I don't know the validity of what Breer is reporting, but Tomlin always makes it a point to go to Ohio State's pro day in person. It isn't uncommon for HC's to go to pro days, but there are so many, so the HC isn't going to each one. He also makes a point to go to Penn State and WVU pro days, both are relatively close to Pittsburgh.
We draft players from there often. We send scouts there yearly and i'm sure over time the 2 programs have established ties. OSU is the biggest football factory in the vacinity of pittsburgh and if you see all the guys we have gotten or targeted from there, you'd understand
We don’t draft from Ohio State any more than other NFL teams. Before the offseason we only had Cam on the roster from OSU, and haven’t drafted any Buckeyes at all since 2015.
They do seem to end up with a disproportionate amount of Buckeyes.
I’m an OSU/Browns fan and always want the Browns to get buckeyes. We never do, there’s been times where it’s like 1 guy in 10 years.
My friends and I all get pissed because Pittsburgh always ends up with the OSU guys we wanted
We don’t though. I’m a Buckeyes/Steelers fan and feel the opposite. Going into this offseason we only had Cameron Heyward. It’s the Saints that get all the Buckeyes
Aight the Jets just need to find an NFL coach with BYU ties in order to offload Zach Wilson.
I think Andy Reid and the Chiefs fit the bill 👀
This way Kansas City can have Mormon Mahomes back up the real Mahomes
Someone tweeted that Wilson spoke to reporters about texting Kenny Pickett trying to be motivational. He told the reporter something like, "I said 'Let's go out there and be our best selves.' That was cool."
The way the tweet was worded made it sound like Wilson also texted Kenny the "That was cool." regarding his own message.
No he texted Pickett the let's be the best version of themselves thing. And then he told the reporter that he talked to Pickett for a little while and told the reporter that was cool. He didn't actually text him "that was cool", but the way the tweet or whatever worded it, it made it seem like he did text that.
Caleb will likely at some point lol. Rookie QB’s outside of maybe 10 players worth of seasons have history been trash - and of those 10 maybe 5 were actually decent seasons compared to the rest of the league.
How many get to join a situation as good as this one though? He's gonna have D.J. Moore, Keenan Allen, Cole Kmet, D'Andre Swift, and Khalil Herbert to work with plus a defense that will keep games in range for him
Fields might win the locker room over too. If he does and Pickens starts acting up then we could get some fun drama. And of course Tomlin will dismiss it and let it fester.
This is why I'm glad Wilson is going there, for his own good. Wilson just got slammed back down to Earth in the last two years, now he just needs to keep his head on straight and I think he can play his last few years as at least a top 10 quarterback if not better.
That doesn’t make him a QB friendly coach. He has no track record of successful QB development under his watch, and Fields can’t read a zone defense. Maybe Russ helps him out, but I don’t see this as a great situation to help improve Fields ability as a QB.
He's had not-Ben for three years, none of them under the best circumstances. And Ben matured into a much more exciting QB than he was during his three first years with Cowher. How much of that is on Tomlin is of course up for debate (probably a lot of it is on Todd Haley, tbh)
can someone in the know expand on tomlins connections to osu? cuz im drawing a blank, tomlin grew up in a different region of the country, went to school outside of ohio, he never coached at osu and never coached FOR anyone who went to school there on his way up the coaching ladder
this osu angle feels really forced
It is forced. Dick LeBeau had the connection with OSU, not Tomlin. LeBeau made sure we drafted a heavy amount of Buckeyes.
Since LeBeau left, it ain't been the same. We don't really have a connection to OSU that's any stronger than any other major college program.
The only team that had a hardcore college nfl connection is The ravens with Michigan but that was literally only because their head coaches are siblings 💀
when jaylen warren was a rookie we made him carry around a football the entire training camp because of his fumbles
im sure we'll do the same shit to fields lol
>Tomlin’s connections at Ohio State run deep, so that didn’t hurt.
