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HR2: Practice Squad · In the Locker Room presented by Neighborhood Ford Store (Pittsburgh Steelers)

• 0:07
  Speaker 1: This is In the Locker Room with Rob King, Max Starks,
• 0:12
  Speaker 1: and Willie Colon on Steelers Nation Radio. Brought to you
• 0:15
  Speaker 1: in part by the Steelers Pro Shop. Get it direct
• 0:18
  Speaker 1: from the team at the Steelers Pro Shop at shop.steelers.com.
• 0:23
  Speaker 1: And by your neighborhood Ford store. The F-150 is the
• 0:27
  Speaker 1: official truck of the Pittsburgh Steelers.
• 0:36
  Speaker 2: Hopefully that's Optimist going to find us a Pro Bowl
• 0:39
  Speaker 2: site on that one.
• 0:42
  Speaker 3: That's right.
• 0:42
  Speaker 4: It's the power hour.
• 0:43
  Speaker 2: Hour number two here inside the locker room. Yeah, this
• 0:48
  Speaker 2: has been a spirited debate, Rob, so far about how
• 0:51
  Speaker 2: we can fix the Pro Bowl. And I can't wait
• 0:54
  Speaker 2: for us to come with some earth-shattering result after our
• 0:57
  Speaker 2: conversation here.
• 0:59
  Speaker 5: Yeah, I think we're on to something.
• 1:01
  Speaker 6: We're going to let it stew a little bit, but
• 1:03
  Speaker 6: we might be The world may look at this years
• 1:08
  Speaker 6: from now, and they may say, remember, I think it
• 1:11
  Speaker 6: was September 2nd, back in 2026, when Colon, Starks, and King,
• 1:16
  Speaker 6: when the three of them came up with the Pro
• 1:17
  Speaker 6: Bowl cure.
• 1:18
  Speaker 3: Remember that?
• 1:18
  Speaker 5: I think it was September 2nd in 26, wasn't it?
• 1:21
  Speaker 3: I think it was a Wednesday. Yeah.
• 1:24
  Speaker 5: So, maybe. We'll see.
• 1:26
  Speaker 6: In the meantime, wanted to finish up the roster construction
• 1:30
  Speaker 6: talk with the practice squad.
• 1:33
  Speaker 5: Okay, and... There's two reasons for this.
• 1:37
  Speaker 6: One is because, as we've pointed out several times, we
• 1:41
  Speaker 6: know that practice squad players can get elevated to the
• 1:44
  Speaker 6: regular roster and be major contributors. You don't have to
• 1:48
  Speaker 6: go any further back than last year where Dylan Cook,
• 1:52
  Speaker 6: who is at right tackle right now for the Steelers,
• 1:56
  Speaker 6: came off the practice squad. And James Pierre, who got
• 1:59
  Speaker 6: himself a very nice contract in the offseason, to sign elsewhere.
• 2:03
  Speaker 6: He was on the practice squad, wound up being the Steelers'
• 2:07
  Speaker 6: most solid corner, probably, down the stretch line.
• 2:10
  Speaker 5: Just really played good football.
• 2:13
  Speaker 6: So, here is a look at the practice squad, and
• 2:16
  Speaker 6: I'm going to run it down for you here, guys.
• 2:18
  Speaker 6: There's a couple of different reports, and I'm coming up,
• 2:22
  Speaker 6: I think, one short on the practice squad, meaning there's
• 2:25
  Speaker 6: at least one more.
• 2:26
  Speaker 5: Player that could be signed. I don't know.
• 2:28
  Speaker 6: I may have the right number here, but here's what
• 2:31
  Speaker 6: I've got, and Some conflicting reports, but I believe this
• 2:34
  Speaker 6: is correct. So wide receiver, Cole Burgess, Max Hurdleman, Brandon Smith.
• 2:41
  Speaker 6: I think each of these guys has their utility. I
• 2:44
  Speaker 6: think if something were to happen and you needed a
• 2:48
  Speaker 6: punt returner, I could see Max Hurdleman being a guy
• 2:52
  Speaker 6: that would be elevated to the active squad and take
• 2:54
  Speaker 6: over that role. I don't know who would be the
• 2:57
  Speaker 6: first receiver up in that instance, whether it would be
• 3:00
  Speaker 6: Max or perhaps Brandon Smith. Cole Burgess surprised me a
• 3:04
  Speaker 6: little bit to see him on the list. But your guys'
• 3:06
  Speaker 6: thoughts on that group of wide receivers?
• 3:11
  Speaker 3: I really like it. I really like Max Hurleyman.
• 3:14
  Speaker 2: Once again, popped off the tape during preseason, had some
• 3:18
  Speaker 2: fantastic catches and was targeted.
• 3:20
  Speaker 3: A whole lot by Drew Aller and Will Howard.
• 3:23
  Speaker 2: And I think when you think about being able to
• 3:25
  Speaker 2: establish rapport and connection with quarterbacks is always key. And
• 3:29
  Speaker 2: he had, he has playtime experience. And like you said, he,
• 3:32
  Speaker 2: he's done some punt return duties. He's an electric dude,
• 3:35
  Speaker 2: sideline to sideline. So he would be one of those
• 3:38
  Speaker 2: guys where I would say, okay, Caden Legion injury or whatever, boom,
• 3:43
  Speaker 2: we can insert Max Erleman here.
• 3:44
  Speaker 5: And you're right.
• 3:45
  Speaker 3: Brandon Smith, taller wide receiver.
• 3:47
  Speaker 2: So if you're thinking about, ah, we got to have
• 3:49
  Speaker 2: an extra one that can, that can play on the teams,
• 3:51
  Speaker 2: a core part of teams, whether it's covering on punt
• 3:54
  Speaker 2: coverage unit, possibly playing gunner. Um, He's one of those guys,
• 3:58
  Speaker 2: and he's also a good route runner in the passing game.
• 4:02
  Speaker 3: So you're right.
• 4:03
  Speaker 2: You have two different body types to fit two different
• 4:06
  Speaker 2: needs depending on who goes down. So I like the
• 4:08
  Speaker 2: versatility of having those guys.
• 4:11
  Speaker 5: Yeah, I'm wrong. I got wrong information. He's not on
• 4:14
  Speaker 5: the team. So go ahead.
• 4:15
  Speaker 4: Go ahead.
• 4:15
  Speaker 5: I'm sorry, Willie. Go ahead, please.
• 4:18
  Speaker 4: No, I was going to say, you know, when it
• 4:20
  Speaker 4: comes to practice squad guys in general, just speaking about
• 4:24
  Speaker 4: those guys I've always been a fan of because they don't,
• 4:26
  Speaker 4: They're not the most decorated guys on the team, and
• 4:29
  Speaker 4: they kind of push to the back of the line.
• 4:31
  Speaker 4: When you have the stories, as some of the guys
• 4:33
  Speaker 4: you just mentioned who had success last year, you know,
• 4:37
  Speaker 4: I think it's always– I'm always– I wish there was
• 4:40
  Speaker 4: a way, man, where if you're a practice-wide guy and
• 4:43
  Speaker 4: you outplay a starter, man, you should get the nod
• 4:46
  Speaker 4: over the starter. You know, I think because I've been on–
• 4:51
  Speaker 4: especially my time with the Steelers and also as a Jetman,
• 4:54
  Speaker 4: where I've seen practice squad guys just absolutely tear it
• 4:56
  Speaker 4: up in practice. Like, man, we could use him this week, right? Like,
• 5:00
  Speaker 4: I wish we can somehow bump him up and get
• 5:03
  Speaker 4: him active because of the way he produced this week
• 5:06
  Speaker 4: in practice. And most of the time, obviously, that's, you know,
• 5:09
  Speaker 4: sometimes usually a guy has to go down for a
• 5:11
  Speaker 4: guy to bump up. But nevertheless, man, I wish there
• 5:13
  Speaker 4: was some way where we could pluck a guy and say, hey, man,
• 5:17
  Speaker 4: I know– I know you're not a projected starter, but
• 5:19
  Speaker 4: the way you perform, we could award you for getting
• 5:22
  Speaker 4: you a hat this week.
• 5:27
  Speaker 5: You know, it's funny.
• 5:29
  Speaker 6: A quick aside here because I feel this way in
• 5:32
  Speaker 6: particular about hockey and baseball because they're the ones that
• 5:36
  Speaker 6: have the established minor league systems where, you know, in
• 5:43
  Speaker 6: hockey you have, Your team, you have the AHL team,
• 5:46
  Speaker 6: you have an East Coast Hockey League team perhaps or
• 5:48
  Speaker 6: another affiliate in another league. So you have a lot
• 5:51
  Speaker 6: more guys in the organization than just the guys in
• 5:54
  Speaker 6: the major league level. I know the D League is
• 5:56
  Speaker 6: part of what the NBA has now, but that's newer.
