The Pittsburgh Steelers' fan base is ready for the 2025 NFL Draft. There is a lot of excitement surrounding the team and the 21st overall pick, but the rumor mill has not stopped swirling in the Steel City. The quarterback position is in question, while there are gaps that need to be filled at running back and on the defensive line, among other spots. It will be very interesting to see which direction General Manager Omar Khan and Head Coach Mike Tomlin go once it is their time to make a decision. Trading back could also be a possibility.
The two decision-makers for the Steelers spoke with the media on Tuesday and had a lot to say about the upcoming draft. The duo didn't go into any detail about the team's plans, but were asked several questions about the quarterback position. A lot of pundits believe that Shedeur Sanders is a perfect fit in Pittsburgh, so Tomlin and Khan were asked about him specifically.
Tomlin glowed about Sanders when speaking with the media. With that said, the head coach does tend to sometimes play a game when speaking to a group of reporters. He sometimes is a little deceitful, and this could be on purpose. CBS Sports NFL insider Jonathan Jones also found this a little interesting regarding how much Tomlin spoke about Sanders, and took notice of it on Wednesday.
"Mike Tomlin just went on and on about Shedeur Sanders," Jones said. "It was very un-Tomlin like. It felt a little bit that, the more he kept praising Shedeur -- and I'm not saying he didn't mean any of the praise, all the praise could be very well warranted, and probably is -- but it felt like this was a little bit of a smokescreen, for some reason, for the Pittsburgh Steelers."
Jones also ended up asking the question of if Tomlin was just trying to give Sanders a boost because of the current narrative that is surrounding him currently as the draft approaches. The smokescreen comment is what is a tad interesting, however. The Steelers may want teams to believe that they are in love with the quarterback, specifically so a defensive line-needy team doesn't jump Pittsburgh at 21 to select an interior player on the defensive side of the ball.
Praising Sanders could have been completely innocent with no meaning behind it, but it's also fair to theorize if there was an ulterior motive. Both Tomlin and Khan knew that they would be asked about him, and could have come up with a plan to potentially change how other teams around the league may be feeling. No one is quite sure which direction the Steelers are going to go in the first round.
There is also a world in which Pittsburgh could be attempting to bait a team into trading up if Sanders is still available. It could be as simple as another team's general manager calling in to see if the selection is available for trade. Some teams to keep an eye on are the ones that have early second-round picks. All in all, Tomlin was right to praise Sanders because of his talent, but was there an extra reason behind why it was done just a couple of days away from the big weekend?
Steelers will likely draft a quarterback in 2025, regardless of how the board falls
Pittsburgh needs help up front on defense. This is why it is probably smart to target the position in the first round. If Tomlin's words about Sanders, however, were truthful and how the coaching staff feels, the quarterback could come to the Steel City. It is an interesting situation that is still developing, but there's no doubt that the first-round pick for Tomlin and Khan will remain a mystery until it is announced.
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The Chicago Bears don’t appear satisfied with their running back room with one week left to decide the 53-man roster. The Bears have until Aug. 26 to make their final cuts before preparing for the Minnesota Vikings in Week 1. The Bears entered training camp with questions at running back. Veteran D’Andre Swift had a down year in 2024. Roschon Johnson isn’t a long-term solution, and seventh-round pick Kyle Monangai will have a steep learning curve when the regular season begins. The Chicago Bears worked out a former running back Per Aaron Wilson of KPRC, the Bears worked out running backs Royce Freeman, undrafted rookie Kylin James and former Carolina Panthers practice-squad player Dillon Johnson. Royce Freeman played with the Bears in 2024 Of the three, Freeman is the only running back with stats at the NFL level. Freeman, a third-round pick by the Denver Broncos in 2018, has appeared in 79 games and started nine games. He’s rushed 471 times for 1,472 yards and 10 touchdowns. The Bears signed Freeman to the practice squad in December. He was then signed to the Los Angeles Rams practice squad in January. He last played a regular-season game in 2023, when he added 319 yards and two touchdowns in 14 games for the Rams. The Bears are signaling their need for a running back this summer. There are other options available in the trade market, as the Washington Commanders are shopping Brian Robinson Jr. during the preseason. More running backs will be available after other teams trim their rosters to 53 players, but they might not be the type of athletes to make a significant boost for the offense early in the regular season.
