Behind the Steel Curtain - All Posts

Ranking every quarterback on the Steelers’ schedule

2025-08-04T15:23:40-04:00

Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Ranking every quarterback on the Pittsburgh Steelers’ schedule

The Pittsburgh Steelers have an off day today, but will return to the practice field on Tuesday, and Behind The Steel Curtain will be there.

In the meantime, we look ahead to the regular season and the signal-callers that Pittsburgh will face when the calendar officially flips from August to September. From worst-to-best, here are my rankings of every quarterback the Steelers will face in 2025.

14. Whomever The Cleveland Browns Quarterback Is

Jeff Lange / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

It’s likely that the Steelers will face multiple Browns quarterbacks in 2025, considering all of them are bad. For story purposes, I’d love to watch Kenny Pickett stroll into Acrisure in Week 6 and get sacked by T.J. Watt in a blowout loss.

13. Anthony Richardson/Daniel Jones, Indianapolis Colts

Grace Hollars/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Richardson is a physical specimen, but he only completed 47 percent of his passes in 2024, which is impressively bad. Speaking of impressively bad, hello Daniel Jones. If the Steelers let one of these two beat them, they should be ashamed.

12. J.J. McCarthy, Minnesota Vikings

Matt Krohn-Imagn Images

He’s practically still a rookie, and he wasn’t asked to do a lot at Michigan. There will be some Jimmy Garoppolo-Kyle Shanahan similarities with McCarthy and Kevin O’Connell in which McCarthy will play above his means in large part due to a great head coach and great supporting cast.

11. Sam Darnold, Seattle Seahawks

Stephen Brashear-Imagn Images

Darnold rode lightning last year until the spark finally faded in the team’s final two weeks, leading to an ugly wild card exit after a 14-3 season. With a far less talented corps of receivers, as well as playing sans Kevin O’Connell in his ear, Darnold comes back down to Earth.

10. Tua Tagovailoa, Miami Dolphins

Sam Navarro-Imagn Images

The best days of Tua are in the past, and even the best days’ ceiling was getting blown out by the Chiefs in the wild card round. If temperatures dip below 70 degrees, the Dolphins fold. They play the Steelers in December - good luck.

9. Justin Fields, New York Jets

John Jones-Imagn Images

I like Fields. I wanted the Steelers to give him the year to show whether or not he could be the guy. His mobility is his greatest strength. Things get very sporadic in the passing game, though, which isn’t a great trait to have when you’re a quarterback.

8. Jared Goff, Detroit Lions

Lon Horwedel-Imagn Images

There are plenty of quarterbacks that when I see them on the schedule, I go, “How are they going to stop him?” Jared Goff isn’t one of those guys. He’s in the upper half of starters in the NFL, but he doesn’t strike fear, especially now that Ben Johnson is gone. The Lions’ roster is intimidating; their quarterback is not.

7. Caleb Williams, Chicago Bears

Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images

The Bears were a tire fire coaching-wise in 2024, but Caleb Williams still put up 20 touchdown passes to just six interceptions. He needs to take far fewer sacks, but there’s a lot of promise there. I’ll be very interested in the matchup between Williams and Ben Johnson against the Steelers’ defense.

6. Drake Maye, New England Patriots

Eric Canha-Imagn Images

Maye is going to be the best quarterback of the 2024 draft class. Jayden Daniels is great, and I like the potential of Williams growing, but Maye is my favorite of the pack. He’ll give the Steelers fits early in the year.

5. Justin Herbert, Los Angeles Chargers

Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

I don’t fear the Chargers because of the way they try to win on offense. They have no receivers not named Ladd McConkey and very few players that scare you. Herbert ranks this high because he’s played great football, but the Chargers are a non-factor.

4. Jordan Love, Green Bay Packers

Bill Streicher-Imagn Images

The Packers are my pick to have the No. 1 seed in the NFC this season. Jordan Love played well in 2024 despite dealing with a leg injury he suffered in Week 1 against the Philadelphia Eagles that caused him to miss two games. With a No. 1 wideout in Matthew Golden to strengthen the corps, as well as a great head coach in Matt LaFleur, I love Green Bay in 2025 and think Love could be a dark horse MVP candidate.

3. Lamar Jackson, Baltimore Ravens

Mitch Stringer-Imagn Images

Jackson is coming off another All-Pro season in which he threw 41 touchdowns to just four interceptions. The Steelers lost their last two matchups against Jackson and the Ravens, and they would love to get back to putting him in a tailspin.