• 6:01
  Speaker 6: To me, it's not as established as it is with
• 6:03
  Speaker 6: baseball and hockey. And yesterday was a deadline for baseball
• 6:08
  Speaker 6: to expand their rosters. It used to be you could
• 6:11
  Speaker 6: call up all kinds of guys. Now you can call
• 6:13
  Speaker 6: it two because there was a ridiculous.
• 6:15
  Speaker 3: Amount of guys.
• 6:15
  Speaker 5: Games would drag on forever. They'd be making double switches and.
• 6:20
  Speaker 6: Pitching changes because you had 35 guys in the roster.
• 6:24
  Speaker 5: But I've always thought it would be, and again, guys, I.
• 6:28
  Speaker 6: Thought it would be kind of fun to allow each
• 6:32
  Speaker 6: team one roster exemption for a veteran guy as a
• 6:38
  Speaker 6: way of, I mean, there are guys, and I covered
• 6:41
  Speaker 6: minor league hockey in Utica and Syracuse. Syracuse was the
• 6:48
  Speaker 6: Penguins and the Vancouver Canucks.
• 6:51
  Speaker 5: Utica was the New Jersey Devils.
• 6:52
  Speaker 6: And there are these guys that are 29, 30, 31,
• 6:56
  Speaker 6: 32 years old, never gotten to the show, never gotten
• 7:00
  Speaker 6: to the NHL, but they're just good soldiers and they're
• 7:04
  Speaker 6: good for the game and their spirit is so good.
• 7:08
  Speaker 5: And it's the same thing in baseball.
• 7:10
  Speaker 6: I would love to find a way to promote a
• 7:12
  Speaker 6: guy like that and just allow him two weeks of
• 7:16
  Speaker 6: first-class travel, somebody making your meals when you come into
• 7:21
  Speaker 6: the locker room, just to experience what it's like. I
• 7:25
  Speaker 6: don't know if that would diminish the sport or the
• 7:28
  Speaker 6: achievement for others, but since you brought it up on
• 7:32
  Speaker 6: the practice squad, Willie, that's always been one little thing
• 7:35
  Speaker 6: in the back of my mind that if I could
• 7:37
  Speaker 6: do and do it in the right way, I would
• 7:40
  Speaker 6: want to reward those sort of lifers with the opportunity
• 7:44
  Speaker 6: to see what it is they've been searching for their
• 7:46
  Speaker 6: entire lives.
• 7:47
  Speaker 4: Yeah, I mean, Rob, hypothetically, I think that's– I mean,
• 7:52
  Speaker 4: in the football world, if there's a receiver, right? Like
• 7:55
  Speaker 4: think about in the stealer world. If a guy like–
• 8:00
  Speaker 4: you know, if a guy like Caleb Johnson, who's obviously
• 8:02
  Speaker 4: moved on and now he's a Packer man, but if
• 8:04
  Speaker 4: he's somebody that was considered like, man, we got to
• 8:06
  Speaker 4: get this guy– get him out there. Maybe he goes
• 8:11
  Speaker 4: through a little slump where mentally he's not all in
• 8:13
  Speaker 4: or a situation where he's just not slow. His progress
• 8:17
  Speaker 4: is slow. And we say, hey man, we're going to
• 8:20
  Speaker 4: sit you down just for you to cool off and reset.
• 8:23
  Speaker 4: And we can grab a guy off the practice squad
• 8:25
  Speaker 4: like a Lou Nichols where he can jump into Caleb's spot.
• 8:29
  Speaker 4: All those little things don't have to be negative. This
• 8:32
  Speaker 4: doesn't have to be a knock against Caleb at the
• 8:35
  Speaker 4: time where Now that he had the formal and maybe
• 8:37
  Speaker 4: it was the mental errors or some of the things
• 8:39
  Speaker 4: he went through, maybe he just needed a reset. Maybe
• 8:41
  Speaker 4: it was a culture shock. Maybe the guy just has
• 8:43
  Speaker 4: to need to be cooled off. But yet you have
• 8:45
  Speaker 4: a starving Lou Nichols on the practice squad who's fighting
• 8:48
  Speaker 4: and grabbing and biting. And, you know, he's wearing multiple hats.
• 8:51
  Speaker 4: He's doing everything you're asking him to do on the
• 8:53
  Speaker 4: practice field. He's earning the respect of his players, earning
• 8:56
  Speaker 4: the trust of his coaches. And you say, man, you
• 8:59
  Speaker 4: know what? You've done a hell of a job this
• 9:02
  Speaker 4: week or so. Let's let's get let's get you a
• 9:04
  Speaker 4: helmet on Sunday. and get you a check. I mean,
• 9:07
  Speaker 4: those type of little situations within a season, man, it
• 9:11
  Speaker 4: speaks volumes, right? And then you see Caleb there in practice,
• 9:15
  Speaker 4: he's like, man, you look a lot better. You've had
• 9:17
  Speaker 4: time to digest the playbook. You're playing, you're healthy, you
• 9:20
  Speaker 4: look stronger. Let's get you back up and put Lou
• 9:22
  Speaker 4: back down. Like that type of, I guess, transition or
• 9:27
  Speaker 4: that fluidity, I think can only benefit rosters. It can
• 9:30
  Speaker 4: only benefit players because one of the things we're seeing
• 9:33
  Speaker 4: right now And I think the Steelers and maybe the
• 9:37
  Speaker 4: Eagles are different. Well, the Eagles are different in this regard.
• 9:42
  Speaker 4: The Eagles cut at least four or five guys from
• 9:46
  Speaker 4: who they drafted in 2006 because they made the decision like, man,
• 9:50
  Speaker 4: if we made a mistake, we're okay. When you say
• 9:53
  Speaker 4: we drafted a guy, we picked a guy, he's just
• 9:55
  Speaker 4: not an Eagle. I think, and they sent them along
• 9:58
  Speaker 4: this way, I think good organizations have no problems with
• 10:01
  Speaker 4: letting guys go. But if you do keep a guy
• 10:03
  Speaker 4: and you feel like he's not up to par, I
• 10:05
  Speaker 4: think that's a good way to say, hey, we like you.
• 10:08
  Speaker 4: We feel like from a projection standpoint, you could be
• 10:10
  Speaker 4: somebody we need, but you're just not right there. Let's
• 10:13
  Speaker 4: sit you down and let's get a hungry practice-wide guy
• 10:15
  Speaker 4: to kind of feel that divot and keep this thing moving.
• 10:19
  Speaker 4: I think just having that fluidity to speak volumes, and
• 10:22
  Speaker 4: I think it's good for ballplayers to see, and I
• 10:24
  Speaker 4: think it helps the overall picture and projection of an organization.
• 10:28
  Speaker 6: So, Max, I think that players are– players, you can
• 10:33
  Speaker 6: move them up and down three times, I believe, before they're–
• 10:38
  Speaker 6: before they're exposed to waivers. But anybody can be nabbed
• 10:43
  Speaker 6: off your practice squad. I guess you'd have to have
• 10:45
  Speaker 6: some exemptions in place, and you'd have to tweak the
• 10:49
  Speaker 6: rules a little bit in order to do that, in
• 10:51
  Speaker 6: order to create a little pocket where guys could be
• 10:55
  Speaker 6: moved down just to hit the reset button, like Willie said. Just, hey,
• 10:58
  Speaker 6: here's an opportunity for you. We think this is best
• 11:01
  Speaker 6: for you. Of course, I guess the other side of
• 11:03
  Speaker 6: that coin would be, hey, if you're going to do that,
• 11:06
  Speaker 6: Let me be exposed to waivers, and maybe somebody else
• 11:08
  Speaker 6: will give me that opportunity without me having been sent down.
• 11:12
  Speaker 6: I think it could be– I guess I could see
• 11:16
  Speaker 6: it both ways. It would be a positive for the
• 11:17
  Speaker 6: player being elevated. For the player being moved down, maybe
• 11:22
  Speaker 6: they would construe that as a negative and, hey, give
• 11:23
  Speaker 6: me an opportunity to go somewhere else. But I'm intrigued
• 11:27
  Speaker 6: by the idea for sure.
• 11:30
  Speaker 2: Yeah, and I'm intrigued by it. I think it's a
• 11:32
  Speaker 2: promising idea. I think the area you're going to run
• 11:36
  Speaker 2: into is a player that might not be willing to
• 11:39
  Speaker 2: accept the coach's decision.
• 11:42
  Speaker 3: Exactly what I'm saying, right.
• 11:44
  Speaker 2: And that's where you get into the Pandora's box of it,
• 11:47
  Speaker 2: is that they might not view it the same way
• 11:50
  Speaker 2: that you would view it, and then that leads to contempt.
• 11:54
  Speaker 2: And that's the worst thing you could have in a
• 11:56
  Speaker 2: locker room is that contempt for the coach's decision. And
• 12:00
  Speaker 2: you worry about that guy becomes a cancer because we
• 12:03
  Speaker 2: all know that the best laid plans often have the
• 12:07
  Speaker 2: worst results because feelings get involved.
• 12:12
  Speaker 3: And that's a big problem, right? It's feelings.
• 12:15
  Speaker 2: I would love to see the actual 53-man roster realized.
• 12:19
  Speaker 2: If we're going to have 53 guys, why not have
• 12:21
  Speaker 2: 53 helmets? I hate the limitation of 46 dressing on
• 12:24
  Speaker 2: game day because that's why you have an expanded practice squad.
• 12:27
  Speaker 2: You have 16 guys sitting there in that quote unquote
• 12:32
  Speaker 2: waiting position, helping position. Why on game day do I
• 12:36
  Speaker 2: then need to designate only 46 guys to play in
• 12:39
  Speaker 2: a game? Even though they're still an active roster, they're healthy,
• 12:42
  Speaker 2: they're ready to go. We just can't put a helmet
• 12:44
  Speaker 2: on them because of the rules. And if we're going
• 12:47
  Speaker 2: to go to 18 games, however that looks, why not
• 12:51
  Speaker 2: increase that? And then I think you have more mobility
• 12:54
  Speaker 2: because now you can, you have more space to kind
• 12:56
  Speaker 2: of finagle that where you could, bring up a Lou Nichols,
• 13:00
  Speaker 2: and maybe you don't necessarily demote a Caleb Johnson, you know,
• 13:05
  Speaker 2: in this hypothetical sense. But maybe it's, okay, we're going
• 13:07
  Speaker 2: to sit the fifth linebacker today, but we're still getting
• 13:10
  Speaker 2: 53 guys out there.
• 13:12
  Speaker 3: So it gives you that space.
• 13:13
  Speaker 2: Or, hey, you know, I want Hurlman up along with
• 13:15
  Speaker 2: Caden Weege in just in case. Maybe I want to
• 13:17
  Speaker 2: put both of them on kickoff return and sit Eli
• 13:20
  Speaker 2: Heidenreich out, you know, and see how two smaller guys
• 13:23
  Speaker 2: on the return team looks. But I can't do that
• 13:25
  Speaker 2: because I was like, I have the balance to 46th,
• 13:28
  Speaker 2: And I need that guy to also be the running back.
• 13:31
  Speaker 2: You can actually have specialists in there for positions as
• 13:35
  Speaker 2: opposed to the ultimate versatility. And I think that kind
• 13:38
  Speaker 2: of also breeds a lot of those things. So I
• 13:42
  Speaker 2: love the idea of like you have that exemption, but
• 13:44
  Speaker 2: why not just open up the whole 53? That's on
• 13:47
  Speaker 2: your active roster. And then you have a little bit
• 13:48
  Speaker 2: more fluidity to be able to move a couple of
• 13:50
  Speaker 2: guys up and down. And like you said, you still
• 13:52
  Speaker 2: keep the three promotion demotions, protected from waivers away. And
• 13:58
  Speaker 2: also you have a way of saying, all right, you're
• 14:00
  Speaker 2: going to dress, but you're going to watch. Now you've
• 14:02
  Speaker 2: got to be clipboard king today. And then you still
• 14:05
  Speaker 2: get that without having to create the quote-unquote demotion aspect
• 14:09
  Speaker 2: of it, which could mentally tank a player even worse
• 14:12
  Speaker 2: if they're already slumping.
• 14:15
  Speaker 6: You know, I am trying to think now of what
• 14:23
  Speaker 6: the logic and rationale is for only having 46 players.
• 14:30
  Speaker 5: Dressed. I don't know.
• 14:33
  Speaker 2: It was the injury, I think, component was that if
• 14:36
  Speaker 2: a player's injured but he's not an IR guy, so
• 14:39
  Speaker 2: a guy's out with a sprained ankle for a week,
• 14:41
  Speaker 2: you don't have to.
• 14:42
  Speaker 6: IR him and then he keeps the competitive balance. Why
• 14:46
  Speaker 6: not allow all 53 players to play?
• 14:50
  Speaker 4: Yeah.
• 14:51
  Speaker 5: That's what I don't understand.
• 14:53
  Speaker 2: But I was just saying that because of injuries on
• 14:55
  Speaker 2: your active roster that aren't IR worthy, it limits your
• 14:59
  Speaker 2: availability of available guys. So it keeps a competitive balance
• 15:05
  Speaker 2: by having kind of like that pool of guys that
• 15:08
  Speaker 2: are injured and out for maybe a week. You don't
• 15:11
  Speaker 2: have to necessarily promote or demote them. And now every
• 15:14
  Speaker 2: team has at least 46 healthy guys.
• 15:17
  Speaker 3: That's what I'm saying.
• 15:17
  Speaker 2: So for competitive balance, that's why they don't open it
• 15:20
  Speaker 2: up like that.
• 15:21
  Speaker 4: Right.
• 15:21
  Speaker 2: But I do agree that that was how the rule
• 15:23
  Speaker 2: was in place, but opening it.
• 15:25
  Speaker 6: Up would opening it up with the, look, if I'm
• 15:28
  Speaker 6: a rebuilding team in particular, I would love to open
• 15:32
  Speaker 6: that up. If I was a, if I was a right,
• 15:36
  Speaker 6: let let's, you know what, um, or let's say it's, uh,
• 15:41
  Speaker 6: you know, let's say it's, um, you know, late in a, uh,
• 15:45
  Speaker 6: It's late in the game, and you're losing by 17 points,
• 15:50
  Speaker 6: or you're winning by 17 points, and you don't have, say,
• 15:55
  Speaker 6: Jennings Dunker available for a game.
• 15:59
  Speaker 5: He's not dressed.
• 15:59
  Speaker 6: But it would sure be nice to get him a
• 16:02
  Speaker 6: few series in there against NFL opponents. I mean, I
• 16:05
  Speaker 6: think it would be very good for teams that are
• 16:08
  Speaker 6: high on developing their players to get them some of
• 16:10
  Speaker 6: that game action.
• 16:13
  Speaker 4: Hey, Rob, you're so spot on. And also think about
• 16:16
  Speaker 4: it from this standpoint. If you're a young quarterback, right?
• 16:19
  Speaker 4: Like think about the situation I mentioned. I mentioned about
• 16:23
  Speaker 4: Mike McCarthy developing these two young quarterbacks. That would be
• 16:26
  Speaker 4: a great opportunity to throw Will Howard and Drew Adler
• 16:29
  Speaker 4: out there. Like, hey, Aaron, we're up two touchdowns. Let's
• 16:32
  Speaker 4: cool you off. We've been in the process of talking
• 16:34
  Speaker 4: about how we can develop these young quarterbacks. This is
• 16:36
  Speaker 4: a great opportunity. Because I told you yesterday, if I'm
• 16:39
  Speaker 4: Mason Rudolph and I've got to split Russ with these
• 16:41
  Speaker 4: two other guys, I'm not a happy camper.
• 16:43
  Speaker 3: I'm not.
• 16:43
  Speaker 4: Because I have to be ready. I already don't have
• 16:46
  Speaker 4: enough because Aaron's taking his. I've got to do what
• 16:49
  Speaker 4: I need to do in case Aaron isn't ready to go.
• 16:52
  Speaker 4: He gets hurt in the game. This train still has
• 16:54
  Speaker 4: to move and I'm conducting it. But now this gives
• 16:56
  Speaker 4: an opportunity for... Mike McCarthy and his system and everything
• 17:00
  Speaker 4: he wants to implement with this new Steeler offense to
• 17:02
  Speaker 4: really give these guys quality game reps that people, they
• 17:06
  Speaker 4: have film, they can watch and they can develop in
• 17:09
  Speaker 4: real time. So I'm with you, Rob, open it up.
• 17:11
  Speaker 4: Enough is enough.
• 17:12
  Speaker 5: Yeah.
• 17:12
  Speaker 6: And I, and one more thing, and I know we're,
• 17:15
  Speaker 6: I know we're overdue for a break. Justin Miller, our
• 17:17
  Speaker 6: esteemed producer is going to start hollering my ear any
• 17:19
  Speaker 6: minute here, but I will say this. I'm still, I
• 17:22
  Speaker 6: still go back to what to me is one of
• 17:24
  Speaker 6: the most fascinating questions that of this season because the
• 17:28
  Speaker 6: Steelers have just, they have not been in this situation
• 17:31
  Speaker 6: since before Ben Roethlisberger was drafted. You have two young guys,
• 17:37
  Speaker 6: Will Howard and Drew Aller. You are hoping to bring
• 17:39
  Speaker 6: them along and hoping that one of them will be
• 17:42
  Speaker 6: your next franchise QB, the next starter for years to come,
• 17:46
  Speaker 6: the next guy that's going to lead you deep into
• 17:48
  Speaker 6: the playoffs and hopefully a Super Bowl championship. And you
• 17:52
  Speaker 6: no longer get to see them play. You are now
• 17:55
  Speaker 6: going to spend the next several months watching them get
• 17:59
  Speaker 6: limited reps in practice, I guess watching them behave. I'm
• 18:02
  Speaker 6: sure there's more of a science to this than I'm
• 18:05
  Speaker 6: giving it credit for.
• 18:06
  Speaker 5: I'm sure there is. But now you're judging what you saw.
• 18:09
  Speaker 6: In camp and when they were getting snaps in OTAs
• 18:13
  Speaker 6: and when they were getting snaps in preseason games against
• 18:16
  Speaker 6: other teams' backups, and now you're trying to weigh that
• 18:20
  Speaker 6: and you're scouting reports from last year when they actually
• 18:23
  Speaker 6: were playing to this year's crop of quarterbacks in college
• 18:26
  Speaker 6: who haven't taken those OTA snaps, but they are getting
• 18:29
  Speaker 6: regular snaps in college. So how do you know, hey,
• 18:32
  Speaker 6: we're good. We don't have to draft anybody this year. Or, hey,
• 18:35
  Speaker 6: we better move up in the draft and start thinking
• 18:38
  Speaker 6: about expending draft picks and other things. They always say
• 18:43
  Speaker 6: draft capital now. Just so you know, Willie, that's not
• 18:45
  Speaker 6: allowed in the locker room. It's draft picks, not draft capital.
• 18:48
  Speaker 4: Yes.
• 18:49
  Speaker 5: But how do you know? Picks are people, too. How
• 18:54
  Speaker 5: do you know? I think it's one of the fascinating
• 18:56
  Speaker 5: questions of this year.
• 18:57
  Speaker 6: And if you were allowed to play these guys and
• 19:00
  Speaker 6: get them a little bit of snaps, maybe it would
• 19:01
  Speaker 6: get you closer to a decision.
• 19:02
  Speaker 5: I don't know.
• 19:03
  Speaker 6: That's not the way the rules exist, though. And we
• 19:06
  Speaker 6: are overdue for break. So we're going to take one now.
• 19:08
  Speaker 6: Much more to come as we look at the Steelers
• 19:11
  Speaker 6: practice squad. Guys that hopefully will be making significant contributions
• 19:18
  Speaker 6: to the Steelers regular season games this season.
• 19:21
  Speaker 5: When we continue In the Locker Room here on the
• 19:23
  Speaker 5: Steelers Audio Network.
• 19:31
  Speaker 1: This is In the Locker Room with Rob King, Max Starks,
• 19:35
  Speaker 1: and Willie Colon on Steelers Nation Radio, brought to you
• 19:38
  Speaker 1: in part by the Steelers Pro Shop. Get it direct
• 19:41
  Speaker 1: from the team at the Steelers Pro Shop at shop.steelers.com.
• 19:46
  Speaker 1: And by your neighborhood Ford store, the F-150 Ford. the
• 19:50
  Speaker 1: official truck of the Pittsburgh Steelers.
• 19:54
  Speaker 5: Boy, oh boy. I feel like we're just three doctors
• 19:59
  Speaker 5: right now. Dr.
• 20:00
  Speaker 3: Starks, Dr.
• 20:01
  Speaker 5: Colon.
• 20:02
  Speaker 6: Maybe I'm more like a resident. Resident Rob. We're just
• 20:06
  Speaker 6: fixing things. We're just healing things. We're healing the Pro Bowl.
• 20:10
  Speaker 6: We're healing the game day roster. We're just solving a
• 20:13
  Speaker 6: lot of problems here today, guys.
• 20:14
  Speaker 5: We really are. I'm proud.
• 20:17
  Speaker 2: Whoever said it wasn't rocket science.
• 20:20
  Speaker 3: Exactly.
• 20:21
  Speaker 2: Listen, I mean, listen, when you put three great minds together,
• 20:24
  Speaker 2: you're going to get great results.
• 20:25
  Speaker 3: I mean, that's just how we have to look at it, guys.
• 20:28
  Speaker 2: I mean, we're just thoughtful thinkers and, you know, using
• 20:33
  Speaker 2: common sense, which is not necessarily common all the time.
• 20:36
  Speaker 4: No, it isn't.
• 20:38
  Speaker 6: We both love Hurdleman and Brandon Johnson. We think those
• 20:40
  Speaker 6: are good guys to have on the practice squad. I'm
• 20:43
  Speaker 6: really intrigued by the development of Max Hurdleman. Coming in
• 20:46
  Speaker 6: last year and changing positions and doing all kinds of
• 20:49
  Speaker 6: different things. He's come a long way. Tight end is
• 20:53
  Speaker 6: Lake McCree. He is providing some depth, tight end position.
• 20:58
  Speaker 6: Running backs, Travis Homer and Lou Nichols. Your guys' thoughts
• 21:05
  Speaker 6: on the tight end position with Lake McCree and the
• 21:08
  Speaker 6: running backs with Lou Nichols and Travis Homer.
• 21:15
  Speaker 3: Will, go ahead.
• 21:17
  Speaker 4: Well, listen, you know, I mean, as far as McCree,
• 21:20
  Speaker 4: I think, you know, I actually watched him a little
• 21:23
  Speaker 4: bit when he was at USC. I thought he was solid, man.
• 21:26
  Speaker 4: And I'm glad he still is able to kind of
• 21:29
  Speaker 4: continue to keep him and develop him. But, you know,
• 21:32
  Speaker 4: I'm all in on Lou Nichols. I've been pounding to
• 21:34
  Speaker 4: death with Lou Nichols. I love him. I think he
• 21:38
  Speaker 4: actually earned a helmet on this squad. It sucks that
• 21:43
  Speaker 4: he didn't get the nod in that regard, but hopefully
• 21:46
  Speaker 4: we'll see him at some point during the season. Only
• 21:49
  Speaker 4: because I felt like his ability in short yardage is
• 21:52
  Speaker 4: big time. I think he can deliver. I think he's
• 21:54
  Speaker 4: a running back that runs behind his pads. A lower
• 21:57
  Speaker 4: body guy that can run through tackles. And he's a finisher.
• 22:00
  Speaker 4: He showed during the preseason that he has home run speed.
• 22:03
  Speaker 4: And I think, you know, you guys cover the games.
• 22:05
  Speaker 4: I was able to, I was fortunate enough to cover
• 22:07
  Speaker 4: the games with you. I think he, I think he,
• 22:09
  Speaker 4: a lot of fans start to kind of fall in
• 22:11
  Speaker 4: love with him. You know, I think they just liked his, his,
• 22:14
  Speaker 4: his style of play and how he complimented the office line,
• 22:18
  Speaker 4: the five that was out there. So, um, you know,
• 22:21
  Speaker 4: it is what it is at this point, but I'm
• 22:23
  Speaker 4: glad that Steelers were able to kind of, uh, at
• 22:25
  Speaker 4: least keep them in house until they let them off
• 22:27
  Speaker 4: the leash.
• 22:30
  Speaker 2: Hey, And I'm right there too. I think, you know,
• 22:32
  Speaker 2: you look at this diversity. I think there's a lot
• 22:34
  Speaker 2: of young talent to develop. And I think you also
• 22:36
  Speaker 2: have guys who in a pinch injuries happen. You have
• 22:40
  Speaker 2: guys who are ready to go, you know, and that's
• 22:42
  Speaker 2: always the biggest thing is what, what, what.
• 22:44
  Speaker 3: Does my stock look like?
• 22:45
  Speaker 2: Like if things go a little bit wiry, a little
• 22:48
  Speaker 2: bit South, we hit the injury bug hits our team.
• 22:51
  Speaker 3: How are we equipped to deal with it?
• 22:53
  Speaker 2: And I think, you know, we saw a lot of
• 22:55
  Speaker 2: good things from Lake McCree at the end of the
• 22:57
  Speaker 2: preseason and, athletic, agile, tight end that can go make
• 23:02
  Speaker 2: plays for you down the field. And then, like you said,
• 23:04
  Speaker 2: you know, with Travis Homer, you have an experienced special
• 23:08
  Speaker 2: teams guy. So if anything happens, you know, say Eli
• 23:11
  Speaker 2: Heidenreich's injured or misses time, you now have a guy
• 23:15
  Speaker 2: who can step in, be your personal protector on special
• 23:17
  Speaker 2: teams and fill a lot of different holes. And then,
• 23:19
  Speaker 2: of course, Lou, Lou is pads down Lou. You know,
• 23:23
  Speaker 2: he always has his pads low. He's looking to bowl
• 23:25
  Speaker 2: you over. and he's a physical between-the-tackles runner. So once again,
• 23:30
  Speaker 2: I just talk about kind of the ability within these
• 23:34
  Speaker 2: multiple pick groups to have different diversity of body styles
• 23:38
  Speaker 2: and have a different flavor that you can offer so
• 23:40
  Speaker 2: you have somebody who can plug and play if any
• 23:44
  Speaker 2: injury should happen to a different position, like I said
• 23:46
  Speaker 2: with the wide receivers. You know, being able to have
• 23:48
  Speaker 2: a special teams first type of guy who can give
• 23:51
  Speaker 2: you return capabilities as well as can play wide receiver,
• 23:54
  Speaker 2: and then one that's a wide receiver first that can
• 23:56
  Speaker 2: chip in on special teams. Like, those are the things
• 23:58
  Speaker 2: you're kind of looking at when you're building this practice squad,
• 24:01
  Speaker 2: because this is almost like your ready list that's in-house.
• 24:04
  Speaker 3: And the Seals did a.
• 24:05
  Speaker 2: Good job of really diversifying who they picked in those positions.
• 24:09
  Speaker 5: Totally agree. Totally agree.
• 24:12
  Speaker 6: And, you know, because it's a team of different body types, right?
• 24:16
  Speaker 6: You're looking for different things, different guys that can contribute
• 24:18
  Speaker 6: in different ways. And I totally agree, Max. I think
• 24:22
  Speaker 6: that's a really good way of looking at the skill
• 24:25
  Speaker 6: position guys that they're adding. Now, offensive line, a couple
• 24:29
  Speaker 6: of guys, and that's Stephen Jones and Doug Nestor. So, guys,
• 24:35
  Speaker 6: as our offensive line experts, Max, we'll have you start there.
• 24:39
  Speaker 6: What have you seen from those guys, and what can
• 24:42
  Speaker 6: they add to the practice squad and potentially to the
• 24:47
  Speaker 6: regular roster as well if called up?
• 24:50
  Speaker 3: Well, I think I'll start with Stephen Jones.
• 24:51
  Speaker 2: I think Stephen, you know, he was injured early on
• 24:54
  Speaker 2: in camp, His nickname's Big Grizz, a.k.a.
• 24:57
  Speaker 3: The Grizzly Bear.
• 24:59
  Speaker 2: Just a big, physical, stout body type at the guard position.
• 25:03
  Speaker 2: So when you're talking about a guy who could come
• 25:04
  Speaker 2: in and just be stout, I thought he was rising
• 25:07
  Speaker 2: last year when we had him in preseason and then
• 25:09
  Speaker 2: kind of had a slump game, jumped off sides in
• 25:12
  Speaker 2: that second preseason game last year, and then kind of
• 25:15
  Speaker 2: went into a mental state. But as far as the
• 25:17
  Speaker 2: physical attributes, I think he's a big, burly guy who
• 25:20
  Speaker 2: can come in and be really physical, especially in the
• 25:22
  Speaker 2: run game. That's where his biggest asset is. and be
• 25:26
  Speaker 2: able to contribute. So if you do have any injuries
• 25:28
  Speaker 2: to your starters and you need a dress day guy,
• 25:30
  Speaker 2: I think he's a guy that can elevate and play
• 25:32
  Speaker 2: that position and got stronger as a preseason but just
• 25:34
  Speaker 2: missed time at the beginning. I think that kind of
• 25:37
  Speaker 2: hurt his chances of really getting into the competition. Doug Nestor,
• 25:41
  Speaker 2: Doug showed he can play four positions. He can play guard,
• 25:44
  Speaker 2: he can play tackle. So having that versatility to be
• 25:47
  Speaker 2: able to swing at the tackles as well as play
• 25:49
  Speaker 2: the guard positions, he showed that he can get the
• 25:52
  Speaker 2: job done And I think that's why you kind of
• 25:54
  Speaker 2: have him.
• 25:55
  Speaker 3: He's kind of that.
• 25:55
  Speaker 2: Swing, plug-and-play guy outside of the center position that can
• 26:00
  Speaker 2: play for you.
• 26:01
  Speaker 3: So I look at that. I still think we're light
• 26:03
  Speaker 3: at tackle.
• 26:05
  Speaker 2: Still need one more tackle because I think you have
• 26:09
  Speaker 2: to have that. But as far as what they did,
• 26:11
  Speaker 2: I like both of the picks because I think both
• 26:13
  Speaker 2: of them have value and still can benefit for some
• 26:16
  Speaker 2: additional development or seasoning.
• 26:19
  Speaker 4: Yeah, Max Spotter, I watched Nestor. When the preseason, man,
• 26:24
  Speaker 4: I thought he was scrappy good. And you tell you
• 26:26
  Speaker 4: have some little seasoning from his game. I know he
• 26:28
  Speaker 4: was undrafted free agent that was picked up by the
• 26:32
  Speaker 4: Vikings and obviously, you know, moved over to us. I
• 26:36
  Speaker 4: like the fact that he is versatile. When you, and
• 26:40
  Speaker 4: Max can attest to this, when you get deep in
• 26:42
  Speaker 4: the season, man, and the short injuries happen, but sometimes
• 26:46
  Speaker 4: those type of guys, those versatile guys, man, they add
• 26:49
  Speaker 4: a level of depth and versatility that kind of, helps
• 26:53
  Speaker 4: other guys reset, right, by their play style, being more
• 26:57
  Speaker 4: attentive to detail. Those type of guys help guys play better.
• 27:01
  Speaker 4: And so if he ever cracks a lineup, man, I
• 27:03
  Speaker 4: think he's just a worthy body to have out there.
• 27:07
  Speaker 4: I tell one of the guys I brag about all
• 27:08
  Speaker 4: the time, and, Max, I don't know if Doug Ligurski
• 27:12
  Speaker 4: was ever.
• 27:14
  Speaker 3: That's exactly what I was thinking about. I'm glad you
• 27:16
  Speaker 3: said it.
• 27:16
  Speaker 4: Yeah. Yeah, Doug Ligurski, man, who we all love. If everybody,
• 27:21
  Speaker 4: all the diehard Steelers fans out there, sure, he was a,
• 27:24
  Speaker 4: you know, he was, I'm trying to be, he was
• 27:26
  Speaker 4: a short center. I'm going to say that. I don't
• 27:28
  Speaker 4: want to kill Doug.
• 27:28
  Speaker 3: He was sawed off. He was sawed off.
• 27:31
  Speaker 4: Yeah, there you go. Yeah, he was a short center. But, man,
• 27:34
  Speaker 4: Doug was so versatile. He could play center. He played
• 27:37
  Speaker 4: both guard positions and hold his own. People don't understand.
• 27:40
  Speaker 4: The Super Bowl against the Green Bay Packers, Super Bowl XLV,
• 27:45
  Speaker 4: Doug was a starting center in that game. And he,
• 27:49
  Speaker 4: out of our entire offensive line, excuse me, he graded
• 27:56
  Speaker 4: the highest. Like, Doug balled out in the Super Bowl
• 28:00
  Speaker 4: because we lost. And in the fashion we lost, obviously,
• 28:03
  Speaker 4: you know, no credit is passed around. But he never
• 28:07
  Speaker 4: got his flowers because of that. Because when you lose
• 28:10
  Speaker 4: a marquee's pouncing in the AFC Championship game, a lot
• 28:12
  Speaker 4: of people are like, man, you know, what's– and the
• 28:14
  Speaker 4: Packers had a really, really good defense line led by– B.
• 28:17
  Speaker 4: John Raji. I'm messing that up. What's his name? The
• 28:19
  Speaker 4: big fella. B.J.
• 28:20
  Speaker 5: Raji.
• 28:21
  Speaker 4: B.J.
• 28:21
  Speaker 5: Raji.
• 28:22
  Speaker 4: B.J. Raji. Excuse me.
• 28:23
  Speaker 3: The gut.
• 28:23
  Speaker 4: Yeah, and obviously they had, you know, all those other guys.
• 28:28
  Speaker 4: But Doug held his own and played extremely well. And
• 28:30
  Speaker 4: so when I thought, that's who pops in my head.
• 28:33
  Speaker 4: Doug Ligurski, who's this high-quality duck that can flat out,
• 28:37
  Speaker 4: you know, if things go awry, you can still lean
• 28:39
  Speaker 4: on and keep this thing moving.
• 28:42
  Speaker 5: How much can a guy improve? Go ahead, go ahead.
• 28:44
  Speaker 3: I was going to say this real fast.
• 28:45
  Speaker 4: Doug.
• 28:46
  Speaker 2: Remember when Doug had to go up against Albert Hainsworth?
• 28:50
  Speaker 2: Remember he came in and left guard? And Doug had
• 28:52
  Speaker 2: to battle it out. Albert Hainsworth is all of 6'7,
• 28:56
  Speaker 2: 300 and whatever, 60-something pounds. And Doug gave him fits.
• 29:02
  Speaker 2: Doug gave Albert.
• 29:03
  Speaker 3: Hainsworth fits back before. Oh, my God.
• 29:06
  Speaker 4: So, yeah.
• 29:06
  Speaker 3: So, you're absolutely spot on.
• 29:08
  Speaker 2: I mean, and that's the type– you need that type
• 29:09
  Speaker 2: of glue guy that's just a nasty, physical, just put
• 29:13
  Speaker 2: me in, coach. He's like, I just– mouth mouthpiece optional
• 29:17
  Speaker 2: chin strap optional i just need a helmet and shoulder
• 29:19
  Speaker 2: pads and some cleats and i'm good to go um
• 29:23
  Speaker 2: so yeah it looked.
• 29:23
  Speaker 4: Like a wrestling track.
• 29:26
  Speaker 2: Yeah it did look like a bad version of twins.
• 29:32
  Speaker 6: So guys how much could a guy improve on the
• 29:34
  Speaker 6: practice because steve jones i think max you described him
• 29:38
  Speaker 6: perfectly he was a guy that you know all of
• 29:40
  Speaker 6: a sudden there was just a little buzz about him
• 29:42
  Speaker 6: last year in camp his guys got really heavy hands
• 29:44
  Speaker 6: you know and and he's a guy to keep an
• 29:47
  Speaker 6: eye on and then uh like you said just kind
• 29:50
  Speaker 6: of uh things didn't go as well for him as
• 29:52
  Speaker 6: the camp wore on a little bit but how much
• 29:55
  Speaker 6: can a guy improve how much can a guy um
• 29:58
  Speaker 6: you know find his way in the practice quad to
• 30:02
  Speaker 6: eventually being on either the Steelers or another team's 53?
• 30:04
  Speaker 5: It's the.
• 30:07
  Speaker 2: Daily practice habits, and that's what they want to see. Like,
• 30:11
  Speaker 2: can this guy pick up? Because you're still going to
• 30:12
  Speaker 2: run your offense in practice, and you're still going to
• 30:16
  Speaker 2: run against other guys.
• 30:17
  Speaker 3: So it's the confidence, the communication, and the consistency.
• 30:22
  Speaker 2: Those are the three Cs on a practice squad or
• 30:25
  Speaker 2: a backup position that you have to have consistently consistently.
• 30:28
  Speaker 2: And if you can display those things, that's what builds trust.
• 30:31
  Speaker 2: And that's what allows not only your current team to
• 30:34
  Speaker 2: see that, okay, this guy might be ready for some
• 30:36
  Speaker 2: real live-action reps, but also if he does get in
• 30:39
  Speaker 2: the game and he does perform well, it puts him
• 30:41
  Speaker 2: on the radar for 31 other teams. And they're now
• 30:43
  Speaker 2: putting him on a short list and putting a star
• 30:46
  Speaker 2: next to him. Okay, once it becomes time, if he
• 30:48
  Speaker 2: ever hits waivers, this is a guy that we need
• 30:50
  Speaker 2: to consider and bring in here. And that's how you
• 30:53
  Speaker 2: develop it. But it's doing those daily deeds, those daily habits,
• 30:58
  Speaker 2: that instill trust, that allow you to see the growth
• 31:00
  Speaker 2: that's necessary.
• 31:01
  Speaker 6: We're going to take a break.
• 31:03
  Speaker 4: Rob, I'm going to be very frank.
• 31:04
  Speaker 5: Go ahead. Yeah, please. I apologize.
• 31:07
  Speaker 4: Rob, I'm going to be very frank, and I know
• 31:09
  Speaker 4: you've got to get out of here. If you're in
• 31:11
  Speaker 4: a practice squad and you want to get on the
• 31:12
  Speaker 4: field and be a Captain A-hole, that's how you make it.
• 31:17
  Speaker 2: Yeah, Thursday All-American, the Chris Hokies of the world.
• 31:20
  Speaker 4: The Chris Hokes, the Ryan McBeams, those guys made it
• 31:24
  Speaker 4: onto the field because they were absolute hell. for our
• 31:27
  Speaker 4: starting line, and they just didn't let up. And no
• 31:29
  Speaker 4: matter how many fights we picked with them, no matter
• 31:32
  Speaker 4: what we did, those type of guys fought their way
• 31:34
  Speaker 4: onto a roster on game day. So for you practice
• 31:37
  Speaker 4: squad guys out there, be the guy everybody hates but
• 31:40
  Speaker 4: loves on Sunday.
• 31:42
  Speaker 6: We're going to look at the practice squad on the
• 31:43
  Speaker 6: Steelers defense when we continue in the locker room here
• 31:46
  Speaker 6: on the Steelers Audio Network.
• 31:55
  Speaker 1: This is In the Locker Room with Rob King, Max Starks,
• 31:59
  Speaker 1: and Willie Colon on Steelers Nation Radio. Brought to you
• 32:02
  Speaker 1: in part by the Steelers Pro Shop. Get it direct
• 32:05
  Speaker 1: from the team at the Steelers Pro Shop at shop.steelers.com.
• 32:10
  Speaker 1: And by your neighborhood Ford store. The F-150 is the
• 32:14
  Speaker 1: official truck of the Pittsburgh Steelers.
• 32:18
  Speaker 3: All right, guys.
• 32:19
  Speaker 2: We know what time it is. It has been a
• 32:21
  Speaker 2: fun show. I feel like two hours is just flying by.
• 32:27
  Speaker 2: You know, we have so many great topics and the
• 32:29
  Speaker 2: meeting of the minds here, this triumvirate of voices and
• 32:34
  Speaker 2: thought leaders has been fantastic. But it's time now for
• 32:37
  Speaker 2: the bell lap. So now addendumize this, and I just
• 32:44
  Speaker 2: made that word up, so don't roast me on social.
• 32:47
  Speaker 3: Media, but I've now said that is it legal?
• 32:49
  Speaker 4: I'll make a lot of words up.
• 32:50
  Speaker 5: Pause.
• 32:51
  Speaker 2: Yeah, we're going to call this the early dinner bell.
• 32:55
  Speaker 3: How about that? The early dinner bell is what we
• 32:58
  Speaker 3: will also know.
• 32:58
  Speaker 5: Yeah, there it is.
• 33:00
  Speaker 2: And our producer, Justin Miller, has done nothing but produce
• 33:04
  Speaker 2: this for me because it's spaghetti night in his household,
• 33:07
  Speaker 2: Spaghetti Wednesday for Justin Miller.
• 33:10
  Speaker 3: And it led me.
• 33:11
  Speaker 5: To a thought.
• 33:12
  Speaker 2: What is on the menu? Have you guys thought about
• 33:15
  Speaker 2: what potentially dinner will look like this evening in your
• 33:18
  Speaker 2: respective households?
• 33:22
  Speaker 5: Mine's at my desk.
• 33:23
  Speaker 4: I'm going to let Rob have it. I feel like
• 33:24
  Speaker 4: this is an easy dunk for me. Go ahead, Rob.
• 33:28
  Speaker 6: I got a salad at my desk watching the Buccos
• 33:30
  Speaker 6: game tonight.
• 33:31
  Speaker 5: That's what I got.
• 33:32
  Speaker 4: Boring.
• 33:34
  Speaker 2: That sounds completely sad.
• 33:37
  Speaker 3: It is a little bit sad.
• 33:40
  Speaker 2: That is a sad, sad meal.
• 33:42
  Speaker 5: It is a sad meal, man.
• 33:46
  Speaker 2: You have to step your meal prep time up for
• 33:48
  Speaker 2: the big– you're in here with heavy hitters.
• 33:51
  Speaker 5: I know.
• 33:51
  Speaker 3: We're going to need you to step that up, Rob.
• 33:54
  Speaker 5: Okay. I got you.
• 33:56
  Speaker 4: Yeah. It sounds like a menu for somebody that's dealing
• 33:58
  Speaker 4: with witness protection.
• 34:02
  Speaker 5: Exactly.
• 34:03
  Speaker 4: Stab it in a Buccaneers game on a Wednesday. Sounds
• 34:06
  Speaker 4: like you're hiding off the grid house somewhere just waiting
• 34:09
  Speaker 4: for life to pass by. Well, I'm going to say this.
• 34:13
  Speaker 4: I think the Taco Tuesday was yesterday. Yep.
• 34:17
  Speaker 3: Same here. Mm-hmm.
• 34:19
  Speaker 5: Yep.
• 34:20
  Speaker 4: The kids are big taco fans. I think we might.
• 34:22
  Speaker 4: I saw the wife. I think this might be a
• 34:24
  Speaker 4: rotisserie chicken night.
• 34:26
  Speaker 5: Ooh.
• 34:27
  Speaker 4: Rotisserie chicken with all the fixings. And the big bird
• 34:32
  Speaker 4: is going to be on the stove for me to
• 34:33
  Speaker 4: carve up and serve to the other gremlins that I fund. So, yeah.
• 34:40
  Speaker 4: I think we're doing a rotisserie. A big chicken with
• 34:42
  Speaker 4: some veggies tonight.
• 34:44
  Speaker 5: Okay, so everyone's got to ask this.
• 34:45
  Speaker 6: Is this like the chicken you get out of the
• 34:48
  Speaker 6: plastic container, or are you actually roasting it?
• 34:52
  Speaker 4: No, no, no, no, no. No, come on. The wife's
• 34:54
  Speaker 4: cooking a big old chicken. We're not doing no Costco chicken. No,
• 35:00
  Speaker 4: we season it. We prep it.
• 35:02
  Speaker 3: We let it marinate.
• 35:03
  Speaker 4: We do the damn thing.
• 35:04
  Speaker 5: Yeah. Okay. I had to ask, though, because I know
• 35:07
  Speaker 5: people were asking.
• 35:09
  Speaker 6: I didn't have any doubts, Willie, but I know people
• 35:11
  Speaker 6: were thinking at home, is he taking the plastic container
• 35:14
  Speaker 6: off of that thing?
• 35:15
  Speaker 5: Okay, good. I'm glad to hear you're not. Okay, good deal.
• 35:17
  Speaker 4: Black folks, we know how to cook chicken really, really well. Seasoning.
• 35:24
  Speaker 2: Seasoning.
• 35:26
  Speaker 4: We clean and season it, right?
• 35:29
  Speaker 5: All right. I know where to swing by if I'm
• 35:32
  Speaker 5: in Jackson, Mississippi.
• 35:34
  Speaker 6: Okay, so practice squad on the defensive line.
• 35:39
  Speaker 5: Again, we're just running through this quickly. We got some
• 35:41
  Speaker 5: stuff we didn't get to because we got so much
• 35:43
  Speaker 5: other stuff today.
• 35:44
  Speaker 6: But along the defensive line, Kyler Baugh and Asazi Otomewo.
• 35:50
  Speaker 6: I thought Asazi was a real candidate to make the
• 35:55
  Speaker 6: regular season roster. I'm delighted that he's on the practice squad.
• 35:58
  Speaker 6: I thought he showed up well for the Steelers last year.
• 36:00
  Speaker 6: Kyler Baugh was on the practice squad a year ago. Again,
• 36:04
  Speaker 6: I just thought he made plays, particularly in that first
• 36:07
  Speaker 6: preseason game. So I'm good with those guys on the
• 36:10
  Speaker 6: defensive line.
• 36:12
  Speaker 2: I'm right there with you. And Willie mentioned this name earlier.
• 36:15
  Speaker 2: He gives me Ryan McBean vibes. Like he's a guy
• 36:18
  Speaker 2: that goes hard. He shows up on tape. It's never pretty,
• 36:23
  Speaker 2: but it's always on time. And I think that's something
• 36:26
  Speaker 2: that you're looking for for a D lineman. You want
• 36:28
  Speaker 2: to be sudden. You want to be disruptive. And he
• 36:31
  Speaker 2: provides that element. And he did it last year. You know,
• 36:34
  Speaker 2: he was a guy that got in there and is
• 36:36
  Speaker 2: not bashful about being in the interior and getting muddy
• 36:39
  Speaker 2: in the pig pen. So I really like the fact
• 36:41
  Speaker 2: that we were able to keep him somehow because I
• 36:43
  Speaker 2: think he will be a contributor at some point this season,
• 36:46
  Speaker 2: a la Dylan Cook, a la James Pierre. We had
• 36:49
  Speaker 2: to throw Asezi Tomiwo in there because he was a
• 36:51
  Speaker 2: contributor last year as well when we had some injuries
• 36:53
  Speaker 2: to the D-line, especially with Derek Harmon going down.
• 36:57
  Speaker 4: Yeah, and I think the overall theme is good, man.
• 37:00
  Speaker 4: We have... You got big body human beings on reserve,
• 37:04
  Speaker 4: which is always a plus for a football team, especially
• 37:07
  Speaker 4: if we're saying this team has a roster right now
• 37:09
  Speaker 4: that's going to be playing meaningful games in December and
• 37:12
  Speaker 4: potentially in January and making a run. You need guys
• 37:15
  Speaker 4: like that who can continue to learn, grow, shaping up,
• 37:19
  Speaker 4: and be around that D-line culture led by Cameron Haywood
• 37:22
  Speaker 4: and obviously Keanu and Derek Harmon. It's pivotal for guys
• 37:26
  Speaker 4: like this, too, because guys like this, guys like these
• 37:30
  Speaker 4: two gentlemen that we're speaking of, they make it hell
• 37:32
  Speaker 4: for the starting office line that's going to need work, right?
• 37:35
  Speaker 4: Like me and Max can attest to when you have
• 37:38
  Speaker 4: quality backup guys who have substance and really come to
• 37:44
  Speaker 4: it every day and bring their hard hat, man, they
• 37:46
  Speaker 4: only make the office line better, right? And so the Steelers,
• 37:50
  Speaker 4: we know right now, seems like they're going to be
• 37:52
  Speaker 4: more pass-dominant than run-dominant, but they're going to have to
• 37:54
  Speaker 4: run the ball. And I know Mike McCarver, and I
• 37:58
  Speaker 4: don't want to be redundant, I know he likes a
• 38:00
  Speaker 4: little more hands-off approach when it comes to practice. He
• 38:03
  Speaker 4: wants guys to play at a high tempo and get
• 38:06
  Speaker 4: to working and get off the field. But one of
• 38:08
  Speaker 4: the things that I think hurt this team going into
• 38:11
  Speaker 4: this preseason was the fact that the lack of physicality. Well,
• 38:14
  Speaker 4: these two individuals, they have an opportunity to kind of
• 38:17
  Speaker 4: rough up that starting line, whoever that five is going
• 38:20
  Speaker 4: to be, and really get them quality work week in
• 38:23
  Speaker 4: and week out. Because if this is going to go
• 38:26
  Speaker 4: how we expect it to go, Aaron Rodgers– He's 42
• 38:29
  Speaker 4: years old. They're going to have to lean on the
• 38:30
  Speaker 4: run game a little bit more to be productive and
• 38:33
  Speaker 4: more explosive.
• 38:34
  Speaker 6: Okay, let's move on to the linebacker position where Braden Swinson,
• 38:39
  Speaker 6: a former fifth-round pick of New England, he was added
• 38:43
  Speaker 6: from the outside. Jacoby Windman, who we saw last year,
• 38:47
  Speaker 6: he was snatched away from the Steelers by Carolina, got
• 38:50
  Speaker 6: some time with Carolina, back with the Steelers this camp.
• 38:52
  Speaker 6: He's back in the fold with the Steelers on the
• 38:55
  Speaker 6: practice squad. And then Julius Welchoff. 29 year old guy
• 39:00
  Speaker 6: but once again the international exemption so he's there he's
• 39:04
  Speaker 6: ready to go and again continues to show up in
• 39:09
  Speaker 6: spring training games.
• 39:10
  Speaker 5: In a practice and so that's your group of linebackers.
• 39:12
  Speaker 2: Guys I like this group having Jacoby back and like
• 39:19
  Speaker 2: you said he got some season and went down to
• 39:20
  Speaker 2: Carolina played that was a playoff team and he participated
• 39:24
  Speaker 2: with them so you got some good experience there with
• 39:27
  Speaker 2: him and I think for, you know, in a guy
• 39:31
  Speaker 2: like Braden Swenson, I think it's just you want to
• 39:33
  Speaker 2: kick the tires and see. He's a young guy. Can
• 39:36
  Speaker 2: he make the jump? Can he continue to grow as
• 39:39
  Speaker 2: an athlete? And then Julius Welshoff, man, the German knife maker,
• 39:44
  Speaker 2: as Wolf coined him, when he first came to Pittsburgh,
• 39:47
  Speaker 2: He just, for whatever reason, he keeps getting better. This
• 39:49
  Speaker 2: is a guy who never played formalized American football, right?
• 39:53
  Speaker 2: Came over, a part of the IPP program, the International
• 39:56
  Speaker 2: Player Pathway, and got the exemption to be on a
• 39:59
  Speaker 2: team and get some experience. And I felt like it's
• 40:02
  Speaker 2: been benefiting him, and he's been getting better and better.
