Pittsburgh Steelers News

Pittsburgh Steelers running back Rico Dowdle is entering his first year with the team in 2026 after racking up 1,373 scrimmage yards and seven touchdowns on 275 touches across 17 games with the Carolina Panthers in 2025. Dowdle began the year as the RB2 in Carolina but eventually took over the lead role following an early-season injury to Panthers back Chuba Hubbard. While Dowdle's season-long numbers are impressive, his production tailed off down the stretch of the season after Hubbard returned from injury. Dowdle failed to crack 60 rushing yards in any of his final eight games of the season and logged just six touches in the Panthers' playoff loss to the Los Angeles Rams. Dowdle now enters a similar backfield dynamic in Pittsburgh, where he figures to split touches with Steelers back Jaylen Warren. Dowdle's upside in the event of an injury to Warren could be enormous, but his production figures to be limited as long as both backs are splitting touches. In dynasty formats, managers may want to consider selling high on Dowdle.

Pittsburgh Steelers tight end Darnell Washington is participating in OTAs, per Mark Kaboly of The Pat McAfee Show. The 24-year-old ended the 2025 season on injured reserve after suffering a broken arm in Week 17, but it appears that he's fully healthy and ready to go heading into 2026. Across 16 games before getting injured last season, Washington hauled in 31 receptions for 364 yards and one touchdown on 43 targets. While Washington's numbers were all career-bests, he has not been able to establish himself as a reliable pass-catcher since being selected by Pittsburgh in the third round of the 2023 NFL Draft. With fellow Steelers tight end Pat Freiermuth still in the picture entering 2026, Washington appears unlikely to see a major role change in the upcoming season. Washington currently ranks as RotoBaller's TE40 for redraft leagues.

Pittsburgh Steelers running back Jaylen Warren is down to 205 pounds for OTAs and is "looking slimmer," per Chris Adamski of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Warren was listed at 215 pounds for the 2025 season. The 27-year-old set career-highs across the board last season for the Steelers, finishing the year with 1,291 yards from scrimmage and eight touchdowns on 251 touches across 16 games (15 starts). Entering 2026, Warren projects to split backfield reps with new Steelers running back Rico Dowdle, who was signed to a two-year contract in March. Dowdle profiles as more of a downhill, short-yardage back, so Warren's weight loss could be a sign that the team wants him to focus on shiftiness for an open-field, pass-catching role. Both Pittsburgh running backs profile as mid-tier RB3/flex options entering 2026.

Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Roman Wilson had a big opportunity to seize a much bigger role on offense in 2025 in his second year in the NFL after the Steelers traded George Pickens to the Dallas Cowboys. The 24-year-old former third-round selection (84th overall) in 2024 out of Michigan failed to seize that opportunity, finishing the 2025 campaign with just 12 catches on 21 targets for 166 yards and two touchdowns in 13 regular-season games (four starts) after he played in just one game in his rookie season. Veteran quarterback Aaron Rodgers has returned for one more year in the Steel City, which is good news for all of the Steelers' pass-catchers, but fantasy managers in dynasty/keeper leagues should probably move on from Wilson after Pittsburgh added Michael Pittman Jr. in an offseason trade and selected rookie Germie Bernard in the second round of this year's draft. Wilson flashed several times in 2025, but it wasn't enough, and his role faded down the stretch -- he was a healthy scratch in four of the last six regular-season contests. It's clear by the Steelers' offseason moves that they aren't planning on Wilson being a big part of their offense, and RotoBaller has him ranked as the No. 140 WR in dynasty leagues.

