Category: NFL Football

After adding a veteran wideout to their practice squad earlier today, the Steelers have now added a player on the other side of the ball. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Steelers have signed linebacker Ja’Whaun Bentley to their taxi squad. ESPN’s Field Yates reported earlier today that Bentley was visiting Pittsburgh.

Bentley joins the Steelers following a seven-year stay in New England, where he transformed into one of the team’s most dependable defenders. The former fifth-round pick tallied at least 100 tackles each year between 2021 and 2023, and he added another 8.5 sacks over that same span.

He was back in the starting lineup for the 2024 season, but he suffered a torn pectoral muscle in Week 2 that ended his season early. The Patriots moved on from him back in March, and he’s remained unsigned since that time.

With Malik Harrison on injured reserve and Patrick Queen nursing an oblique issue, the Steelers decided to add some veteran depth to their squad. Cole Holcomb and rookie seventh-round pick Carson Bruener represent the team’s current depth at ILB behind Queen and Payton Wilson. This signing also reunites Bentley with Jabrill Peppers, as the duo previously played alongside each other in New England between 2022 and 2024.

Bentley was one of many players who auditioned for the organization earlier today. The team already made one previously reported addition in WR Isaiah Hodgins.

The Steelers experienced a letdown in their home opener today with a loss to the visiting Seahawks, but a player lost due to injury could have longer lasting reverberations over the next few weeks. According to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, head coach Mike Tomlin disclosed that pass rusher Alex Highsmith has suffered a high-ankle sprain.

High-ankle sprains don’t have a great reputation in the NFL. The injury typically holds an average recovery length of around 10 weeks. There’s always a chance that Highsmith’s could be a more minor occurrence, but even that would likely mean a four- to six-week absence with a stint on injured reserve.

This has been an unfortunate trend for Pittsburgh over the last year or so. In 2024, Highsmith missed two separate three-week periods. A groin injury sidelined him after only three games, then after three games back on the field, an ankle injury forced the Charlotte product out for another three games.

Highsmith has been a key contributor to the Steelers defense since getting drafted by the team in the third round in 2020. After coming off the bench as a rookie, Highsmith has been a full-time starter in every year since. Before last year’s absences, he had only missed a single game. He exploded onto the scene in his third season with a 14.5-sack performance, earning himself a four-year, $68MM extension.

He hasn’t reached double-digit sack totals since then, but he routinely contributes to a defense that features other talented pass rushers like T.J. Watt and Cameron Heyward. The Steelers like a lot of the pieces they have in place along the defense and young backups like Nick Herbig and fourth-rookie Jack Sawyer could step up big in Highsmith’s absence. Still, a potential IR stint could make things difficult as the injuries continue to stack up in Pittsburgh.

Trade rumors followed Tyreek Hill throughout the offseason, and the Dolphins’ 33-8 drubbing at the hands of the Colts has only intensified speculation that the veteran wide receiver could be on his way out of Miami.

The Steelers and the Chiefs are both “eyeing” Hill after Week 1, according to Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio (via the Rich Eisen Show).

Kansas City has a clear need at wide receiver following Xavier Worthy‘s injury and Rashee Rice‘s suspension. Hill would especially help a Chiefs downfield passing game that has stagnated since he left the team in 2022.

The Steelers, meanwhile, could continue their apparent all-in push for the 2025 season by pairing Hill with D.K. Metcalf to give Aaron Rodgers one of the top receiver duos in the NFL. Pittsburgh did have Calvin Austin emerge as a potential WR2 in Week 1 with a 4-70-1 statline, but Hill’s All-Pro pedigree and track record of high-end production would still be an upgrade.

Hill is due $36MM in non-guaranteed compensation in 2026 with a $51.9MM cap hit, per OverTheCap, making it unlikely that he stays in Miami past this year. His contract could be a major obstacle to an offseason trade, so the Dolphins might try to move on early to get a better return. Hill is due $11.8MM this season, which is now down to $11.1MM after Week 1 and will drop by an additional $694k per week.

However, the potential for a suspension resulting from recent domestic violence allegations will likely delay any trade inquiries until after the league completes its investigation. Until there is some clarity on the situation, other teams won’t want to move draft capital for a rental with an uncertain outlook for the rest of the season. Florio said the accusations against Hill are “a massive complication that wasn’t there when the chatter began.”

Indeed, the Dolphins have received “zero” calls regarding Hill, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter, nor is the team currently looking to move him.

Were that to change, trade compensation would still need to be negotiated. Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer believes the Dolphins would want “something in the range of a third-round pick and maybe a Day 2 pick on top of that,” while Florio referenced the 2025 deal that sent Davante Adams from the Raiders to the Jets in exchange for a third-round pick. The Steelers also gave up a second-round pick for Metcalf earlier this year, offering another framework for a potential Hill trade.