• 40:04
  Speaker 2: He's a guy who's been an up-and-down type of guy
• 40:07
  Speaker 2: for us, where you can bump him up, have him play.
• 40:09
  Speaker 3: Some special teams.
• 40:11
  Speaker 2: We had some injuries last year, TJ and Alex going
• 40:14
  Speaker 2: through some nicks and bruises, and.
• 40:15
  Speaker 3: He filled in.
• 40:17
  Speaker 2: And so he's getting better and better, just a consistent
• 40:20
  Speaker 2: guy and a guy that not a lot of other
• 40:21
  Speaker 2: teams are going to have on their radar. So they
• 40:23
  Speaker 2: didn't mind putting him in the waiver wire and letting
• 40:27
  Speaker 2: him go out there and then bringing him back because
• 40:29
  Speaker 2: they have a lot of comfort with him because he's
• 40:31
  Speaker 2: been in this Steelers system for a number of years now.
• 40:34
  Speaker 4: Yeah, guys like Wellscoff, if he's able to crack the
• 40:39
  Speaker 4: lineup and be a figure on special teams like They
• 40:43
  Speaker 4: write storybooks about guys like that. He has an opportunity to,
• 40:47
  Speaker 4: as Max said, continue to get better, maximize his opportunity,
• 40:50
  Speaker 4: but his hay is going to be made on special teams.
• 40:53
  Speaker 4: That's one unit, that's one aspect of this team that
• 40:56
  Speaker 4: has to continue to develop and find a way to
• 40:59
  Speaker 4: be more impactful. A guy like him can do so.
• 41:03
  Speaker 4: He'll be a stealer for life, for sure. Hopefully, best
• 41:06
  Speaker 4: of luck to him.
• 41:08
  Speaker 6: Finally, our last group of guys is at defensive back
• 41:12
  Speaker 6: on and there's a couple of them here. So one
• 41:16
  Speaker 6: of the guys is new, and that is– well, first
• 41:19
  Speaker 6: of all, Sebastian Castro is a guy who's like your safety.
• 41:24
  Speaker 6: I thought there might be one more safety in the group.
• 41:27
  Speaker 6: To be perfectly honest, guys, I don't know a lot
• 41:29
  Speaker 6: about Carlin Vigers to the point where I'm not sure
• 41:32
  Speaker 6: if it's Vigers or Viggers.
• 41:34
  Speaker 5: And how to pronounce his name.
• 41:35
  Speaker 3: I think it's Viggers.
• 41:36
  Speaker 5: It is Viggers. Thank you.
• 41:38
  Speaker 6: And Danico Slaughter, who– I think that, again, if you're
• 41:46
  Speaker 6: a fan, just follow the way things are going. Like
• 41:51
  Speaker 6: I've said this many times, where's the money? What guys
• 41:55
  Speaker 6: are getting paid? That's who the team thinks is good.
• 41:57
  Speaker 6: Where do they spend their first and second round picks?
• 41:59
  Speaker 6: That's guys the team thinks is good. Who stepped in
• 42:03
  Speaker 6: when there were injured guys in the Steelers secondary? It
• 42:07
  Speaker 6: was Danico Slaughter. He was the first guy in there.
• 42:09
  Speaker 6: He was the first guy up. That tells me that
• 42:11
  Speaker 6: even though the sixth cornerbacks were pretty well set, barring injury,
• 42:16
  Speaker 6: that they really liked Danico Slaughter. So I'm happy to
• 42:19
  Speaker 6: see him based on that on the practice squad and
• 42:22
  Speaker 6: the other two guys with Castro adding some depth and
• 42:25
  Speaker 6: safety as well and Vigors, who I don't know a
• 42:28
  Speaker 6: ton about, guys.
• 42:32
  Speaker 2: Yeah, I don't know much about Vigors either, and I'll
• 42:35
  Speaker 2: have to do my research on him. But I think
• 42:37
  Speaker 2: for Danico, we saw him make a lot of plays.
• 42:39
  Speaker 2: He got a lot of burn in the preseason. So
• 42:41
  Speaker 2: they felt really comfortable about where he's at and bringing
• 42:45
  Speaker 2: him back. And as a guy, they want to take
• 42:46
  Speaker 2: an additional look at him. Like you said, you know,
• 42:49
  Speaker 2: we went through this rash, Rob. We talked about this where,
• 42:52
  Speaker 2: you know, the DB room got hit hard, you know,
• 42:55
  Speaker 2: a couple of years ago. And then, you know, could
• 42:58
  Speaker 2: still continue to get hit hard because you think about
• 43:01
  Speaker 2: Deshaun Elliott, who's now on IR, you know, after that
• 43:04
  Speaker 2: Jets game went on IR and we missed him for
• 43:06
  Speaker 2: a large swath. So injuries are going to happen in
• 43:09
  Speaker 2: the secondary. So you have to just be prepared and
• 43:12
  Speaker 2: have guys who are ready to play and guys who
• 43:14
  Speaker 2: are willing to go out there and play hard and
• 43:16
  Speaker 2: play a physical brand of football. And I think Danico
• 43:18
  Speaker 2: kind of fits that mold for what we're looking for
• 43:23
  Speaker 2: in that room. And he's a guy that's already immersed
• 43:26
  Speaker 2: in that culture. So why wouldn't you want to do that?
• 43:28
  Speaker 2: And Sebastian Castro, high football IQ, athleticism is one that
• 43:33
  Speaker 2: he makes up for the lack of athleticism with that ability.
• 43:36
  Speaker 2: And I think with a crowded room, just didn't get
• 43:38
  Speaker 2: that many reps this preseason. We didn't get to see
• 43:41
  Speaker 2: him as much as we did a year ago, and
• 43:43
  Speaker 2: I think he's a guy who can continue to grow,
• 43:45
  Speaker 2: a guy that they were very high on last year
• 43:48
  Speaker 2: in the scouting room, and I think that's kind of
• 43:50
  Speaker 2: how you ended up with him again, a guy they
• 43:52
  Speaker 2: want to see just continue to develop and grow and
• 43:54
  Speaker 2: potentially be a contributor.
• 43:57
  Speaker 4: Yeah, I'm going to be frank and honest. I didn't
• 44:00
  Speaker 4: know Vickers existed until just now.
• 44:04
  Speaker 5: He's a corner. I'll tell you that.
• 44:06
  Speaker 6: He's a corner, not a safety. I should point that out.
• 44:08
  Speaker 6: Other than that, we're going to have to get to
• 44:10
  Speaker 6: work to learn more about him.
• 44:12
  Speaker 4: There you go. And I'm going to say the same
• 44:14
  Speaker 4: for both gentlemen. Nevertheless, I think the theme right now
• 44:16
  Speaker 4: for this whole secondary group is they got to get
• 44:18
  Speaker 4: healthy and they got to get healthy fast, especially if
• 44:21
  Speaker 4: they want to start the month of September off hot.
• 44:24
  Speaker 4: And we continue to stew and wonder what's going on
• 44:26
  Speaker 4: with Joey Porter Jr. And, you know, listen, I think
• 44:30
  Speaker 4: one of the missing pieces, one of the things we
• 44:32
  Speaker 4: haven't talked about in regards to this Secondary group, and
• 44:35
  Speaker 4: we're talking about Brisker in particular. He was a liability
• 44:40
  Speaker 4: to some degree. Yeah, he was good in the box,
• 44:42
  Speaker 4: but nevertheless, he struggled at being a deep ball safety.
• 44:46
  Speaker 4: And so they're going to have to continue to figure
• 44:49
  Speaker 4: out what can this group do really well together and
• 44:53
  Speaker 4: how they continue to make hay. But right now, if
• 44:56
  Speaker 4: there was a trouble spot on this roster, it would
• 44:59
  Speaker 4: be the secondary for the Steelers.
• 45:02
  Speaker 6: Okay, we're going to talk more about that. Well, I'm
• 45:05
  Speaker 6: going to talk more about that with the guys on Friday.
• 45:08
  Speaker 6: Off tomorrow for me, on for the guys in the
• 45:11
  Speaker 6: locker room tomorrow. Look, we didn't get to everything we
• 45:15
  Speaker 6: wanted to because we're solving the Pro Bowl and active
• 45:19
  Speaker 6: day rosters and doing all kinds of things just really
• 45:22
  Speaker 6: for the betterment of mankind is what we did in
• 45:24
  Speaker 6: this show. So we will get to some of those
• 45:26
  Speaker 6: roster breakdowns of the way that the Steelers are perceived
• 45:30
  Speaker 6: around the league coming up on Friday's program. Guys, enjoy
• 45:34
  Speaker 6: your lunch. Max Starks, Willie Colon, I'm Rob King. We
• 45:38
  Speaker 6: thank you for being with us in the locker room
• 45:40
  Speaker 6: here on the Steelers Audio Network.