The Pittsburgh Steelers restructured tight end Pat Freiermuth's contract on Sunday to free up some salary cap space for the 2026 season, multiple sources told Nick Farabaugh of Penn Live. Freiermuth's salary cap hit this year will decrease to $11.2 million. The 27-year-old should see more volume in Pittsburgh in his sixth year in the league with both Jonnu Smith and Connor Heyward no longer in town, and it's a positive that veteran quarterback Aaron Rodgers is back in the Steel City for one more season. In his fifth year with the Steelers in 2025, Freiermuth caught 41 of his 54 targets for 486 yards and four touchdowns in 17 regular-season games (eight starts) to finish as the TE24 in half-PPR scoring. While the former second-rounder's volume should increase at least slightly, he'll now have to battle for targets with new wideout Michael Pittman Jr. and rookie receiver Germie Bernard. Freiermuth has never had more than 732 receiving yards or seven touchdowns in a single season, so the ceiling is pretty low in fantasy, and RotoBaller has him ranked as the No. 24 TE for the 2026 campaign.

Pittsburgh Steelers tight end Darnell Washington is trending in the wrong direction in dynasty fantasy football leagues, and managers could justify dropping him as the post-rookie draft roster crunch approaches. Washington had 31 catches, 364 yards, and one touchdown last year, and we're not convinced he'll be able to surpass those numbers in 2026. Now heading into his fourth year, the odds aren't in Washington's favor. Not only has he failed to live up to expectations through three NFL seasons, but he also has no connection to the new Steelers coaching staff, led by Mike McCarthy. Furthermore, the Steelers brought in competition in the form of fifth-round rookie Riley Nowakowski. Washington should hold onto the No. 2 tight end role (behind Pat Freiermuth and ahead of Nowakowski) initially, but he could end up falling to third as the year goes on. Washington is also heading into a contract year, which could be more incentive for the Steelers to reduce his reps and lean more on Freiermuth and Nowakowski. While free agency could be a much-needed fresh start for Washington next year, he doesn't have the track record needed to sign somewhere as a starting tight end. Therefore, both in the short term and long term, Washington's dynasty outlook is bleak. Managers can absolutely justify dropping him, as he has fallen to TE52 in RotoBaller's latest dynasty fantasy football rankings.

Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers told reporters on Wednesday that he plans to retire at the end of the 2026 season, per ESPN. Rodgers recently signed a one-year deal to return to Pittsburgh and reported to the team's facilities for offseason workouts on Monday. While the 42-year-old is no longer the same player he once was at his peak, he still threw for 3,322 yards and 24 touchdowns while leading Pittsburgh to the AFC North title and a playoff berth in 2025. Rodgers enters 2026 as a four-time MVP, four-time first-team All-Pro, 10-time Pro-Bowler, and the MVP of Super Bowl XLV. He's fifth on the NFL's all-time passing yardage leaderboard, and can pass Peyton Manning for third on the all-time passing touchdown list if he throws for 13 or more scores in 2026. Regardless of what happens this upcoming season with the Steelers, he will go down as one of the best quarterbacks of his era and the history of the NFL.

Pittsburgh Steelers running back Kaleb Johnson was seen lining up in the backfield with the first team offense during an OTA team period on Monday, per ESPN's Brooke Pryor. A third-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft, Johnson recorded just 78 scrimmage yards on 29 touches across 10 games as a rookie. Johnson enters 2026 as the RB3 in Pittsburgh behind veteran backs Jaylen Warren and Rico Dowdle. However, he'll have the benefit of a fresh start with a new coaching staff in Pittsburgh and could have a chance to work his way into a larger role. While fantasy managers should not overreact to a team session in May, Johnson's training camp progress could be worth monitoring over the summer months.

Pittsburgh Steelers rookie quarterback Drew Allar (ankle) worked as the fourth QB on Monday in the team's first OTA session, behind Aaron Rodgers, Will Howard, and Mason Rudolph, according to ESPN's Brooke Pryor. Allar, who was the team's third-round pick in April's NFL draft, had surgery last November following a broken left ankle that ended his final season at Penn State in 2025. The 22-year-old has apparently fully recovered from his ankle injury. With Rodgers officially back in the Steel City for one more go-around in his 22nd NFL campaign, the 6-foot-5, 228-pound Allar will open his first year in the NFL buried on Pittsburgh's QB depth chart. New head coach Mike McCarthy is trying to build Allar's mechanics from the ground up after he played in a Nittany Lions system that wasn't tailored at all towards the next level. It's going to take some time for Allar in Pittsburgh, so anyone looking to draft him in dynasty/keeper leagues needs to be willing to play the long game.