2. Joe Burrow, Cincinnati Bengals

Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images

Burrow put up nearly 5,000 yards and 43 touchdowns in 2024, but the Bengals’ horrid defense kept them out of the postseason. In terms of dangerous offenses, though, it’s hard to find many better than the Bengals. Luckily, the Steelers will have the secondary capable of keeping Ja’Marr Chase and Tee Higgins in check.

1. Josh Allen, Buffalo Bills (Week 13)

Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

Pound for pound, Allen may be the most physically talented quarterback of all time. He’s the reigning MVP for a reason, and that’s because he dragged a less-than-stellar offense to the AFC Championship Game while becoming the most efficient version of himself. He’s also had great success against Pittsburgh, posting a 4-1 record against the Steelers, including playoffs.

Report: Steelers sign son of former draft pick

2025-08-04T14:42:42-04:00

Photo by Ric Tapia/Getty Images

The Steelers add another Porter Jr. to the cornerback room.

The Steelers don’t have practice today, but the team’s front office is at work.

NFL insider Aaron Wilson reported that Pittsburgh has signed defensive back Daryl Porter Jr. following a workout. The tryout included former Steelers cornerback and Jaguars first-round pick C.J. Henderson, who is still unsigned.

#Steelers sign former #Bills @CanesFootball defensive back Daryl Porter Jr., following a successful workout per a league source. Workout included former first-round pick C.J. Henderson @KPRC2
— Aaron Wilson (@AaronWilson_NFL) August 4, 2025

Porter went undrafted in 2025, eventually signing with the Buffalo Bills, who released him in July.

The 5’10, 185-pound cornerback ran a 4.65-second 40-yard dash at his pro day, scoring a 2.1/10 on his Relative Athletic Score.

Porter played college football at West Virginia and Miami. In 2024 for the Hurricanes, he logged 28 total tackles and seven passes defensed. He has one career interception in four years of college football.

The name “Daryl Porter Jr.” might sound familiar — the Steelers drafted his father, safety Daryl Porter Sr., in the sixth round of the 1997 NFL Draft. Porter Sr. never played a regular season down for Pittsburgh, but played five NFL seasons between the Lions, Bills, and Titans.

As a result, with the Steelers signing Daryl Porter Jr., the team has now had two Porter Jr./Sr. father/son combinations in team history. Daryl Porter Jr. will join Joey Porter Jr., the son of former Steelers outside linebacker Joey Porter Sr., in the Pittsburgh cornerback room.

The Steelers offseason roster is currently full; the team will have to announce a corresponding cut to make room for Porter.

Steelers offensive struggles continue in training camp

2025-08-04T09:49:48-04:00

Barry Reeger-Imagn Images

The Steelers’ defense has been dominant through the first two weeks of training camp

The Pittsburgh Steelers are approaching two weeks in Latrobe for training camp, and the story of camp thus far has been the dominance of the defense. Per Nick Farabaugh of PennLive, Pittsburgh’s offense couldn’t get much going on Sunday against the defense.

“Offense getting blown back for much of these team run periods,” Farabaugh posted on X. “Defense continuing to show out today. Have won most of these matchups in camp.”

Offense getting blown back for much of these team run periods. Defense continuing to show out today. Have won most of these matchups in camp.
— Nick Farabaugh (@FarabaughFB) August 3, 2025

Farabaugh also pointed out that seven-on-sevens were “frustrating” for Rodgers, who missed on two throws to DK Metcalf and Roman Wilson.

“First two reps of 7-on-7 were frustrating for [Aaron] Rodgers,” Farabaugh posted. “First one DK Metcalf won on a double move and Rodgers sailed it just out of reach for Metcalf. Second rep, Roman Wilson won a sail route but Rodgers wanted the depth of the route adjusted, incomplete.”

First two reps of 7-on-7 were frustrating for Arron Rodgers.

First one DK Metcalf won on a double move and Rodgers sailed it just out of reach for Metcalf.

Second rep, Roman Wilson won a sail route but Rodgers wanted the depth of the route adjusted, incomplete.
— Nick Farabaugh (@FarabaughFB) August 3, 2025

That continued into seven shots, with the defense winning both sets of the drill with a combined score of 12-2.