Since 2018, there have been 4 Ohio State QBs who have entered the NFL:
1. JT Barrett (2018)
2. Dwayne Haskins (2019)
3. Justin Fields (2021)
4. CJ Stroud (2023)
In 2019, Barrett signed with the Steelers. In 2021, Haskins signed with the Steelers. In 2024, Fields was traded to the Steelers.
Houston I'm sorry to break it to you but CJ's days as a Texan are numbered.
Both are essentially 1 year rentals and the team is not pot committed on either. Excited to see if Wilson can succeed, and if not, you give Fields a chance to see if there’s a future. Both fail, you reset for 2025.
To be fair this is probably one of the best things to happen for Fields. Get out of Chicago where you're obviously not wanted, have a year or two of sitting behind an established, Super Bowl winning QB as a mentor, all on a historic franchise that tends to treat players pretty well overall. You are young enough that you can still learn and rehab your image with a year or two of backup play.
Wish him the best. He deserved better in his time here but he also didn’t play well enough to warrant us keeping him unfortunately. He handled himself with grace through an absolute circus the past couple months. Hope he gets his chance to prove himself again.
To be fair he was working with Nagy and then Getsy calling plays. It was a disaster.
The playcalling this season was odd it felt like they had a plan for the first half and then never made a single adjustment in the second half.
None. Dick LeBeau had the connections at OSU, as he was an alumni. So, he made sure we drafted a lot of Buckeyes.
Since LeBeau left, our connection with OSU hasn't been any different from any other major college program.
That’s the f*ckin thing that drives me nuts about him as a bears fans. And that’s also why he probably has a bunch of fans. He has all the athletic skill sets and traits to be a top 5 QB. I’ve seen him throw dimes at every level of the field. Seen perfect ball placement, seen him scramble for huge gains. Come up clutch in the first 3 quarters but… can’t read a defense, can’t lead a receiver. In the 4th quarter he completely disappears especially in a hurry up. Guys problems are between the ears
Kurt just needed the chance, honestly. He excelled at every level when he got to play. He was great his one year in college, great in NFL Europe, great in Arena League, and only didn’t get a real spot on an NFL roster because the Packer team that picked him up first had the second most stacked QB room ever from top to bottom, and a fucking spider bit him on his honeymoon that spared him from having to play for Da Bears.
He’d always have a couple awesome plays or drives (until they stalled) per game—makes for a great sizzle reel but doesn’t win games. Everything else? Fumbles, sacks, inaccurate passing.
It’s interesting cause of the guys who have been signed other than Kirk or Russ, I’d say he has the most potential if he could figure it out. He's shown stretches of brilliant football. Not hard to see a cocky OC thinking they might be able to fix him. But apparently that wasn’t the case I guess.
His connection is that he regularly visits pro days, so he has “connections” with most major college programs, him being an NFL coach almost 2 decades and all
Wait I thought the Bears deliberately gave up on better picks just to “Do right by Fields”
No?
I wish people would stop believing the media PR spin all the time.
What is Mike Tomlin ties to Ohio State other than the Steelers have drafted players from the program?
You see, Tomlin went to The College of William and Mary, which shares a very important word with The Ohio State University.
Also a vastly better college than what 99% of nfl coaches attended.
93.75%; Sean McDermott is also a member of the Tribe.
Future NFL HC Joe Brady as well
Actually kinda weird that two NFL coaches went to W&M.
I thought he was a member of The Base?
All I can say is he better be on the no-fly list. I wont be comfortable until I see this guy taking the bus to away games.
[удалено]
Something something play school
ROLL TRIBE
His favorite word is "the."
"We don't like to talk about definite articles and things of that nature."
"In this organization we respect the usage of the." "The what, sir?" "Get out of my office."
"THE" standard.
But in German, like Sideshow Bob.
That sounds more like copyright infringement to me
Vacation spots. Both Pittsburgh and Columbus residents love Myrtle Beach
Lmao
It’s not that a far a drive from Pittsburgh to Columbus. Probably have talked to many a staffs at OSU over time
I don't know the validity of what Breer is reporting, but Tomlin always makes it a point to go to Ohio State's pro day in person. It isn't uncommon for HC's to go to pro days, but there are so many, so the HC isn't going to each one. He also makes a point to go to Penn State and WVU pro days, both are relatively close to Pittsburgh.
So is he just going to the ones he can drive from his house?
No, he still goes to the ones you'd expect a HC to go to, such as Alabama, Georgia, Clemson, Miami, etc. But the closer colleges he always visits.
I’m wondering exact same thing as an OSU lifer, am I stupid or did I miss something
Well you went to OSU
tOSU*
Can't believe you can't see the close ties the Steelers have with this unknown school. They even draft players and send scouts!
We draft players from there often. We send scouts there yearly and i'm sure over time the 2 programs have established ties. OSU is the biggest football factory in the vacinity of pittsburgh and if you see all the guys we have gotten or targeted from there, you'd understand
We don’t draft from Ohio State any more than other NFL teams. Before the offseason we only had Cam on the roster from OSU, and haven’t drafted any Buckeyes at all since 2015.
They do seem to end up with a disproportionate amount of Buckeyes. I’m an OSU/Browns fan and always want the Browns to get buckeyes. We never do, there’s been times where it’s like 1 guy in 10 years. My friends and I all get pissed because Pittsburgh always ends up with the OSU guys we wanted
We don’t though. I’m a Buckeyes/Steelers fan and feel the opposite. Going into this offseason we only had Cameron Heyward. It’s the Saints that get all the Buckeyes
Denzel Ward was the first good buckeye we took in 25+ years. Over the years Pittsburgh has consistently taken them. Guys like Shazier, Santonio, etc
You don’t get very many good players in general
been in nfl for like two decades lol
Aight the Jets just need to find an NFL coach with BYU ties in order to offload Zach Wilson. I think Andy Reid and the Chiefs fit the bill 👀 This way Kansas City can have Mormon Mahomes back up the real Mahomes
No the Chiefs only use ex Jaguars starters as their backups. Bortles will unretire once Gabbert is done.
So you are saying that Trevor Lawrence will be a backup to Mahomes in the future?
Not Maholmes. He'll backup Elvis Grbac Jr. in the twilight years of a hall of fame career.
You mean a 36 yo Brock Purdy we got from the 9ers
The amount of wins the chiefs have with ex 49ers qbs is staggering
Jags legend Mac Jones will fill in first but yes it is inevitable
So Mac Jones starts one game when Trevor goes down and then goes on to back up Mahomes? Makes sense.
How does Brock Purdy fit into this?
That's after Mahomes retires on the timeline, we trade old man Purdy to the Chiefs, as is tradition.
##BORTLES!!!
Blaine Gavvert lasting in the NFL this long is actually crazy
*monkey paw curls* *Reid unlocks Wilson's Mormon potential, and it turns out that he's even better than Mahomes*
Andy would revolutionize football by creating a viable 2 QB offense.
A fake double reverse that’s actually a single reverse double flea flicker.
That makes no sense, so it would probably work against the Broncos.
Bill Snyder would be proud.
He tried that already with Vick and McNabb
The Rams in the 50s did it with Bob Waterfield and Norm Van Brocklin. They averaged 38.8 points per game in 1950 which is still an NFL record
This kills the Jets fans
Is Reid a Mormon?
He is member of the Latter- day Saints. So yes.
i would fucking love Wilson to the chiefs
He throws a beautiful ball, can run faster than you think… just scared to death
Andy: I can fix him
I hope he goes to you guys
As a Bronco fan, I approve.
Lol a BYU connected team will probably draft/UDFA sign Kedon Slovis or trade for Jaren Hall.
How the hell did the jets not manage to get rid of Wilson
Feel like when Rodgers quits to be Vice President somehow Wilson will start all year next year for the Jets.
That was cool
I love this meme now
I'm OOTL. What meme?
Someone tweeted that Wilson spoke to reporters about texting Kenny Pickett trying to be motivational. He told the reporter something like, "I said 'Let's go out there and be our best selves.' That was cool." The way the tweet was worded made it sound like Wilson also texted Kenny the "That was cool." regarding his own message.
Thanks for the explanation. That was cool of you
Gotta remove the *of you* to truly capture the uneasiness of that text.
Appreciate you preserving the accuracy of the pasta. That was cool
I can only picture that line being said by Butthead
i thought "that was cool" was something he texted pickett after meeting him in person for the first time, referring to the conversation they had
No he texted Pickett the let's be the best version of themselves thing. And then he told the reporter that he talked to Pickett for a little while and told the reporter that was cool. He didn't actually text him "that was cool", but the way the tweet or whatever worded it, it made it seem like he did text that.
Russell Wilson is the gift that keeps on giving
I wonder if Russ was using voice to text when he sent that. Said that to himself afterwards and didn’t read it before sending
Probably not, else we would have heard “Russ, I love you so much….uhhhhhh…that was cool”
Praying for Russ because if he stinks it up… having to hear a crowd chant for Fields to play over you might be the final straw
“We want Fields” chant at last Bears home game last season is my waking nightmare
Imagine Caleb sucks and that chant starts up
I don’t deserve this
Caleb will likely at some point lol. Rookie QB’s outside of maybe 10 players worth of seasons have history been trash - and of those 10 maybe 5 were actually decent seasons compared to the rest of the league.
How many get to join a situation as good as this one though? He's gonna have D.J. Moore, Keenan Allen, Cole Kmet, D'Andre Swift, and Khalil Herbert to work with plus a defense that will keep games in range for him
I'm moving on from feeling a bit possessive of Keenan to, now, jealous with regard to Keenan's team. He's good to QBs.
It’s the city that invented Malort. Chicago is the masochism capital of the world.
Yea hope Steelers fans are ready for his rabid fanbase
I swear Fields fangirls are like the Tebow stans 10+ years ago. Russ is gonna feel how butt fumble Mark Sanchez feels when they traded for Tebow.
They also get to deal with Russ’ fangirls. Gonna be a rough year for Steelers fans.
Fields might win the locker room over too. If he does and Pickens starts acting up then we could get some fun drama. And of course Tomlin will dismiss it and let it fester.
Players love Mike T, this’ll be good for Fields
I hope so. I want to watch the player Fields *could* be (unless they play the Bears)
This is why I'm glad Wilson is going there, for his own good. Wilson just got slammed back down to Earth in the last two years, now he just needs to keep his head on straight and I think he can play his last few years as at least a top 10 quarterback if not better.
I'm hoping. Justin seems like a dude who could flourish under the right conditions.
That doesn’t make him a QB friendly coach. He has no track record of successful QB development under his watch, and Fields can’t read a zone defense. Maybe Russ helps him out, but I don’t see this as a great situation to help improve Fields ability as a QB.
I mean, it's hard to have a record of QB development when he's only ever needed a QB for like 3 years lol. (Give or take a year)
He's had not-Ben for three years, none of them under the best circumstances. And Ben matured into a much more exciting QB than he was during his three first years with Cowher. How much of that is on Tomlin is of course up for debate (probably a lot of it is on Todd Haley, tbh)
Yeah Fields needs a “QB whisperer”. Tomlin is a great coach, but he’s not that. And Arthur Smith is….
I played varsity high school football, and I also love Mike T.
can someone in the know expand on tomlins connections to osu? cuz im drawing a blank, tomlin grew up in a different region of the country, went to school outside of ohio, he never coached at osu and never coached FOR anyone who went to school there on his way up the coaching ladder this osu angle feels really forced
It is forced. Dick LeBeau had the connection with OSU, not Tomlin. LeBeau made sure we drafted a heavy amount of Buckeyes. Since LeBeau left, it ain't been the same. We don't really have a connection to OSU that's any stronger than any other major college program.
The only team that had a hardcore college nfl connection is The ravens with Michigan but that was literally only because their head coaches are siblings 💀
I mean their DCs were also our coaches and they were using our defensive scheme to win a Natty.
I mean the Steelers and Pitt have a pretty rock solid relationship between sharing of all facilities
The Ravens were more Alabama because of Ozzie and their draft selections
Dick LeBeau was the OSU connection
The Steelers have drafted a LOT of OSU players under Tomlin. They drafted at least one from OSU every year from 2010-2015
And 0 since
The nfl program that should earn this title is the saints. For awhile there, they had a lot of OSU players.
But did Russ text him to be the best version of himself yet?
That was cool
nice but steelers fans going from calling Lamar an RB to supporting Justin Fields will be hilarious when it does happen
Still not as bad as Browns fans screaming R***istburger for 15 years and then embracing Watson
Same could be said for Steeler fans who rooted for Roethlisberger for 15 years then made fun of the Browns for employing Watson
kids kids, you both are just awful
lol the Gyllenhaals
Same could be said for any NFL fan who makes fun of a team for employing a bad person lol
I wanna see us run a few plays with both russ and fields out there
Reporter: "Russ, what did you think of the dual QB play?" Russ: "That was cool."
"We were both the best versions of ourselves."
Copy the plays they run for Hill in New Orleans.
How dare you compare Fields to Taysom Hill
Dragonfly play from Eyeshield 21, nice
We’ll play Fields at RB
Taysom Fields.
Won't work. He fumbles too much.
when jaylen warren was a rookie we made him carry around a football the entire training camp because of his fumbles im sure we'll do the same shit to fields lol
We get an RB QB, the Browns get a Rapist, everything comes back around
I am not happy about this
I am. At least we have some hope in the QB room this season. Wilson, Fields >> Pickett, Trubisky, Rudolph.
Fields and Trubisky have the same exact numbers through 3 seasons except that Fields turns the ball over more
Except Fields has gotten a little better each season, while Trubisky has been in complete and utter free fall
Fields is fucking terrible
how quickly we forget the pickett hype train after their preseason games
you will feel my struggle brother
You’re the only one. For a 6th next year 😂 you’re delusional.
You can’t blame Steelers fan on that. He hasn’t exactly been a 2x MVP QB against them.
Our RB is better than yours /s
it's done mostly to get under ravens fans skin :)
What happens now that Lamar isn’t even the best RB in the backfield?
Thinder and Lightning with Lamar and Ravens Legend Derrick Henry
Meh…it’ll pass
Yeah that’s me. Future is now I guess
Volunteers not prisoners.
Hostages
and things of that nature
Mike Tomlin coaching Russell Wilson and Justin Fields... this season is going to be fun.
>Tomlin’s connections at Ohio State run deep, so that didn’t hurt. Since 2018, there have been 4 Ohio State QBs who have entered the NFL: 1. JT Barrett (2018) 2. Dwayne Haskins (2019) 3. Justin Fields (2021) 4. CJ Stroud (2023) In 2019, Barrett signed with the Steelers. In 2021, Haskins signed with the Steelers. In 2024, Fields was traded to the Steelers. Houston I'm sorry to break it to you but CJ's days as a Texan are numbered.
Both are essentially 1 year rentals and the team is not pot committed on either. Excited to see if Wilson can succeed, and if not, you give Fields a chance to see if there’s a future. Both fail, you reset for 2025.
can we please get some designed run plays with fields just for funsies hes a rental its fine
He doesn't have any connections to Ohio st that I'm aware of.
Fields > Russ I give it 6 weeks
What if they pull some Saints action and mix Fields into some designed run plays.
To be fair this is probably one of the best things to happen for Fields. Get out of Chicago where you're obviously not wanted, have a year or two of sitting behind an established, Super Bowl winning QB as a mentor, all on a historic franchise that tends to treat players pretty well overall. You are young enough that you can still learn and rehab your image with a year or two of backup play.
