In the Pittsburgh Steelers regular season opening loss to the New England Patriots last Thursday night, tight end Heath Miller registered 8 catches for 84 yards.
Think about that stat line for a minute.
The last time that that Miller caught that many passes in a Week 1 game was in 2009 when he registered 8 catches for 64 yards against the Tennessee Titans. That season ended with him tallying 76 catches, which currently stands as his career high
Even though Miller will turn 34 next month, his game is aging well. So why is it? Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger answered that very question during his talk with the media on Wednesday.
“Because he’s aging well,” said Roethlisberger. “He’s a guy that works and takes great pride in his craft. He makes sure he’s in shape and ready to go.”
Miller is indeed always ready to go and he very rarely gets completely shutout in the game. In fact, the last time that Miller was held without a catch in a game that he dressed for was in 2008 in the Week 9 game against the Washington Redskins.
Over the course of the next several weeks, Miller will undoubtedly moving up in the Steelers record books as he is now 283 yards from scrimmage away from moving into fifth in team history (Louis Lipps, 6,406). Additionally, with 42 more receptions in 2015, Miller will record his fifth consecutive 50-catch season.
Miller is currently under contract through the 2016 season and as of right now, there’s no indication that he won’t play that out. In fact, his $4 million salary that he’s scheduled to earn next season makes him one hell of a bargain from where I’m sitting.
