Steelers Now
Eight former members of the Pittsburgh Steelers will be represented at Super Bowl LIX between the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles in New Orleans in two weeks.
The Eagles defeated the Washington Commanders in a 55-23 rout in the NFC Championship Game on Sunday afternoon.
Philadelphia features former Steelers first-round draft pick Kenny Pickett, who was traded to the Eagles last offseason. Pickett has backed up starter Jalen Hurts all season, and played during garbage time of Sunday’s blowout of the Commanders.
Former Steelers offensive lineman Fred Johnson played in all 17 games as a backup for the Eagles this season and even made six starts at left tackle in place of injured starter Jordan Mailata.
Fellow former Steelers offensive lineman Le’Raven Clark is on the Eagles injured reserve. Eagles punter Braden Mann spent the 2023 offseason with the Steelers.
In the Philadelphia front office, Brandon Hunt is the senior director of scouting. The Pine-Richland and IUP alum worked for the Steelers rom 2005-06 and 2009-22, rising to the position of pro scouting coordinator. He joined the Eagles in 2022 after he lost out on the Steelers general manager opening to Omar Khan.
Kansas City beat the Buffalo Bills, 32-29 in the AFC Championship Game at Arrowhead Stadium on Sunday night.
Former Steelers wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster had two catches for 60 yards in the AFC title game, as he seeks his second Super Bowl ring with Kansas City. Smith-Schuster also won Super Bowl LVII with the Chiefs after the 2022 season. He spent the 2023 season with the New England Patriots.
Three former Steelers are on the Kansas City practice squad: cornerback Darius Rush, cornerback Steven Nelson and quarterback Chris Oladokun.
Rush spent parts of the 2023 and 2024 seasons with the Steelers before he was waived on Oct. 1 and signed back in Kansas City. The Steelers had signed Rush off the Chiefs practice squad in 2023.
Nelson played two seasons for the Steelers in 2019-20 before a contentious exit from the team. He spent the last two seasons with the Houston Texans before retiring this offseason. He came out of retirement to sign with the Chiefs on Dec. 9.
Oladokun was the Steelers’ seventh-round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft. He did not make the Steelers team coming out of training camp, signed with the Chiefs practice squad, and has been with Kansas City ever since. Oladokun is looking for his third Super Bowl ring as a member of the K.C. practice squad.
In addition to the former Steelers, the Chiefs also feature Pittsburgh-area natives Justin Watson, who caught at two-point conversion in the championship game, and Skyy Moore, who is on the injured reserve list.
The Chiefs and Eagles will face one another in the Super Bowl for the second time in three seasons. Super Bowl LIX will kick off at 5:30 p.m. on Sunday, Feb. 9.
