Happy Friday, and I hope yinz are doing well.
The Pittsburgh Steelers are full speed ahead into their offseason though it’s started in quiet fashion. The team has done little since being eliminated by the Baltimore Ravens in the Wild Card Round of the playoffs. Aside from signing players to Reserve/Future contracts, it’s been quiet on the Pittsburgh front.
No coaching changes have been announced though it’s possible some subtractions/additions occur over the next few weeks. OC Arthur Smith is poised to return in 2025 after being passed over for head coaching positions with the Chicago Bears and New York Jets. Also, Steelers executive Sheldon White wasn’t picked to be the Las Vegas Raiders’ next general manager.
The college All-Star games are kicking off this upcoming week and we’ll have crews out at the 2025 Shrine East-West Bowl and Senior Bowl. Expect plenty of daily practice coverage and interviews with players there.
As always, we’re here to bring whatever happens throughout the weekend. Until then, we have five questions for you to answer below.
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Peace and love, peace and love!
1 – Who will win between the Chiefs and Bills?
2 – Who will win between the Eagles and Commanders?
3 – How much would you pay Justin Fields per year?
4 – If you could, what’s one question you would ask team president Art Rooney II?
5 – What is the biggest need for Pittsburgh: WR, CB, or DL?
Tiebreaker: Combined points from all four teams in this week’s championship games.
Recap of 2024 Divisional Weekend Friday Night Five Questions
The 2024 Steelers Depot Friday Night Five Questions contest is over. NOTE: RW Fields (Week 5) and Don2727 (Week 17) please send me a DM (subBurgher on twitter or quarternelson on Instagram or email quarter_nelson@yahoo.com) with your PayPal address to receive your winnings. Alternatively, you can donate it to the Pittsburgh Community Food Bank. Or opt for a Steelers Depot polo shirt in lieu of the cash prize. You’ll have until the Conference Championship Weekend to claim it. Any unclaimed prizes will be donated to the Pittsburgh Community Food Bank.
Question 1: The favored Philadelphia Eagles beat the Los Angeles Rams, 28-22. Meanwhile, the Washington Commanders upset the heavily favored Detroit Lions, 45-31. Nineteen of 24 folks picked the NFC Conference Championship to be between the Eagles and the Lions. Just one person, prnitz, picked the Eagles facing the Commanders.
Question 2: Meanwhile, 14 of 24 respondents correctly picked the AFC matchup. The Kansas City Chiefs held off the Houston Texans, 23-14. And the Buffalo Bills edged the Baltimore Ravens, 27-25. That second game made lots of Steelers fans happier.
Question 3: The consensus of respondents agreed that the Steelers should trade receiver George Pickens. Among the 15 traders, a number conditioned the transaction on receiving a second-round pick. George Pickens himself shot down the idea of a trade on Instagram earlier this week. “Stop lying for clicks,” he posted. We’ll see what happens.
Question 4: Depot respondents gave just a nine-percent chance of Najee Harris playing for the Steelers in 2025. Some wish he would re-sign with the Steelers but accept that he is more likely to find “greener” pastures in 2025.
Question 5: In the closest vote, 12 folks said the Steelers should fire Mike Tomlin, and 11 said no. Ralph Neeley abstained, writing, “Pointless question, never gonna happen.” Former Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson was the runaway favorite to replace Mike Tomlin. Kliff Kingsbury, Mike Munchak, Brian Flores, and Bill Belichick all picked up stray votes. Johnson is off the table as he moves to Chicago to head coach the Bears. Bill Belichick reportedly still has not signed his contract at the University of North Carolina. And Kingsbury is the offensive coordinator for the Commanders who just outscored the Lions. Could you imagine Belichick brought in as a senior advisor?
Here are the consensus answers of Steelers Depot respondents compared to the correct answers:
| Questions | NFC Divisional Winners | AFC Divisional Winners | Pickens 2025 | Chances Najee Steelers 2025 | Fire Mike Tomlin? |
| SD Consensus | Eagles
Lions |
Bills
Chiefs |
Trade | Nine percent | Fire |
| Correct Answers | Eagles
Commanders |
Bills
Chiefs |
TBD | TBD | He’s Back! |
| Tiebreaker | Team Scoring Most Points | Median Response: Lions | Actual Result: Commanders | Correct: 1 | |
Prnitz picked all four of the conference championship teams. And was the only person to pick Washington to score the most points in the Divisional Round of the playoffs. Impressive job!
The tiebreaker was not needed this week. For the record it was which team would score the most points. Fourteen folks picked the Lions. By halftime, Washington had scored more points than the teams in the other games except Philadelphia, which matched them. The Commanders’ 45 points smoked the rest of the teams. As noted above just one person picked them.
Although the Steelers’ season is over, there will be a lot to ponder, including which of their unrestricted free agents should be re-signed, draft speculation, and other personnel moves. Hope you all continue responding to the Steelers Depot Friday Night Five Questions as we progress toward the 2025 season.
