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Come and join this merry band of Steelers’ faithful for some lively debate about our Steelers, good food, music, and the merits of the odd cold beverage.

Live from Delaware, it’s Saturday Night! I, NAS204PSU, am here to bring you this Saturday Night Open Thread (aka SNOT).

Summer is rolling in. Many schools will be out in the next week or two. Might be a good time to sit back, relax and crack open a 6 pack …of questions!

These questions are here to get the conversation going is below, also let us know what you’re eating/drinking!

1. How handsome do you think Mason Rudolph is?

A. so handsome he’s worth tuckpointing any day!
B. He’s good looking, to a degree
C. Meh, no better than all of the other reindeer
D. Not a glowing review from me

2. Will Howard is apparently struggling to read NFL level defenses in OTAs. How long would you give Howard to adjust before blaming bad coaching by the Steelers?

3. TJ Watt is going into 2025 on the last year of his deal. Give me the odds that he plays out this final year as-is.

4. The Steelers need some workout tunes for OTAs, what’s your go-to workout song the black and gold should be repping at practice?

SOTN: https://youtu.be/oGx5Ou6wMCI?si=_1iEGCFlDEqeu9Ke

5. In AFC North news, Trey Hendrickson and the Bengals haven’t resolved their contract dispute. Do you think the Bengals are wise to not pay or trade Trey? Why/why not?

6. June is coming in hot. Do you have any travel or fun activities planned?

Bonus: using a gif, show me Aaron Rodgers reading all the articles about the Steelers waiting for him.

Finally, courtesy of Polamolicules Dude, a video to get you in the right frame of mind.

The Steelers’ quarterback and multiple others spoke at the rally held by the President.

President Donald Trump held a rally at U.S. Steel Irvin Works in West Mifflin on Friday, which featured appearances from current and former Steelers.

Legendary running back Rocky Bleier was present and gifted Trump a Steelers No. 47 jersey. Current quarterback Mason Rudolph and safety/special teams ace Miles Killebrew also made appearances on stage with President Trump. While introducing Rudolph, Trump was very complimentary of the Steelers quarterback.

“He’s tall, he’s handsome, [he’s] got a great arm, and I have a feeling he’s gonna be the guy,” Trump said.

Rudolph took the stage and quickly said a few words.

“I’m honored to be here with a great Steeler legend like Rocky Bleier,” Rudolph said. “Somebody who fought for our country in Vietnam and came back and played some great football for the Black and Gold. Awesome to be here as part of this big investment in Pittsburgh. Go Steelers.”

Think you can figure out which Steelers player we’re talking about? You’ll get five clues to figure him out in our new guessing game!

Hey Steelers fans! We’re back for another day of the Behind the Steel Curtain in-5 daily trivia game. Game instructions are at the bottom if you’re new to the game! Feel free to share your results in the comments and feedback in this Google Form.

Today’s Behind the Steel Curtain in-5 game

If you can’t see the game due to Apple News or another service, click this game article.

Previous games

Friday, May 30, 2025
Thursday, May 29, 2025
Wednesday, May 28, 2025

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Behind the Steel Curtain in-5 instructions

The goal of the game is to guess the correct Steelers player with the help of up to five clues. We’ll mix in BOTH ACTIVE AND RETIRED PLAYERS. It won’t be easy to figure it out in one or two guesses, but some of you might be able to nail it.

After you correctly guess the player, you can click “Share Results” to share how you did down in the comments and on social media. We won’t go into other details about the game as we’d like your feedback on it. How it plays, what you think of it, the difficulty level, and anything else you can think of that will help us improve this game. You can provide feedback in the comments of this article, or you can fill out this Google Form.

Enjoy!

T.J. Watt remains without a contract beyond 2025, and his situation is therefore still a talking point as the team returns to the facility. Pittsburgh’s Organized Team Activities began today, and the All-Pro edge rusher was not with the team.