After signing a one-year deal to return to the Pittsburgh Steelers over the weekend, veteran quarterback Aaron Rodgers reported to the team's facilities on Monday morning, according to Brooke Pryor of ESPN. Rodgers was one of the first people in the building before 7 am. He will be on the practice field to start the week for the first OTA practice. The 42-year-old future Hall of Famer is back for his 22nd season in the NFL after throwing for 3,322 yards, 24 touchdowns, and seven interceptions in 16 regular-season starts in 2025 in his first year in the Steel City. Rodgers led the team to a 10-6 record and into the playoffs, but they were embarrassed by a strong Houston Texans defense in the wild-card round of the postseason. After long-time head coach Mike Tomlin stepped away, Rodgers will reunite with Mike McCarthy, with whom he won a Super Bowl in Green Bay. The Steelers added receiver Michael Pittman Jr. in a trade and took rookie Germie Bernard in the second round, but that shouldn't really change the fact that Rodgers is still a low-upside QB2 for fantasy managers in superflex leagues in what will likely be the final year of his storied NFL career.

When wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr. was traded from the Indianapolis Colts to the Pittsburgh Steelers back in March, it was unclear if veteran quarterback Aaron Rodgers would return for a 22nd year in the NFL. That made the 28-year-old's short-term outlook in his new digs somewhat cloudy. On Saturday night, Rodgers and the Steelers agreed to a reunion for the 2026 season, which won't drastically affect Pittman's long-term dynasty outlook, but it should give him a short-term boost in value, especially in point-per-reception leagues. The former second-round pick by the Colts in 2020 out of USC had two 1,000-yard seasons in his six years in Indy. Pittman had a career-high seven touchdowns in 17 games in 2025, but he disappointed with 784 receiving yards on 80 receptions. He will now be competing for targets in Pittsburgh with DK Metcalf and rookie second-rounder Germie Bernard. If not for QB Daniel Jones' (Achilles) injury last year, Pittman might have had his third 1,000-yard campaign. Pittman will be a short-term boost in his dynasty stock with Rodgers now officially back in town, but beyond that, all bets are off. He's currently RotoBaller's No. 53 WR in dynasty formats.

Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Will Howard did not see the field as a rookie after coming off the board in the sixth round of the 2025 NFL Draft, but with the team's quarterback uncertainty lasting more than two months into the new league year, there was an outside chance he could have been named the starter for the 2026 season. With the Steelers agreeing to terms with Aaron Rodgers on a one-year deal on Saturday night, Howard's chances of ever seeing the field as a starter, as well as his dynasty value, were dealt a serious blow. Howard will now look to earn the role of Rodgers' primary backup, but with Mason Rudolph still on the roster and the Steelers spending third-round capital on former five-star recruit Drew Allar in the 2026 NFL Draft, even that could be an uphill battle. It's entirely possible the Steelers could thin the room by sending one of Howard or Rudolph to a team in need of depth, but even in a best-case scenario, Howard remains in Pittsburgh for a 2027 positional battle against the higher-drafted, more toolsy Allar in a year that quarterback is expected to be a true strength of the NFL Draft. Howard is RotoBaller's dynasty QB49, and while he's unlikely to ever amount to a fantasy difference maker, he should be held through training camp wherever possible, with the upside case being that he wins the backup job behind a 42-year-old quarterback who has played a full 17-game slate only once in the last three seasons.