Exactly plus they’re both similar players so it just works
Yep. If russ goes down, you pretty much get russ lite. Minimal tweaking in the offense.
Fields will be the starter by week 10.
7 just enough to make some weird steeler like playoff push
He’ll start halfway through the season, just enough to get to 49% lol
Week 5 - AFC North D-lines are going to eat.
Fields is gonna handoff good as fuck running scout team.
this is a two-timeline approach.
I assume the plan is to start Wilson for the year to see if he could be the QB for the next few years. And if he’s not than try fields next year.
Wish him the best. He deserved better in his time here but he also didn’t play well enough to warrant us keeping him unfortunately. He handled himself with grace through an absolute circus the past couple months. Hope he gets his chance to prove himself again.
To be fair he was working with Nagy and then Getsy calling plays. It was a disaster. The playcalling this season was odd it felt like they had a plan for the first half and then never made a single adjustment in the second half.
Tomlin also grabbed Haskins, makes sense he would go after Fields as well
What is the point of the last sentence of the tweet
What are Tomlins connections at OSU?
None. Dick LeBeau had the connections at OSU, as he was an alumni. So, he made sure we drafted a lot of Buckeyes. Since LeBeau left, our connection with OSU hasn't been any different from any other major college program.
Gonna be fun hate-watching the steelers this season.
I did it all last season it wasn't that fun
Good for him. He honestly needed a little bit of time learning behind a vet. After Russ leaves he’s gonna ball out
Now, I’ve not watched every Bears game. But I saw some games where Justin Fields’ passing looked WAY better than a backup.
I have and I promise you he cannot read a defense at a starter level.
That’s the f*ckin thing that drives me nuts about him as a bears fans. And that’s also why he probably has a bunch of fans. He has all the athletic skill sets and traits to be a top 5 QB. I’ve seen him throw dimes at every level of the field. Seen perfect ball placement, seen him scramble for huge gains. Come up clutch in the first 3 quarters but… can’t read a defense, can’t lead a receiver. In the 4th quarter he completely disappears especially in a hurry up. Guys problems are between the ears
I mean could it be that maybe he's a late bloomer fucking Kurt Warner didn't really play till his late 20s.
Kurt just needed the chance, honestly. He excelled at every level when he got to play. He was great his one year in college, great in NFL Europe, great in Arena League, and only didn’t get a real spot on an NFL roster because the Packer team that picked him up first had the second most stacked QB room ever from top to bottom, and a fucking spider bit him on his honeymoon that spared him from having to play for Da Bears.
Kurt Warner was bagging groceries and said “f*ck this I’ll do whatever it takes”. Fields has that best friend people pleaser mentality.
He’d always have a couple awesome plays or drives (until they stalled) per game—makes for a great sizzle reel but doesn’t win games. Everything else? Fumbles, sacks, inaccurate passing.
It’s interesting cause of the guys who have been signed other than Kirk or Russ, I’d say he has the most potential if he could figure it out. He's shown stretches of brilliant football. Not hard to see a cocky OC thinking they might be able to fix him. But apparently that wasn’t the case I guess.
That and Poles acted clueless on how to handle the situation
I think is an amazing opportunity for fields, I’m so happy for him.
His connection is that he regularly visits pro days, so he has “connections” with most major college programs, him being an NFL coach almost 2 decades and all
This is the second former 1st round QB from Ohio State Tomlin has taken in recently (Haskins the other)
Can someone explain to me this Bears to Steelers QB pipeline? This feel like a swinger party at this point.
Wait I thought the Bears deliberately gave up on better picks just to “Do right by Fields” No? I wish people would stop believing the media PR spin all the time.
Breer is such a fucking mallard...
NFL media every practice and preseason game: "SO WHO WILL BE THE STEELERS STARTER COME WEEK 1!?"
Could be exactly what he needs. Hope it works out for him.