Now, it should be pointed out that it was completely expected that the defense would look great. It’s much easier for defenses to get quickly acquainted and start off hot than it is for a new offense with several new players. That’s not to take anything away from the defense - they’ve been great and deserve all the praise they’ve received. Rather, it’s to remind everyone that it’s still early, and the season is still a month away from kicking off.

Can you guess this Steelers running back in today’s in-5 trivia game?

2025-08-04T07:00:00-04:00

Think you can figure out which Steelers player we’re talking about? You’ll get five clues to figure him out in our new guessing game!

Hey Steelers fans! We’re back for another day of the Behind the Steel Curtain in-5 daily trivia game. Game instructions are at the bottom if you’re new to the game! Feel free to share your results in the comments and feedback in this Google Form.

Today’s Behind the Steel Curtain in-5 game

If you can’t see the game due to Apple News or another service, click this game article.

Previous games

Sunday, August 3, 2025
Saturday, August 2, 2025
Friday, August 1, 2025

Play more SB Nation in-5 trivia games

NFL in-5
MLB in-5
MMA in-5

Behind the Steel Curtain in-5 instructions

The goal of the game is to guess the correct Steelers player with the help of up to five clues. We’ll mix in BOTH ACTIVE AND RETIRED PLAYERS. It won’t be easy to figure it out in one or two guesses, but some of you might be able to nail it.

After you correctly guess the player, you can click “Share Results” to share how you did down in the comments and on social media. We won’t go into other details about the game as we’d like your feedback on it. How it plays, what you think of it, the difficulty level, and anything else you can think of that will help us improve this game. You can provide feedback in the comments of this article, or you can fill out this Google Form.

Enjoy!

Steelers rookie TE returns to practice: Training camp injury update

2025-08-03T18:21:34-04:00

Photo by Bobby McDuffie/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

The Steelers leave Week 2 of training camp with a few injuries to monitor.

The first two weeks of training camp are in the books, and the Steelers’ preseason opener is less than a week away.

Monday will be an off day for the Steelers before practice resumes on Tuesday. But the team has some injuries to keep an eye on headed into the third week of camp.

Notably, one injury scare seems to be officially over, with rookie tight end/fullback D.J. Thomas-Jones returning to practice on Sunday. Thomas-Jones was feared to have suffered a torn Achilles early last week, with head coach Mike Tomlin calling the injury “significant.”

However, the undrafted free agent was back on the field Sunday, appearing to have a sleeve on the left leg that he previously injured.

Rookie tight end DJ Thomas-Jones back to work after a scary injury last week. pic.twitter.com/BvIl1WXVbm
— Alan Saunders (@ASaunders_PGH) August 3, 2025

More notable injuries include Alex Highsmith, who suffered a groin injury at practice, and rookie cornerback Donte Kent, who missed practice Saturday and appeared in a walking boot on Sunday. The severity and timeline of both injuries has not been reported.

Other injury reports are as follows:

Defensive lineman Esezi Otomewo, who injured his knee Wednesday, did some individual work on Sunday, per Alex Kozora.
Cornerbacks Joey Porter Jr. and Cory Trice Jr. missed practice, per Alan Saunders, as did wide receiver Calvin Austin III, per Brooke Pryor.
Tackle Calvin Anderson also missed practice for another day, per Kozora. Nick Farabaugh reported rookie tackle Gareth Warren was in street clothes on Sunday.
Head coach Mike Tomlin said on Saturday that Anderson and Trice’s soft tissue injuries might require “more than a few days” of recovery, per Sanders.
Kozora reported that offensive linemen Broderick Jones and Isaac Seumalo were both full participants after suffering injuries earlier in camp. After some negative reports earlier this week, Farabaugh and other beat writers noted Pittsburgh’s left tackle had an improved day of practice on Sunday.
Per Mike DeFabo, reserve center Ryan McCollum and starting nose tackle Keeanu Benton returned to practice on Sunday after previous injuries.

The Steelers return to training camp Aug. 5. They’ll host the Jacksonville Jaguars on Aug. 9 for their preseason opener at 7 p.m. EST.

Steelers try new face at FB in training camp

2025-08-03T17:31:25-04:00

Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Mark Robinson (93) runs onto the field during the regular season NFL football game between the Cincinnati Bengals and Pittsburgh Steelers on December 23, 2023 at Acrisure Stadium in Pittsburgh, PA. | Photo by Mark Alberti/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Could Robinson play in all three phases of the game in 2025?

