While the NFL likes to promote its game by saying that Football Is Family, that slogan is the literal truth for several players in the NFL, and that includes no fewer than three members of the Pittsburgh Steelers, all of whom will be facing their siblings this season, provided that everybody is healthy.
It’s made a lot easier thanks to the Los Angeles Chargers, because they have on their roster the brothers of both T.J. Watt and Maurkice Pouncey, allowing them to kill two birds with one stone. Of course this matchup already happened last year, but they get to repeat the process again in 2019.
Pouncey, a 2010 first-round pick, has an identical twin in Mike Pouncey, who came out a year later and was a first-round pick of the Miami Dolphins, where he became a Pro Bowler in his own right. He joined the Chargers last season, and the two participated in the Pro Bowl together a few months ago.
Watt is one of three brothers, and he has played against both of his brothers’ teams already in his career, facing J.J. Watt’s Houston Texans in 2017 (though J.J. was sidelined for that game) and his other brother, Chargers fullback Derek Watt. Watt caught what should have been a touchdown against the Steelers last year.
New on the list is Terrell Edmunds, who also has two siblings in the NFL, including his older brother Trey Edmunds, who was with the New Orleans Saints in 2017 but was picked up by the Steelers last year after he was waived ahead of the start of the regular season.
But their youngest brother, Tremaine Edmunds, will be on the schedule this year. Tremaine was a first-round pick in the 2018 NFL Draft last year, selected by the Buffalo Bills, becoming the first siblings in NFL history to be selected in the first round in the same year.
“It’s going to be exciting”, he told the team’s website about facing Tremaine, whose team will travel to Pittsburgh in Week 15 for an afternoon game. “It’s the first time I will get to play against one of my brothers. It will be something different”. All three brothers played together for Virginia Tech in college.
The Steelers hosted the Chargers last year, but this time Derek and Mike’s Chargers will host them in Los Angeles. Said Maurkice, “It will be a good time. The family will all come to California. We’ll have another great experience in the NFL. Being able to play each other is something we can put in our memory bank. I think we owe them payback this time”.
The brothers also held a big family event for the Pro Bowl back in January, given that they were both participating together and it was being held in Orlando, with the Pouncey family living in Florida. Once again, giving credence to the NFL’s slogan about football being family.
