, giving a longer perspective on a single news topic surrounding the Pittsburgh Steelers or the National Football League. Today, it's the job of Steelers general manager Omar Khan, who continues to break the mold of what the team will and will not do. Khan made another signature splash on Sunday, trading for Seattle Seahawks wide receiver DK Metcalf and signing him to a team-record $150 million contract. That's just the start for Khan, having spent more money than at any point in team history, before free agency even starts. He's got plenty more cap space, and it will be easy to make more, so don't expect Omar to slow down now. Alan breaks it down. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Alan Saunders and Zachary Smith discuss all things Pittsburgh Steelers. On today's episode, Derrick Bell joins to discuss the possibility of the team pursuing Sam Darnold. How much concern should there be about his fit outside of KOC's system, with less playmakers and what does he do well that he could bring to Arthur Smith's offense? We also touch on the defensive line free agent group and who could be an addition there and what cornerbacks make for the best fit in free agency. Let's go for another Steelers Afternoon Drive and discuss! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to Steelers Morning Rush, our new daily short-form podcast with Alan Saunders, giving a longer perspective on a single news topic surrounding the Pittsburgh Steelers or the National Football League. Today, it's how active to expect general manager Omar Khan to be when free agency opens on Monday. The Steelers have over $63 million in offseason salary cap space available, and have the ability to make plenty more than that if they want to, through releases, restructures and an extension for T.J. Watt. They also have to spend a significant amount of cash this offseason to make sure they're abiding by the NFL's 90 percent rule. With relatively few of their own players hitting free agency, the Steelers don't have that many needs, meaning you should expect Khan to be seeking some of the top players in the free agent class, instead of the Steelers usual bargain hunting. As a rule, Pittsburgh hasn't spent huge money in free agency, but they've usually drafted better in the past, instead choosing to re-sign their own players, instead of playing in the free agent market. But this time around, that won't be the case. In the 2020 and 2021 draft classes, only Alex Highsmith and Pat Freiermuth got second contracts with the team, and 2022 isn't looking a lot better at this point. That means it's time to spend big in free agency. Alan breaks it down. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Alan Saunders and Zachary Smith discuss all things Pittsburgh Steelers. On today's episode, Chris Carter joins the show to discuss Christian Kirk being traded from the Jacksonville Jaguars to the Houston Texans. Widely considered to be a top target for the Steelers on the free agent market, where will the team pivot to from here? Would a DK Metcalf for George Pickens trade straight up make any sense for the Steelers? Is their timeline on getting a QB under contract holding up their ability to purse a WR? What is the sweet spot in terms of a contract for Justin Fields and Russell Wilson? What do we make of the way the situation has been reported? Let's go for another Steelers Afternoon Drive and discuss! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to Steelers Morning Rush, our new daily short-form podcast with Alan Saunders, giving a longer perspective on a single news topic surrounding the Pittsburgh Steelers or the National Football League. Today, it's whether Omar Khan should look to trade down in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft. There are about three players in the Steelers draft range at both wide receiver and defensive tackle, and if more than one of the are on the board at pick No. 21, a trade down might start to look like a good idea. There are also players that fit their needs that are better pick toward the back of the first round like Ohio State DT Tyleik Williams and cornerbacks Jahdae Barron, Benjamin Morrison and Shavon Revel. Trading down can provide good value, and it fits in with Andy Weidl's knowledge of what makes Philadelphia Eagles general manager Howie Roseman so good. But you have to have a partner to dance. Alan breaks it down. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Alan Saunders and Zachary Smith discuss all things Pittsburgh Steelers. On today's episode, we discuss all the news that came out of today. DK Metcalf has requested a trade from the Seattle Seahawks. Will the team entertain the idea of trading their star receiver and should the Steelers be in the market? This comes after the team already released long time staple Tyler Lockett, who could also have some intrigue to the Steelers. Christian Kirk will be released ahead of the new league year and could be back on the Steelers radar after the team tried to acquire him from the Jacksonville Jaguars last season. How if at all will Maxx Crosby's new deal impact that of TJ Watt this summer? Whether it be from a timeline or deal perspective, what can we expect? Let's go for another Steelers Afternoon Drive and discuss! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to Steelers Morning Rush, our new daily short-form podcast with Alan Saunders, giving a longer perspective on a single news topic surrounding the Pittsburgh Steelers or the National Football League. Today, it's the idea that the Steelers should consider drafting Alabama quarterback Jalen Milroe. As a quarterback, Milroe might have the highest ceiling of any quarterback in the 2025 NFL Draft class. He also might have the lowest floor. But some teams are looking at Milroe just as a rusher, where he has also excelled, and that might provide enough of a Plan B for him to be enticing to a team that has needs at both quarterback and running back this offseason. Alan breaks it down. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Alan Saunders and Zachary Smith discuss all things Pittsburgh Steelers. On today's episode, we discuss how Saquon Barkley's historic extension with the Philadelphia Eagles will impact the market, including that of pending UFA Najee Harris. Is the team once again in play for WR Davante Adams after he was cut by the New York Jets or is a reunion with Aaron Rodgers a certainty? Who stood out to Alan in an interesting way at the NFL Combine? Are the Steelers not an attractive destination for WRs? How does Mike Tomlin continue to develop as a head coach? Where is the sweet spot for a prospect like Jalen Milroe? Let's go for another Steelers Afternoon Drive and discuss! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to Steelers Morning Rush, our new daily short-form podcast with Alan Saunders, giving a longer perspective on a single news topic surrounding the Pittsburgh Steelers or the National Football League. Today, it's a mock draft that came out on Monday from NFL.com that had Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders falling all the way to the Steelers in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft. Sanders is generally considered to be a consensus top-five pick in the draft class, even if his talent level isn't quite where a top-five player usually is, because of the massive shortage of talented quarterbacks. But will the fact that Sanders doesn't play like a typical first-round pick, and his famous father looking over the shoulder of a coach that might draft him, make teams shy away from the Sanders scion? Alan breaks it down. #steelers #herewego #nfl Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Alan Saunders and Zachary Smith discuss all things Pittsburgh Steelers. On today's episode, we discuss is the team still trying to figure out if they're going to move forward with Russell Wilson, Justin Fields or neither is causing them to miss out on acquiring a WR. Could they have landed Deebo Samuel if their QB situation was in place? Can they make a play for Davante Adams or potentially even Brandon Aiyuk? Despite his age, should the Steelers consider Darius Slay in a deep free agent DB market? If Derek Carr were to become available, is that a situation the Steelers should consider? Let's go for another Steelers Afternoon Drive and discuss! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to Steelers Morning Rush, our new daily short-form podcast with Alan Saunders, giving a longer perspective on a single news topic surrounding the Pittsburgh Steelers or the National Football League. Today, it's Alan's second seven-round mock draft of the 2025 NFL Draft cycle, coming just at the close of the 2025 NFL Combine. In this mock draft, the Steelers went defensive line first, landing Michigan nose tackle Kenneth Grant, followed by Stanford WR Elic Ayomanor, Iowa State CB Darien Porter, Virginia Tech RB Bhayshul Tuten and more. Alan breaks it down with the latest from Indy. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Alan Saunders and Zachary Smith discuss all things Pittsburgh Steelers. On today's episode, we discuss Alan wrapping up his time at the NFL Combine and the Steelers showing interest in a couple of intriguing QB prospects such as Quinn Ewers and Jaxson Dart. What do we make of their interest? With Matthew Stafford getting a new deal with the Rams, what will that mean for Justin Fields and Russell Wilson? Is one of them still likely to be back with the Steelers? Could the team swing a deal for Seattle Seahawks WR DK Metcalf? Should the team pursue RB JK Dobbins in free agency? Let's go for another Steelers Afternoon Drive and discuss! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Welcome to Steelers Morning Rush, our new daily short-form podcast with Alan Saunders, giving a longer perspective on a single news topic surrounding the Pittsburgh Steelers or the National Football League. Today, it's the Steelers first-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, which seems to be coming into focus this week in Indianapolis. Two of the three defensive linemen in the first round did not perform in the physical drills at Lucas Oil Stadium on Thursday, while Derrick Harmon saw his stock rise with a strong day. In the media interviews on Friday, Ohio State wide receiver Emeka Egbuka stood out with his maturity and professionalism -- rare traits for a wide receiver. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Alan Saunders and Zachary Smith discuss all things Pittsburgh Steelers. On today's episode, we discuss some of the conversation taking place at the NFL Combine. Is the door still open for Najee Harris and Russell Wilson to remain Pittsburgh Steelers? How does negotiations with Justin Fields impact their desire to work with Russ going forward? What did Alan take away from today's Combine meetings and drills? Is Cornerback a position they'll look to address in free agency as opposed to the NFL Draft? Is a Brandon Aiyuk trade back on the table just one offseason later? Let's go for another Steelers Afternoon Drive and discuss! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices