Welcome to Steelers Morning Rush, our new daily short-form podcast with Alan Saunders, giving a longer perspective on a single news topic surrounding the Pittsburgh Steelers or the National Football League. Today, it’s what happens to players like safety Ryan Watts after they suffer a career-ending injury.

The team released Watts this week, but doesn’t mean they’re washing their hands of the 23-year-old defensive back. They’ll likely have to pay out the rest of his salary and take care of his medical expenses through an NFL program. There are other ways players can be protected, as well.

Alan breaks it...

Dive into the Minnesota Vikings’ 2025 roster evolution on The Real Forno Show with Tyler Forness and Dave Stefano unpack Andrew Van Ginkel’s one-year, $23M extension, its impact on Dallas Turner, and rookie Tai Felton’s fit in the offense and special teams. Forness and Stefano analyze how Van Ginkel’s deal enhances Brian Flores’ defensive schemes, Turner’s rotational role, and Felton’s speed-driven potential. Explore why the Vikings’ defense could be “scary” and how Felton might emerge as a weapon.

This episode of The Real Forno Show, a Vikings 1st & SKOL production, delivers an in-depth analysis of the Minnesota Vikings’ roster...

The Philadelphia Eagles announced Friday that they’ve signed four draft picks including LB Smael Mondon, QB Kyle McCord, OT Myles Hinton, and OLB Antwuan Powell-Ryland.

Here’s the updated list of signed picks for the Eagles:

RdPickPlayer****Pos.****Note131Jihaad CampbellLB 264Andrew MukubaS 4111Ty RobinsonDT 5145Mac McWilliamsCB 5161Smael Mondon Jr.LBSigned5168Drew KendallC 6181Kyle McCordQBSigned6191Myles HintonOTSigned6207Cameron WilliamsOT 6209Antwaun Powell-RylandEDGESignedMondon, 22, was a three-year starter at Georgia and earned Second Team All-SEC honors in 2023. He was a five-star recruit and the fourth-ranked linebacker in the 2021 recruiting class.

The Eagles used the No. 171 overall pick in the fifth round on Mondon. He will receive a...

Almost 15 years ago, Aaron Rodgers beat the Pittsburgh Steelers in the Super Bowl. Now, he has a chance to join their team. The Steelers’ quarterback options have grown thin, and Rodgers is the best player left in free agency. That’s why Pittsburgh is content to wait for him to make a decision, but it’s […]

Adam Schefter of ESPN reports that the Packers have signed fifth-round LB Collin Oliver to a rookie contract on Friday ahead of offseason workouts.

Oliver is the first player from the Packers’ 2025 draft class to sign his rookie deal.

RdPickPlayer****Pos.****Note123Matthew GoldenWR 254Anthony BeltonOT 387Savion WilliamsWR 4124Barryn SorrellDE 5159Collin OliverLBSigned6198Warren BrinsonDT 7237Micah RobinsonDB 7250John WilliamsG Oliver, 22, was a three-year starter at Oklahoma State. He was a second-team All-BIG 12 selection in 2022 and 2023, but was limited with a right foot injury as a senior.

Oliver is projected to sign a four-year, $4,603,333 contract that includes a $403,333 signing...

The long tumble in the draft cost Cleveland Browns quarterback Shedeur Sanders millions. And maybe that’s how far off Deion Sanders was on his valuation of his son. But here is why the Browns traded up for Sheduer Sanders after passing on him six times in the 2025 NFL Draft.

The Browns grabbed the following players before they took Sanders: Mason Graham, Carson Schwesinger, Quinshon Judkins, Harold Fannin Jr., Dillon Gabriel, and Dylan Sampson. The oddest pick of that bunch was Gabriel, but that’s another story.

Browns general manager said it came down to position when his team traded up,...

The Chargers have reportedly declined to pick up the 5th-year option of OG Zion Johnson, the team’s first-round pick in 2021.

Thursday held the deadline for NFL teams to either pick up or decline the fifth-year options for their first-round selections from the 2022 NFL Draft. When it came to the Chargers, reports came out Thursday evening that the team will not be picking up the fifth-year option on offensive guard Zion Johnson.

Johnson was selected 17th overall in that draft out of Boston College. He played for the Golden Eagles from 2019-2021 following his first two collegiate seasons with...

Retired Panthers wide receiver Steve Smith Sr. ended up in the middle of a messy situation earlier this year thanks to a man who publicly accused him of having an affair with his wife. Now, he’s ended up on the receiving end of a six-digit lawsuit thanks to a fairly unconventional law on the books in North Carolina.

Steve Smith Sr. spent 16 years in the NFL after kicking off his career with the Panthers in 2001. The third-round pick was initially deployed for kick and punt returns, but he took full advantage of the opportunity to play wide receiver...

Pittsburgh Steelers rookie defensive tackle Yahya Black reflects on gaining a ton of weight to get ready for the NFL.

PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Steelers drafted massive Iowa defensive tackle Yahya Black in the fifth round of the 2025 NFL Draft to help close up running lanes that were too often available for opposing offenses last season. However, he revealed he didn’t always have those capabilities.

Black, who now stands at 6-foot-6, 336 pounds, reportedly arrived to Iowa at just 250 pounds.

“I was a string bean when I got to Iowa,” Black said. “The weightlifting program at Iowa, they...

Kaiir Elam isn’t the only Buffalo Bills player in a new place in the 2022 NFL re-draft.

The Buffalo Bills traded cornerback Kaiir Elam this offseason and the Dallas Cowboys recently announced they would not pick up his fifth-year option. He certainly qualifies as a bust, even if he ends up on the Cowboys’ 53-man roster in 2025.

SB Nation re-drafted the 2022 NFL Draft and in addition to the change at the Elam pick for the Bills, Buffalo also lost two players in the first round that they were able to nab later in 2022.

Let’s take a look:...

The San Francisco 49ers are in an awkward position as a franchise. San Francisco parted ways with several of their veteran stars in an epic roster purge earlier this offseason. These moves were likely made to set up a potential Brock Purdy extension. The 49ers also handed out a big extension for tight end George Kittle, who is now the highest-paid tight end in the NFL.

Are the 49ers a contending team that is only a few pieces away from a Super Bowl? Or are they a rebuilding team that is about to extend a franchise quarterback on a long-term...

He might not be viewed as a franchise quarterback moving forward, but the Pittsburgh Steelers’ selection of Ohio State quarterback Will Howard continues to garner praise. The latest to do so is longtime NFL Draft analyst and current The Ringer podcast host, Todd McShay. “I love the Will Howard pick. I love the Will Howard […]