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It’s Wednesday, which means it’s time for a weekly Steelers links roundup at BTSC. But first, let’s take a look around the AFC North:
- GM Eric DeCosta discusses Ravens’ contract situations at Combine (Baltimore Beatdown)
- Trey Hendrickson won’t get franchise tag from Bengals, who never seriously considered using it (Cincy Jungle)
- The Cleveland Browns find a new starting OT in trade with the Houston Texans (Dawgs by Nature)
Now, onto some Steelers news and discussion:
Rookie Recap: Yahya Black
(From Steelers.com’s Teresa Varley): “I think Yahya is ready,” said Heyward during the season. “Yahya is getting more comfortable in his alignment, playing with better extension. He’s coming away with some big plays for us. That fumble (vs. Chicago). He just ripped it from the guy’s arms. You need that from your young guys who are continuing to learn.
“But he’s in the right spot. You’re starting to see him use more extension and it’s making more of a dent in the line of scrimmage.”
Black finished the season with three starts in 17 games. He logged 28 total tackles, one quarterback hit, two forced fumbles, and one pass defensed. A 2025 fifth-round pick, Black played more than expected and had his share of ups and downs, but showed some upside for future seasons.
Steelers free agency primer: Their own and potential targets
(From ESPN’s Brooke Pryor): One option the team could explore is defensive tackle Javon Hargrave, who began his career in Pittsburgh as a third-round pick in 2016. The Steelers opted to let him walk in free agency in 2019, and he went on to be a solid nose tackle for the Philadelphia Eagles and San Francisco 49ers. He spent the 2025 season in Minnesota, but according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Vikings plan to release him by the start of the league year if they can’t find a trade partner.
Previous Steelers ties aren’t quite the predictor they used to be now that Mike Tomlin is no longer the team’s head coach, but a Hargrave reunion could make sense for Pittsburgh, as the team could use some additional defensive line depth in 2026. Hargrave, now 33, played in 16 games last season, with 52 total tackles, 3.5 sacks, and four tackles for loss.
Former Players Call Out Steelers About Poor Conditions
(From SI’s Ari Meyer): “The one thing that’s just glowing here is that the locker room, F-minus for sure. And when they state facts like five bathrooms, when we think about it, like, that’s just the way it was-that’s not okay. It could be 100 people in that joint at one time…. Then with the showers, it’s not a lot of them joints in there, too. And in the locker room, when you walk in there, it’s old. It’s wood. It got your little name on the junk. But when we look at it back in the day coming from [Cleveland), I was like, ‘Culture. This is what it is’. But when you do look at it, it’s like, ‘Nah, this is messed up’. We need to have bathrooms available.” Haden said.
The Steelers’ league-worst NFLPA grades sparked some conversation on a podcast, and former Steeler Joe Haden provided his take. It appears the players really want more than five stalls.
Promising Pittsburgh Steelers offensive tackle underwent concerning neck surgery
(From Nick Farabaugh): Pittsburgh Steelers offensive tackle Broderick Jones underwent neck fusion surgery after his concerning injury against the Chicago Bears, according to Mike DeFabo of the Athletic.
That could push his timeline back further, and the Steelers need to see if he will ultimately clear protocols before returning to the team.
When asked if Jones would be ready this summer after undergoing neck surgery, general manager Omar Khan said they are still gathering information on that and they have no sure answer.
It’s wait-and-see time for Jones, the Steelers’ talented left tackle entering a pivotal 2026 season. It’s another sign pointing to the likelihood of Pittsburgh not picking up his fifth-year option. From the look of it, he might not even be available Week 1. Jones suffered the neck injury in Week 12.
Top 50 Steelers draft picks—47. Mike Merriweather
(From 93.7 The Fan’s Jeff Hathhorn):
· Played only 5 full seasons with the Steelers, making the Pro Bowl in 3 of those 5 seasons· League did not keep tackle numbers during his career
· 11 interceptions and a pair of Pick 6s
· 8 forced fumbles and 9 fumbles recovered
· Had 15 sacks in 1984, 31 sacks in his career
Leading up to the NFL Draft, 93.7 The Fan is compiling a list of the top draft picks in Steelers history. Merriweather is a good pull — a highly successful linebacker in Pittsburgh who is often forgotten compared to some of the franchise’s other stars at the position, especially as he played in a Super Bowl-less era for the team.
Who is Omar Khan’s best-ever draft pick?
I figured I’d repeat this question but with a more recent scope: Who has been current Steelers general manager Omar Khan’s best draft pick in the role? To my mind, the answer has to be the right balance of star power and draft value.
It’s too early to judge the 2025 class, of course, but either way, I think the answer would be somewhere in Khan’s first class as GM in 2023.
The Broderick Jones pick has yet to definitively pan out, but Khan caught fire in the middle rounds, grabbing Joey Porter Jr. and Keeanu Benton in the second, Darnell Washington in the third, and Nick Herbig in the fourth.
For me, it’s a competition between Porter and Herbig. Porter has become a high-end player at his position and an every-down defender. But Herbig’s value in the fourth round remains incredible, as he’s arguably the best rotational pass rusher in football and close to cashing in a starting-caliber contract at one of the NFL’s most valued positions.
Ultimately, I’d have to go with Porter, who is more valuable to the team at the moment — and Khan gets bonus points as Porter was drafted with the pick received from the Bears in the Chase Claypool trade. That’s masterful GM work there.
Who would you consider to be Omar Khan’s best pick as general manager? Let us know in the BTSC comment section!