According to Curt Popejoy of SteelersWire, Watt skipped the start of OTAs. It is certainly no secret that the former Defensive Player of the Year has been in search of a new deal, a desire which the team has publicly reciprocated. One season remains on his contract, and Watt has already hinted at dissatisfaction with playing on a contract year this offseason.

Since both the Steelers (55) and Watt (22.5) led the NFL in sacks in 2021, Pittsburgh has put up middling sack numbers in the past three seasons. Part of that was due to an injury in 2022 that forced Watt to miss seven games, but it was still the case when Watt earned his third sack-title with 19.0 in 2023. Still, ever since his four-year, $112MM extension started in 2021, Watt has accounted for nearly a third of the team’s sack total. He’s also the only player in NFL history (since sacks became an official stat in 1982) to lead the league in sacks in a single season three times.

All this, just to underline how much Watt means to the Steelers’ pass rush. Without him, the team’s top returning sack-getters were Cameron Heyward (8.0), who just turned 36 years old, Alex Highsmith (6.0), and Nick Herbig (5.5). No other returning defender had more than one. Highsmith has flashed big potential in the past (14.5 sacks in 2022), but his output hasn’t been consistent enough for Pittsburgh to rely on him as their primary source of a pass rush in the future. The team also drafted Ohio State edge rusher Jack Sawyer in this year’s draft, but expecting the fourth-rounder to eventually replace Watt is a lot to ask.

There really doesn’t seem to be much threat of the Steelers losing Watt, at the moment, though. Despite a down year for Watt and the lack of an acceptable offer from Pittsburgh, both sides seem to want the same things. Per Popejoy, “Watt wants a new contract and a raise,” and “the Steelers want Watt to retire” in Pittsburgh. All that needs to happen, now, is for the two parties to find agreeable terms with which to move forward.

Ely Allen contributed to this post.

The wait continues for Aaron Rodgers to make an official commitment to playing in 2025. Provided he does so, a deal sending him to the Steelers for at least one season remains the expectation around the league.

Rodgers has plenty of time to sign ahead of training camp (or in advance of next month’s mandatory minicamp), but before that takes place Pittsburgh’s quarterback situation carries uncertainty. One other option is still attainable this deep into the offseason, and the team is continuing to monitor that situation. The Steelers still have Kirk Cousins on their radar, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported on a Sunday SportsCenter appearance (h/t Bleacher Report’s Adam Wells).

The Falcons have been open to trading Cousins for much of the offseason despite their stated willingness to keep him in place as an expensive Michael Penix Jr. backup. The four-time Pro Bowler’s preference would be a fresh start after only one year in Atlanta, but his contract represents an impediment to a trade taking place. $37.5MM in guaranteed money is owed over the course of the 2025 and ’26 seasons, and the Falcons are uninterested in retaining a large potion of that amount to facilitate a deal.

Early last month, Atlanta was reportedly asking suitors to absorb at least $20MM of Cousins’ 2025 salary for a trade to take place. To no surprise, that stance did not generate offers, although a list of interested teams remained in place just before the draft took place. The Steelers were among them, and they find themselves as the only team whose presumed starting quarterback is not already on the roster at this point.

Per Fowler’s report, a Cousins trade would have already taken place by now if the Falcons had been willing to absorb a portion (such as $7MM or $8MM) of his $27.5MM base salary for the coming season. They are clearly not prepared to do so, and that position is unlikely to change any time soon. The Browns and Vikings added to their QB depth charts during the draft (through the selection of rookies in one case, and a trade in the other). The Saints, meanwhile, are not aiming to make an outside addition in the wake of Derek Carr‘s retirement.

As a result, Pittsburgh will continue to be a team to monitor on the Cousins front. The 36-year-old is under contract through 2027 (although the Steelers could move on from him prior to that point), and he could be seen as a multi-year investment under center. Rodgers, by contrast, will likely represent a one-and-done addition presuming a contract agreement is eventually reached. Until and unless that happens, though, the Steelers will no doubt continue to keep tabs on Cousins’ availability.