Behind the Steel Curtain
Throughout the 2025 NFL season, SB Nation’s Doug Farrar writes about the game’s Secret Superstars — those players whose performances might slip under the radar for whatever reasons. In this installment, we focus on Pittsburgh Steelers running back Kenneth Gainwell, whose new team has recognized him as one of their castoffs from elsewhere, and an integral part of an offense on the rise.
When Mike Tomlin and Aaron Rodgers talk about the Steelers’ success this season, both of them will bring up the “castoffs” — the players on the roster who were easily bought and brought because they were lightly-regarded elsewhere. It’s become a big thing in the building.
“There are some castoffs if you look at our roster, which makes it really special,” Rodgers said after Pittsburgh’s 28-15 Monday night win over the Miami Dolphins, which put them at 8-6 on the season. “Kenny Gainwell signed a next-to-nothing contract. Connor Heyward, afterthought. Had a touchdown run. You know, Marquez [Valdes-Scantling] been on a couple of teams. Adam Thielen got cut. [Asante] Samuel was on the street for a long time. Says a lot about the character of the guys we brought in.”
When asked about the “castoffs” on Tuesday morning, Tomlin agreed.
“You know, I’m never surprised by that, to be honest with you,” Tomlin said when asked about people who come in unheralded and in-season and are able to make a difference in the organization. “That’s why we have cliches like, ‘The standard is the standard,’ [and] ‘One man’s misfortune is another man’s opportunity.‘ It’s not if, it’s when as it pertains to injury in our business, so if you’re in a position like mine, you better work your tail off to ready each and every man that’s a part of the program and have that urgency daily. I certainly do, and we do as a staff. But those are the guys that are deserving of the credit.
“I’ll never ask guys to be patient. I’ll ask them to work while they wait, and a lot of guys have done that. We get performances like many of them just displayed. It’s just evidence that they have, and certainly some of them are going to get additional opportunities to do so, and maybe some new guys will get opportunities to do so as we move forward. That’s just the nature of this thing. I think your ability to adapt and adjust and pivot often defines a collective, and certainly we’ve had some opportunities to do so. We have had success at times and we better keep digging, because I’ve just been on enough of these journeys, I know it’s a component of it.”
Rodgers brought up running back Kenneth Gainwell, who has become a big deal for his new team. Selected in the fifth round of the 2021 draft by the Philadelphia Eagles out of Memphis, Gainwell was a part of an Eagles organization that made two Super Bowls and won one, but when his contract ran out following...
