Pittsburgh Steelers: What the Hell is Going on in PA?

You wouldn’t know it, but the Pittsburg Steelers were just shy of making the playoffs this season. You could potentially miss the fact they’re sending six players to the Pro Bowl after their 2019 campaign. The Steelers are one of the NFL’s most historic and successful franchises, but something is brewing in Pittsburgh, PA that might not have fans too excited for seasons to come.

First, there’s the Le’Veon Bell situation, and even the casual fans knew this was coming for a long time. The relationship between Bell and the Pittsburgh Steelers has been rocky for a couple seasons now. Franchise tag after a franchise tag has kept Bell from a long-term contract with the team despite being one of the NFL’s best running backs. The team didn’t want to overspend on a player with off-field issues while Bell cited his production the past few seasons.

Then, of course, there was the 2018, NFL draft. Knowing Ben Roethlisberger was going to need an eventual replacement the team used their third-round pick to select Oklahoma State’s, Mason Rudolph. While there was out of context talks of Big Ben not tutoring the rookie, the Steelers Qb took the high road and continued the leadership role. However, there’s no context that hides the disappointment in the Steelers taking a quarterback in the third round. Roethlisberger thought they could pick a player who would help the team right away, Pittsburgh took his backup instead.

Now, all of a sudden there’s tension between the organization and their star receiver Antonio Brown. Brown is said to be requesting a trade as his frustrations are seeming to boil over. Earlier this season, Brown got into a heated debate on Twitter expressing his frustrations with a fan who pointed out Brown wouldn’t be as successful without Ben. His response “trade me. Let’s find out” which was later removed. Now after his most recent frustrations with the team, everyone’s talking about trade. AB reportedly wants out but his contract might make him hard to move. Keeping a player who doesn’t want to be there didn’t exactly work out for the Le’Veon Bell situation and the Steelers might have to scramble to make it work.

So who’s to blame for this downward spiral on the horizon. Has Pittsburgh adopted a diva culture that is slowing disconnecting its stars from the historic franchise? Is head coach Mike Tomlin starting to lose this team after years of success? Or is frugal spending hurting the chances for the Steelers to go out and compete? No one is 100% certain how this all started but Pittsburgh needs to figure it out. With each situation, another potential star is emerging. James Conner has risen in Bell’s absence. Mason Rudolph is thought to be the heir apparent to replace Roethlisberger. Smith-Schuster should be the perfect complement to Brown’s skill set.

However, for some reason, the Pittsburgh Steelers are having trouble making sure their players can co-exist. They have all the talent in the world and should be front-runners for the Super Bowl. Unfortunately, someone in the organization, coaching staff, and players has been driving a wedge between their talent and winning as a team. This offseason will be an uphill battle. Can the Steelers get back on track?