Let's get to it:
BETH GOLLMAR FROM ATLANTA, GA: Is this year's draft class good at defensive end? Should this be the year they have to draft a guy to replace Cam Heyward even if they get a "project" guy? He could learn for a year and then be able to step in. Or should they draft high enough to get a guy who could step in and give Cam a breather while he gets accustomed to the NFL?
ANSWER: Based on projections the defensive line talent pool to be available in the 2025 NFL Draft is supposed to be one of the deeper position groups. I am on record as being of the opinion that the Steelers need to invest in their defensive line the way they have over the past few offseasons with their offensive line. And I also believe the way to get top-quality defensive linemen is to draft them, as opposed to shopping in free agency, because top quality defensive linemen aren't usually allowed to get to the open market by their original teams. There just aren't a lot of them, and so if you have one you want to keep him. What I believe the Steelers need along the defensive line is a player who can be an eventual replacement for Cam Heyward, but I also think if the defense is going to be elite it needs another Stephon Tuitt – and by that comparison I mean a guy who can contribute to the pass rush and also be sufficiently stout against the run. That's what you need when an opponent presents a combination of Derrick Henry-Lamar Jackson or Saquon Barkley-Jalen Hurts. You have to be able to pressure the quarterbacks, because if those guys are not pressured they will kill you. And at the same time you have to be able to control the run playing nickel because loading up against the run will open things up for their receivers.
Cam Heyward is an all-time great, but he'll be 36 years old in May. Father Time is still undefeated, and understand that the top two defensive linemen in Steelers history came to the team as No. 1 picks. Tuitt – 34.5 sacks in 91 games, along with 93 hits on the quarterback, 13 passes defensed, 6 forced fumbles, and 176 combined tackles – was a No. 2 pick (46th overall) in the 2014 NFL Draft. That kind of draft capital is what has to be invested for those kinds of defensive linemen, and great defenses have those kinds of defensive linemen.
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RONALD WALL FROM SHADY VALLEY, TN: What's the difference between being waived and being released? It seems that either way a team is letting a player go, so why can't a waived player decide which team he wants to play for?
ANSWER: Because the rule that governs players being "let go" is that guys with 4 or more accrued NFL seasons are able to decide which team he wants to play for and at what price, and guys with fewer than 4 accrued NFL seasons are subject to waivers. Waivers is a 24-hour period where 31 other teams can submit a claim, and then the player is awarded to the team with the worst record – the same method used to determine draft order. There is a time at the end of a regular season where all released players must go through waivers, but that's a competitive issue. That's the rule, and it is the result of a negotiation between the league and the players union.
MARK HONSAKER FROM GALVESTON, TX: I believe in Justin Fields but am also of the opinion that a year or two of tutelage under another quarterback to show him some of the intricacies of the position would be helpful in bringing out the best in his abilities. As such, and I believe Aaron Rodgers fits this mold more than a Mathew Stafford, what do you think about signing Rodgers to be the mentor/tutor, so to speak, so we have Rodgers as the No. 1 QB for a year or two and then turning things over to Fields?
ANSWER: In a world where players aren't people, that's a nice idea, but it's just not real. Justin Fields is not going to sign a contract with a team where he's to be mentored by a veteran for a year or two. And the veteran guys you mention have no interest in signing with a team planning to use him as a de facto coach until the pupil is ready to take over.
SAM WILEY FROM MIDDLETOWN, RI: Can you give some insight into the difference between, say Matt Stafford's team finding his value on the trade market and the legal tampering period?
ANSWER: To be as simple as possible, it's all about permission. In exploring a player's value on the trade market, both sides of the trade have to be amenable to the terms for the transaction to happen. The legal tampering period pertains to free agents, and it's more contained. The NFL actually sanctions it as anything goes. The legal tampering period this year is from noon on March 10 until 3:59 p.m. on March 12, because at 4 p.m. on March 12 the gates to free agency will be swung open.
MARK CUSICK FROM PARADISE VALLEY, AZ: I have seen different assumptions in the media about whether the Steelers have two or three picks in the seventh round of this year's draft. What is the origin of this confusion?
