I apologize in advance for contributing to one of the most overhyped events on the sports calendar — Steelers OTAs.
I just can’t help myself.
Day 1 is in the books. Just about the entire team gathered Tuesday for voluntary work in shorts at its South Side headquarters, emphasis on voluntary. I know what Mike Tomlin says: “No one is going to win or lose a job in May.” I also know the mandatory minicamp June 14-16 is much more important. The hype for that will be off the charts.
But I really can’t help myself.
Stephon Tuitt and Diontae Johnson did not attend the first day of voluntary workouts. That doesn’t mean they won’t be there Wednesday or next week or the week after that. It just means it was noticeable they weren’t there Tuesday. Neither absence was totally unexpected, really. Tuitt missed all of last season dealing with health and personal issues. Johnson, like many of the other receivers in his draft class, has to be looking for a lucrative contract extension.
I get all of that.
But I feel better about Tuitt’s absence after hearing what Cam Heyward had to say about it than I do about Johnson’s absence.
Tuitt’s future with the team had been one of the big stories of the offseason. You know the question so many were asking: Will he or won’t he play in 2022? Tuitt had a knee injury last season. He also had to deal with the death of his brother, Richard Bartlett III, 23, who was killed in a hit-and-run car accident in June in suburban Atlanta.
“My brother was hurting last year,” Heyward said Tuesday. “He had to do some things in his life to get him right. His knee wasn’t right. I can imagine the situation he went through.”
Here’s the good news:
During that same interview, Heyward became the first member of the Steelers organization to say flat out that Tuitt will play this season. He said he has spoken to Tuitt and “I’m confident in Stephon Tuitt. ... I think he’s in a much better place.”
That should be regarded as great news for Steelers fans. It certainly is great news for Heyward, who was virtually a one-man defensive line last season, and great news for the team’s defense, which ranked dead last against the run in 2021 and gave up at least 36 points in five games, including the playoffs. Tuitt, if his body and mind are right, is a topnotch player, even a game-changer.
So is Johnson, of course.
Johnson is the team’s best receiver and put up big numbers last season as Ben Roethlisberger’s favorite target despite tailing off at the end of the season with more than his share of drops and wrong routes. His 107 catches tied for fifth-most in the NFL and his 1,161 receiving yards ranked 10th.
Johnson is entering the fourth and final year of his rookie contract and is due to make a base salary of $2.79 million in 2022. It’s understandable why he wants a rich extension, especially considering how the market for wide receivers has exploded during this offseason. Forget the filthy rich deals that Tyreek Hill, Davante Adams and Stefon Diggs received. Lesser receivers Chris Godwin and Christian Kirk signed big contracts. Johnson’s three-season numbers also compare favorably with the other receivers taken in the 2019 draft, including Marquise Brown, Deebo Samuel, A.J. Brown, DK Metcalf and Terry McLaurin. His 254 catches rank first among that group, his 2,764 receiving yards and 20 touchdown catches fourth.
Still, it will be inordinately beneficial to the team if Johnson gets in as much work as possible during these OTAs. There are two new quarterbacks — Mitch Trubisky and Kenny Pickett — to get to know. There also is what figures to be a much different offense from coordinator Matt Canada to learn now that Roethlisberger has retired.
That’s why it was so encouraging for the Steelers that Chase Claypool, Pat Freiermuth and rookies George Pickens and Calvin Austin III went through the voluntary practice Tuesday. So was Najee Harris, who, by all accounts, looked tremendous.
It’s nice to think Johnson will show up for the sake of the team.
Sooner rather than later.
Ron Cook: rcook@post-gazette.com and Twitter@RonCookPG. Ron Cook can be heard on the “Cook and Joe” show weekdays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on 93.7 The Fan.
First Published: May 25, 2022, 10:00 a.m.
Updated: May 25, 2022, 10:31 a.m.
