A Steelers Depot daily segment. A quick hit of some Pittsburgh Steelers and Steelers-related stories that may not require a complete and dedicated article but nuggets worth mentioning and passing on to you guys. The same as our recent Depot Daily, but now late at night to better capture the news of the day.
Your Depot After Dark for Dec. 7.
Browns Play Coy
The Cleveland Browns aren’t revealing if they’ll start Joe Flacco or Dorian Thompson-Robinson for Sunday’s game against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Put that on the list of “sentences I didn’t expect to type prior to the season.”
Head coach Kevin Stefanski declined to tell reporters who the team’s starter will be. DTR had been the team’s starter before suffering a concussion two weeks ago against the Denver Broncos, prompting Flacco to start. Thompson-Robinson is out of concussion protocol and practiced Friday but it’s not clear if he’ll get the nod over Flacco, who was serviceable in last week’s loss to the Los Angeles Rams.
Cleveland enters the game 7-5 and a win would keep them in second place over the Steelers.
Duck Hodges HOF
Some positive football news. Former Steelers QB Devlin “Duck” Hodges will be part of Samford’s Athletic Hall of Fame, officially inducted in May of 2024. The school made the announcement earlier Friday with Hodges responding to their tweet.
A record-setter, Hodges became the FCS all-time passing leader in his fantastic career, throwing for over 14,000 in his career to surpass the late Steve McNair for number one in division history. Signed by the Steelers as an undrafted free agent, he started six games and played in two others in the 2019 season after Ben Roethlisberger was lost to season-ending elbow surgery. For a brief moment, Hodges was a fan favorite, going 3-3 as a starter before Pittsburgh crumbled down the stretch.
Formed in 2017, other notable names to be inducted into the Samford’s Hall of Fame over the years include Jimbo Fisher, Cortland Finnegan, and Bobby Bowden.
Mitch’s Ugly Grade
The grade matches the tape. Per Pro Football Focus, Trubisky ended Thursday’s loss to the New England Patriots with a 39.7 passing grade. Compare that to Bailey Zappe, who finished with a far-better 69.5.
Over the last three weeks, the only quarterbacks to have a worse individual passing grade are Trevor Siemian in Week 13, Bailey Zappe and Mac Jones in Week 12, and Zach Wilson in Week 11. Trubisky is right there next to them.
Only once this year has QB Kenny Pickett had a worse grade, finishing out at 36.3 in the team’s Week Two win over the Cleveland Browns.