ANSWER: I have no interest in how or why there was "confusion," which in this particular case is nothing more than reporting incorrectly. But in this forum, the Steelers always have been listed as having seven total picks in the 2025 NFL Draft – 1 in each of the first 5 rounds and 2 in the 7th round.
MICHAEL GREEN FROM MIAMI, FL: My question is in regard to the "tush push." If the QB or ball carrier is elevated off the ground by the pushers, shouldn't that be a penalty? My understanding was that a player couldn't use another player to get higher or jump?
ANSWER: There is way more pushing and pulling happening during a tush-push than lifting and carrying. But I don't see the league eliminating the play unless definitive injury information is compiled and presented showing it to be dangerous.
ROB FORTIN FROM MANSFIELD, SD: What are your thoughts on hiring Hines Ward as the receivers coach if he was available? I loved watching Hines, Antwan Randel El, and Plaxico Burress all block downfield for the running backs. The Steelers need the physical play that he brought.
ANSWER: Hines Ward is not available now, because he's the receivers coach at Arizona State. And allow me to caution people about the assumption that a great player can teach what made him great to the next generation. I cannot speak to the kind of coach Ward is, what he teaches, what he emphasizes to the players, but you can't teach a player to be great. He has to have it in him to start with.
THOMAS MILINOVICH FROM ERIE, PA: As we get closer to March 12 free agent signing time, could you give us the time line as to when teams can contact players, make offers to players, and then announce the signing of the new player?
ANSWER: As I wrote in an above answer, the legal tampering period is from noon on March 10 until 3:59 p.m. on March 12, and that's when teams are allowed legally to contact potential free agents and make offers to them. Starting at 4 p.m. on March 12, all untagged unrestricted free agents are allowed to sign with any team at whatever price. When the signing team chooses to make an announcement is its decision, but such news can be "announced" by the player himself on social media.
JOHN CURLEY FROM CHAPTICO, MD: Historically, are the Steelers more likely to pay more attention to one college football program vs. another? Meaning that program is more in-line with Steelers football so the transition from college to professional is easier on the player. Also, because some veterans of the military have played professional football, how much attention is paid to the military academies?
ANSWER: The inaugural NFL Draft (Player Selection Meeting is what it was called initially) was in 1936, and the Steelers have participated in every one of them. That leads to a lot of history. The Steelers have drafted more players from the University of Pittsburgh (46) than any other college program, but a lot of the geographic component of that came when scouting was a much more regional endeavor. As for the military academies, the Steelers have drafted 3 players from West Point and 1 player from the Naval Academy. Rocky Bleier served in Vietnam, but he went to Notre Dame; Alejandro Villanueva went to West Point, but he was undrafted. Those are two players who would be examples of military veterans who don't count on any list of guys drafted from the academies.
RON WILLIAMS FROM ASTORIA, OR: No question but instead a compliment to Rob King as the new voice of the Steelers in 2024. He had a very difficult task following Bill Hillgrove, but my opinion is he was very good, very well prepared and professional. Rob also worked very seamlessly with Craig Wolfley in the booth.
ANSWER: Beside my wife, those guys are two of the biggest fans of Asked and Answered, and so I'm sure they appreciate your kind words.
CARL WYNN FROM SUNNYVALE, TX: This is to the fan who thinks the Steelers should have drafted Tyler Guyton instead of Troy Fautanu. I am a Steelers fan living in the Dallas area. With that, I have the misfortune of getting to watch the Cowboys weekly, and I can tell that fan that Tyler Guyton may not be the kind of player he thinks he is. In fact, throughout last season I delighted in hearing the talking radio heads here after most games as they whined and complained about young Mr. Guyton. According to them, it seemed if he wasn't holding, or killing drives, he was getting beat on a pass rush. Many fans consider Guyton to be the end to a recent streak of highly successful offensive linemen taken in the first round by the Cowboys. As you wrote, time will tell if Guyton or Fautanu will be more successful. But the early reviews, at least among Cowboys faithful, are not in Guyton's favor. Thank you, Steelers, for taking Troy Fautanu.
ANSWER: And thank you for sharing.
