The Pittsburgh Steelers certainly have some characters on their roster like Najee Harris and Patrick Queen, guys who speak plainly. Queen is new to the team, but Steelers fans are familiar with Harris’ frank interviews—as are the reporters. There isn’t one veteran in the media who hasn’t gotten a funny look from him after asking an obtuse question.
Mark Kaboly of The Athletic has certainly elicited a raised eyebrow or two from Harris, going into a contract year. And that is precisely why he doesn’t expect the Steelers’ segments of Hard Knocks during the season to feature him.
The outlet’s AFC North reporters participated in a roundtable recently to discuss the division’s inclusion in the NFL’s first in-season edition of Hard Knocks. Kaboly shared his thoughts about the decision to force the Steelers onto a program they long actively avoided:
It kind of came out of nowhere because the Steelers don’t like to open their doors and let outsiders see how the sausage is made. But when you can have four teams featured over six weeks, it doesn’t seem like that much of an ask for any of the organizations. I wouldn’t expect much to come out of it for Pittsburgh. Mike Tomlin, T.J. Watt, [Cameron] Heyward, Minkah Fitzpatrick and Russell Wilson are polished PR machines. I would imagine the Steelers will keep Patrick Queen and Najee Harris away from the cameras. But even if they don’t, there is an erase button available in the editing process.
The thing is, as Kaboly points out, the teams have final editorial say on Hard Knocks—supposedly. That only makes it all the more striking what occasionally does turn up on the program. With a team like the Steelers so opposed to the off-field spotlight, though, I can’t see them giving Najee Harris a mouthpiece. Nor Patrick Queen, for that matter.
Then again, Harris has taken to declining interview requests recently, so maybe he won’t even want to talk. Queen, on the other hand, is ripe for a feature. After all, the Steelers will be playing his former team, the Baltimore Ravens, twice around that time. They will want to build up the divisional drama by featuring the “traitor”.
One wonders how burdensome this in-season Hard Knocks will be—I don’t think the NFL knows yet. It’s one thing to do it in training camp, but do coaches have time to analyze what they don’t want to air while preparing for a game? What if a player puts out some bulletin board material for an upcoming opponent?
The Steelers are not boat rockers, but they also try not to stifle personalities. They have largely allowed Najee Harris to be Najee Harris, for example. Mike Tomlin might pull him aside a time or two to advise him on how to handle the media, sure. But he speaks his mind, and Patrick Queen has already more than done so since coming here. And Lord help us if Danny Smith finds a cameraman.