Pittsburgh Steelers running back Jaylen Warren is arguably one of the biggest beneficiaries of the team's reunion with 21-year veteran quarterback Aaron Rodgers. With the sides agreeing to a one-year deal worth up to $25 million on Saturday, target distribution in the Steelers' new-look offense could bear a striking resemblance to that of 2025. While personnel tendencies are expected to shift dramatically away from Arthur Smith's heavy usage of multi-tight end sets, who the ball gets thrown to will still be determined by the 42-year-old Rodgers. In 2025, with Rodgers seemingly unwilling to hold the ball any longer than necessary, his running backs were targeted 126 times across his 16 starts, second only to the 49ers. Kenneth Gainwell and his 73 receptions were allowed to walk in free agency, and in replacing him with Rico Dowdle, whose 39 catches in 2025 matched a career high, Warren should serve as Rodgers' primary pass-catching back. At RotoBaller's dynasty RB30, Warren is perennially one of the more underrated assets in the game, and the 27-year-old former undrafted free agent has a realistic shot at another RB2 finish after ending the 2025 season as the RB16 in Half-PPR formats.

Steelers quarterback Drew Allar may no longer have a realistic shot of winning the starting job in Pittsburgh after the team reached a one-year agreement with Aaron Rodgers on Saturday night, but Allar could be viewed as a long-term dynasty winner. Allar entered college as a five-star recruit with all the physical tools to play the position, but poor decision-making and a lack of development across his 35 starts at Penn State caused him to fall to the third round in the 2026 NFL Draft. With the 42-year-old Rodgers back in the fold, Allar will have the opportunity to study behind one of the best to ever play the position, and by 2027, Mason Rudolph will be a free agent while 2025 sixth-round pick Will Howard will have only two years remaining on his rookie contract. The 2027 draft class is loaded with quarterback talent, but if the reunion of Rodgers and head coach Mike McCarthy goes well, Pittsburgh could again find itself out of position to add a difference maker through the draft. While Allar's true dynasty success remains a long shot, the perception of learning behind Rodgers beats that of losing an open competition to Rudolph or Howard, or even taking the field before he is ready. At RotoBaller's dynasty QB33, he should hold value throughout the year and, at the very least, could become an interesting sell candidate once he and Howard are all that remain at the top of Pittsburgh's depth chart.

Pittsburgh Steelers tight end Pat Freiermuth caught 41 passes for 486 yards in 2025, his lowest career totals outside of a 2023 season in which he missed five games with a significant hamstring injury. With 42-year-old veteran quarterback Aaron Rodgers agreeing on Saturday night to return to the team on a one-year deal, Freiermuth's dynasty value could see a slight bump, but the reality is that his situation might be even worse heading into 2026, making him an ideal sell candidate. Under Arthur Smith, the Steelers operated out of heavy personnel packages at one of the league's highest rates, whereas new head coach Mike McCarthy was last seen in Dallas, deploying primarily 11 personnel packages, a trend he could reasonably continue after the team added Michael Pittman Jr. and Germie Bernard through trade and the 2026 NFL Draft. In 2025, Freiermuth frequently shared the field with the 6'6", 311-pound Darnell Washington, but if Pittsburgh opts for more lighter personnel usage under McCarthy, the two tight ends could find themselves splitting reps moving forward. The Steelers' betting lines were not impacted by the signing of Rodgers, but with fantasy leagues often being reactionary to the news cycle, now could mark a good time to try to move on from RotoBaller's dynasty TE41.

Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver DK Metcalf finished the 2025 season with a career-low 850 receiving yards on the lowest reception total since his rookie campaign. With the Steelers and veteran quarterback Aaron Rodgers agreeing to a one-year deal on Saturday, his situation is unlikely to see any drastic improvement in 2026. In fact, with the Steelers acquiring Michael Pittman Jr. via trade and spending a second-round pick on Germie Bernard, there are signs that Pittsburgh could see a dramatic increase in 11 personnel under new head coach Mike McCarthy, a staple of his offenses in Dallas. Both Pittman and Bernard are expected to occupy the short-to-intermediate areas of the field, where the 42-year-old Rodgers has focused most of his attention in the later stages of his career, meaning Metcalf could be in line for one of the lowest target shares of his career. At RotoBaller's dynasty WR32, the 28-year-old Metcalf could be on a slow march toward the end of his career, but if the consensus view of the Rodgers signing is a favorable one, that creates an ideal selling window for the two-time Pro Bowler.