Fourth-year linebacker Mark Robinson entered the 2025 offseason on the Steelers roster bubble. Competing against seventh-round rookie Carson Bruener and possibly even veteran Cole Holcomb for a spot on the depth chart, he’d have to differentiate himself from the competition.

In Sunday’s training camp practice, Robinson showed off a new wrinkle to his game: playing fullback.

Per multiple reports from various beat writers at Steelers camp, Robinson saw some reps with the first-team offense Sunday, switching out his yellow defensive jersey for a white No. 93.

That’s a white practice jersey #93. A rarity.

ILB Mark Robinson taking FULLBACK reps in goal line play pic.twitter.com/skrq54Q5AF
— Chris Adamski (@C_AdamskiTrib) August 3, 2025

Per PennLive’s Nick Farabaugh, the Steelers approached Robinson about trying out the new position the day of the practice. The linebacker said he’s open to trying it again.

Robinson’s versatility isn’t completely out of left field. Drafted out of Ole Miss as a linebacker, he only played in one full FBS season at that position, starting his college career as a running back. He averaged 4.9 yards per carry for Southeast Missouri State in 2018.

With the Steelers, Robinson has appeared in 38 career games, logging 45 tackles on defense. He’s seen over three times the reps as a special-teamer, playing 66% of Pittsburgh’s snaps in the third phase of the game in 2024.

While Robinson’s surprise appearance on offense is worth noting, it doesn’t guarantee anything. The Steelers infamously tried center Kendrick Green at fullback in the 2023 offseason, eventually trading him to the Houston Texans later that month.

However, Green would go on to take some regular season snaps at fullback for the Texans in 2024.

The Steelers currently have two players listed at fullback on their offseason roster: Connor Heyward (also listed as a tight end), and undrafted rookie D.J. Thomas-Jones.

Alex Highsmith suffers injury in training camp practice

2025-08-03T16:34:54-04:00

Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images

The Steelers’ edge rusher is dealing with an injury

The Pittsburgh Steelers have wrapped up Sunday’s practice, and they did so after a dominant day for the defense (more to come on that later). However, they didn’t escape the day unscathed.

Per Alan Saunders of Steelers Now, edge rusher Alex Highsmith left practice early with a groin injury. The severity of the injury is unknown.

#Steelers OLB Alex Highsmith left practice early with a groin injury, Mike Tomlin said. Severity TBD.
— Alan Saunders (@ASaunders_PGH) August 3, 2025

This isn’t the first time the Steelers’ edge rusher has dealt with this kind of issue. Highsmith missed three games in 2024 due to a groin injury. He then suffered an ankle injury against the Washington Commanders later on in the year.

While the severity of the injury is unknown, Pittsburgh can rest easy for multiple reasons. For starters, it’s only August 3rd - Week 1 is still five weeks away. And if this does become a lingering issue for Highsmith, the Steelers have Nick Herbig and Jack Sawyer behind him, the former of which has proven he is a starter in this league.

Steelers rookie in walking boot after injury

2025-08-03T13:18:35-04:00

Photo by Nick Cammett/Diamond Images via Getty Images

The Steelers’ rookie suffered an injury during training camp

The Pittsburgh Steelers have high hopes for their 2025 draft class. Derrick Harmon’s early returns look great through almost two weeks of training camp. Running back Kaleb Johnson has looked terrific, as well, in Latrobe. One rookie that has flown under the radar, though, is rookie cornerback Donte Kent out of Central Michigan.

Kent had made a statement play early on in camp, picking off a pass during seven-on-sevens in the first week of practices. He is also one of the players competing to be one of the team’s kick returners. That said, the rookie has hit a bump in the road. Per Nick Farabaugh of PennLive, Kent was seen wearing a walking boot on Sunday after not practicing Saturday.

Steelers rookie cornerback Donte Kent has a walking boot on his right foot/ankle.

He didn’t practice yesterday.
— Nick Farabaugh (@FarabaughFB) August 3, 2025

It does appear that Kent’s best shot at making the roster will be if he wows in the return game. The cornerback room is already very deep, and James Pierre has made several splashes as of late, picking off consecutive passes on Saturday. Depending on how severe his injury is, though, he may not get that chance.