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A first-ballot Hall of Famer whenever he decides to hang it up, Russell Westbrook has long been revered as one of the NBA's premier point guards, both with his aggressive play and infectious energy. Despite the former MVP's impressive resume, though, he remains unsigned nearly two months after free agency opened on June 30. It's no secret that Westbrook is no longer an All-Star-caliber player, but it's certainly jarring to see his name alongside the summer's other leftovers. Over the last two seasons, Russ has willingly accepted a bench role and shown his ability to contribute even without being the offense's focal point. He finished top-10 in Sixth Man of the Year voting with both the Los Angeles Clippers in 2023-24 and the Denver Nuggets in 2024-25. The Nuggets may have been Westbrook's most seamless fit since the 36-year-old left the Oklahoma City Thunder, which brings us to the key mistake he made this offseason: He decided to bet on himself when his career was trending south. It's understandable why Westbrook decided to decline his player option with Denver. $3.5 million is pocket change relative to today's NBA salaries, so it's possible the nine-time All-Star expected to land a bigger payday on name brand alone. But that's no longer the case with Westbrook. The Nuggets, like several teams before them, took a chance on Westbrook, whose play has been nothing short of a wild card in recent years. Alongside Nikola Jokic, though, he found success operating off-ball by utilizing his natural explosiveness, a sensible calling card for one of basketball history's most athletic playmakers. It seemed like the perfect spot for Westbrook to finish out his career. Instead, he has continued to seek out a more lucrative deal with a team that is looking to give him more offensive freedom. While the Sacramento Kings and New York Knicks are both reportedly interested in adding his services, neither team can offer both a higher salary and an expanded role. It also seems unlikely that Westbrook will find a more seamless fit for himself than what he had in Denver. Whether it's due to his erratic offensive tendencies or his relentless determination to involve himself in every action, it's easy to see why teams have to talk themselves into Westbrook at this point in his career. It appears that Russ will finally be picked up soon, but the damage has already been done. The two-time scoring champion already gave up his best chance at winning a title once he departed from Denver.
Previous reports indicated that unsettled Washington Commanders wide receiver Terry McLaurin was looking to land "parts" of the five-year, $150M contract that the Pittsburgh Steelers gave DK Metcalf earlier this year. For an article published on Wednesday morning, Nicki Jhabvala of The Athletic offered an update regarding why McLaurin and the Commanders haven't come to terms on an extension after the 29-year-old requested a trade on July 31. "One person with knowledge of McLaurin’s contract negotiations said the veteran receiver has asked for more than DK Metcalf," Jhabvala revealed. McLaurin is in the final year of his current deal and will turn 30 years old in September. To compare, Metcalf will turn 28 in December. That said, McLaurin emerged last season as the favorite target for quarterback Jayden Daniels as Daniels guided the Commanders to the NFC Championship Game. "McLaurin believes he’s one of the best receivers in the NFL," Jhabvala added. "He’s been the Commanders' leading receiver every season since he entered the league (in 2019), and last year had the second-most receiving TDs in the league behind Ja’Marr Chase’s 17. He also ranked third in (expected points added) on targets and seventh in catch rate among receivers with at least 100 targets last year, but among that same group, McLaurin’s total receiving yards (1,096) ranked 12th and his average yards after the catch ranked 25th." Daniels seemed optimistic while speaking about the ongoing contract standoff during the ESPN broadcast of Monday's preseason game between the Commanders and Cincinnati Bengals when he said he knew McLaurin would "be coming through the door soon." However, Jhabvala noted that "it wouldn’t be a surprise if the [Commanders have] set a maximum range of $27M to $28M a year in average annual value for McLaurin." That seems to suggest the two sides aren't all that close to coming to terms on an agreement. It's unclear if McLaurin is willing to forfeit money by sitting out Washington's Week 1 game against the New York Giants on Sept. 7 amid his desire for a pay raise. If he isn't, he may have to soon accept the offer that's on the table to guarantee himself future earnings beyond the upcoming season.