The Pittsburgh Steelers and quarterback Aaron Rodgers have agreed to a one-year deal, according to Adam Schefter of ESPN. Rodgers is officially returning to the Steelers and reuniting with head coach Mike McCarthy for the 2026 season. The deal is worth up to $25 million with incentives and includes around $22 million guaranteed. The 42-year-old completed 327 passes for 3,322 yards, with 24 touchdowns and seven interceptions, while leading the Steelers to an AFC North title. With his return, younger quarterbacks Drew Allar and Will Howard will take a backseat and compete for the backup position. Rodgers will play under McCarthy for the first time since 2018. The duo spent 13 seasons together in Green Bay and won Super Bowl XLV against the Steelers. Additionally, the future Hall-of-Fame quarterback won two NFL MVP awards and threw for 38,531 passing yards. The two will try to recapture past magic and make one more potential playoff push together.

Some NFL teams could see the Pittsburgh Steelers at least considering moving on from star linebacker T.J. Watt, according to Jeremy Fowler of ESPN. If Pittsburgh ends up signing fellow linebacker Nick Herbig to a long-term extension, the Steelers would have three large contracts (Watt and Alex Highsmith as well) allocated to one position. The 31-year-old Watt is a legacy player, but he will turn 32 in October and has guaranteed salaries of $32 million in both this year and next year. For as good as Watt has been -- he's an eight-time Pro Bowler and four-time first-team All-Pro -- the former first-rounder isn't getting any younger, and he missed three of the team's final four games in 2025 due to a partially collapsed lung. He has led the NFL in sacks three different times, but after recording 19 sacks in 2023, he has had a combined 18.5 sacks the last two years. It's still hard to imagine the Steelers moving on from the face of their franchise, but if he has another lackluster season in 2026, his time might be up in the Steel City.

ESPN's Brooke Pryor reports that the Pittsburgh Steelers are essentially "uninstalling" everything that rookie quarterback Drew Allar learned at Penn State and "re-uploading" their own methods, fundamentals, and mechanics. Head coach Mike McCarthy and his coaching staff are taking it slowly with Allar so far and concentrating on his footwork and widening his base, which McCarthy hopes will help the young signal-caller process things faster and move through his reads. The 6-foot-5 Allar has the raw traits that McCarthy looks for in a QB to run his West Coast style of offense, and he has the pedigree to be a top-tier signal-caller after throwing for 61 touchdown passes and 7,402 yards as a three-year starter at Penn State. But Allar's mechanics need work, and he struggled against top-tier opponents in college in a system that didn't always put him in a great spot to succeed. Like most young QBs, Allar is getting used to the new challenge of playing under center at the NFL level. If veteran Aaron Rodgers eventually re-signs with Pittsburgh, Allar is expected to be the QB3, at best, going into the start of his rookie season in 2026. RotoBaller currently has him ranked as the No. 33 dynasty QB, so patience will be required.

In selecting wide receiver Germie Bernard in the second round of the 2026 NFL Draft, the Pittsburgh Steelers have arguably assembled their strongest receiver room in years. After trading for DK Metcalf and Michael Pittman Jr. in back-to-back seasons, the selection of Bernard out of Alabama gives the team three capable and complementary players who can be moved across the formation. Before his landing spot was even known, Bernard profiled as a wide receiver who might operate best as a secondary or even tertiary option in an NFL offense, and his fantasy ceiling looks to now be capped on a team with two legitimate target-earners. Where his floor could truly drop out, though, is through subpar quarterback play, and with 42-year-old Aaron Rodgers still unsigned more than two months into the new league year, there's a chance the Steelers could open the 2026 season with one of Will Howard, Drew Allar, or Mason Rudolph under center. At RotoBaller's rookie WR8, even if he turns into a better-for-the-NFL-than-fantasy type of player, Bernard is still going high enough in dynasty drafts that such an outcome would, in all likelihood, lead to him being labeled a bust.