Welcome back to your weekly Pittsburgh Steelers mailbag. As always, we’re here for the next hour to answer whatever is on your mind.
To your questions!
Brian Tollini: No disrespect to Gary Anderson, who has the longevity advantage or Jeff Reed who may have had the popularity advantage, but I feel Chris Boswell is now the GOAT of Steeler-kickers. Would you agree/disagree?
Alex: I agree. And Boswell is only something like three years behind Anderson. It isn’t a large gap. Boswell definitely better than Reed.
In fairness, all kickers today are *better* than Anderson. That’s an era things. Punters are better, kickers are better. Accuracy has steadily climbed over the years. But even understanding the eras and their success in them, I’ll give Boz the edge over Anderson. Boswell is statistically the best kicker ever from 50-plus yards. He’s No. 1.
AZSteeler: If I am not mistaken, the Steelers have an open roster spot as of right now. Any insights as to who might fill it?
Alex: They do not. With TE Rodney Williams signed to the 53 yesterday, they are full again. Could see elevations this weekend. Likely one with CB James Pierre to replace Ben Skowronek as a gunner.
Cory Fisher: What does your gut tell you about Fields? Asking for a guess. Do you think he plays well and they beat the Chargers? If that happens, is he the starter going forward?
Alex: Yeah if he starts (and he will) and plays well and they win, it’s really hard to bench him at that point. Now if he doesn’t play so well and they win or obviously if he struggles and they lose, it may go back to Russ. But under your scenario, I think Fields sticks.
Jeremy: Howdy. Who do you think the 2 gunners are going to end up being? The Skowronik injury has me thinking we are cursed.
Alex: Hey Jeremy! James Pierre will probably be one. Elevation from the practice squad Saturday afternoon makes sense. So that should be one spot. The other…that’s tougher. Darius Rush has gotten the most work there so it’s sensible to believe he’ll be the guy, even if his play was been uninspiring. But Cordarrelle Patterson and Scotty Miller are other options, too. My guess will be Pierre and Rush but Pierre is the only one I’m confident in saying.
Doug Allen: Are you as frustrated as I am on how they use Corderelle Patterson? I’m bothered when he takes carries away from Najee & Jaylen. Yet, he was drafted as a WR and offers size that could help our receiving corp especially blocking on runs & screen passes.
Alex: No, not right now. He’s played 13 snaps in two weeks. Ten percent. And Jaylen Warren was eased back in from his hamstring injury in Week 1, leading Patterson to play more. Patterson had just four snaps last week. So not really bothered by it. Harris is top-ten in carries right now. He’s getting plenty of work.
Peter Rauch:
Hey Alex!
Obviously a small sample size, but Cory Trice has looked pretty darn good so far. Has that done anything to ease your mind about the CB situation? What is now the biggest problem area depth-wise on the team now that we’ve seen it in action a bit?
Alex: Hey Peter! Yeah, he has. That pick against Denver…what a play. And coming in cold two plays earlier. Credit to the team. They stuck with Trice and took the chance on him as next-man-up. He’s showing them why.
Biggest depth problem? Low-hanging fruit is WR past George Pickens. That group has been as lackluster as we feared it would. Otherwise, they’re not really lacking in any one area especially once some guys get healthy. That’s the sore spot.
David Rudin: Hey Alex,
Fine work as always! Wondering your thoughts on Najee. Are the Steelers regretting or going to regret not signing him to an extension? Or are they looking for something else? What do you think a Steelers #1 running back look like for Arthur Smith? I’ll say this, Najee continues to run hard and angry!
Thanks,
Colorado Dave
Alex: I think they’ll regret not using the fifth-year option on him. It was a sensible and pretty cheap way to keep the RB room under team control for 2024 and 2025. Now, they’ll either have to pay more to keep him after this year or spend some money/draft capital on replacing him.
I think Smith, like the Steelers, want a runner with size and power. Henry in Tennessee, Robinson in Atlanta (who is more dynamic than Harris but still, he’s an angry runner). Someone who can shoulder the load. Someone with good change of direction and vision in this zone-based scheme.
Pghomer: It’s still 6 weeks away or so… but could you see the team trading to bring Dionte Johnson back if they can’t land another WR? It wouldn’t take much…
Alex: I won’t rule it out. Obviously couldn’t say it’s likely but…I get it. FA end of the year, Panthers season is already over. Get him for pennies and if he really is a cultural problem again, you can always cut him with little lost. Would be a cheap guy who wouldn’t need to get up to speed in the offense, a downside making a mid-season trade where you normally lose a couple weeks until he gets to know you and vice versa. I’d be open to it if the receiver production keeps trending this way.
