The opinions found in Asked and Answered do not reflect the views of the Steelers organization.
Let's get to it:
NATHAN KLEIN FROM FREDERICKSBURG, VA: Is there a Steelers QB/WR duo you favor from the team's past you think could thrive in today's NFL? My pick would be Ben Roethlisberger and either Antonio Brown or Santonio Holmes as the WR. Besides them, I don't think the older generation guys would adapt to the changes in the game as well as the more recent duos.
ANSWER: I have to disagree. In a previous Asked and Answered, I was asked about whether I believed Jack Lambert would have been as great if he had to play under today's player safety initiative because of his style. My answer was that I was a believer in the adage that great players would adapt and find a way to be great at any era of their sport. Roethlisberger-to-Brown, Roethlisberger-to-Holmes are valid picks by you, but I'm not willing to concede that Terry Bradshaw throwing to either Lynn Swann or John Stallworth wouldn't have been formidable in today's NFL.
Think about Lynn Swann being given the protection that today's WRs get from the rules and the enforcement of those rules. He would be a defenseless player when the ball arrived; DBs could really do nothing but mirror and chase once he got off the line of scrimmage; and getting off the line of scrimmage isn't as tough now as it was back in the 1970s before the Mel Blount Rule was instituted. Same with Stallworth. And Bradshaw had enough arm to make every throw, which would force the defense to cover the whole field on every down, because while defenses today have become more athletic with more complex schemes, offenses no longer are as apt to run the ball on first and second downs as what happened in the 1970s. Bradshaw, Swann, and Stallworth are enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, and I don't believe that Hall of Fame players are limited to one era of their sport.
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MAX MASHONEY FROM THE WOODLANDS, TX: I really liked all four Steelers biographies that you listed in a previous Asked and Answered. I would like to offer a fifth: "A Steeler Odyssey" by Andy Russell.
ANSWER: Excellent book. A very insightful look at the people and accomplishments of a great era in franchise history and NFL history. For forgetting to include it last time, I'll add that it's still available on Amazon both in hardcover and paperback.
MICHAEL COX FROM OKLAHOMA CITY, OK: Can you realistically see Nick Herbig doubling his sack total production from last year with increased snaps that will come with him signing a new contract this offseason?
ANSWER: Here's the way I see it: the Steelers didn't negotiate that contract with Nick Herbig to have him watch from the sideline once the games start to count in the standings. How the process of getting Herbig on the field and putting him in situations/matchups where he can be a playmaker for this defense in 2026 is TBD, both from planning and execution standpoints. I'm sure there have been some initial discussions about implementing Herbig into the kind of defense Coach Mike McCarthy wants to see from his team, but that's going to be a constantly evolving thing. Moves and counter-moves as the games unfold on a weekly basis. It's just not something that can be determined in mid-June. Because in mid-June it's just speculation.
TOM BRUZDA FROM WILDOMAR, CA: Who makes a team's preseason schedule and when is it finalized?
ANSWER: The NFL makes up every team's entire schedule, both preseason and regular season. While there is a rotation coupled with a formula based on a team's record the previous season that determine opponents and sites that the league follows for regular season games, scheduling in the preseason is more of an "art form." For example, with WR Larry Fitzgerald and ILB Luke Kuechly both members of the Hall of Fame's Class of 2026, it will be the Arizona Cardinals vs. the Carolina Panthers in the Hall of Fame Game.
TERRY HALUPA FROM AIKEN, SC: Given Kaleb Johnson's standout college production at Iowa and his rocky start in Pittsburgh – including the special teams error and limited offensive snaps – what specific improvements must he make in 2026 to secure a starting role or at least be on the 53-man roster? Is there enough time for him to overcome early struggles before the Steelers consider moving on?
ANSWER: I don't believe it's a realistic expectation for second-year RB Kaleb Johnson to win a starting job in a backfield that lists proven NFL veterans Jaylen Warren and Rico Dowdle ahead of him on the depth chart. Based on watching decades worth of NFL training camps, what backups best do is make themselves valuable on special teams. Being valuable on special teams is a certain path to a roster spot, and it also will have a guy in the mix when it comes to handing out the last few helmets on game days. Being a contributor on special teams often buys the time a guy needs to get better at his position and make a case for playing time on offense or defense. There are a lot of Steelers who have used that path to nice NFL careers.
JOHN PUHALA FROM SPRINGFIELD, VA: With the news that Texas Tech quarterback Brendan Sorsby is going to enter the NFL Supplemental Draft, I think the Steelers could take a chance on him. The cost would be low and to my understanding he is considered an NFL-ready QB. What are your thoughts?
ANSWER: Brendan Sorsby is going to enter the NFL Supplemental Draft because there is the real possibility of NCAA discipline levied in the wake of what The Athletic has reported as Sorsby admitting to have bet "nearly $90,000 on college and pro sports, including at least 40 bets placed on Indiana while he was a quarterback for the Hoosiers." Betting on his own games is what got Pete Rose banished from Major League Baseball, and the amount Sorsby reportedly admitted to betting indicates it was an ongoing issue and not a one-off. Also, had he not run afoul of the NCAA, Sorsby would have been playing for his third different college team in 2026 – Indiana in 2022-2023, and Cincinnati in 2024-2025 – and that kind of constantly moving from one program to another doesn't do a lot for me. My thoughts are it's awfully risky at this point to assume Sorsby is not going to gamble anymore, and there's also the possibility that if the NCAA issues some kind of punishment the NFL could impose that on him once he enters the league, as it did in the Terrelle Pryor case.
CHRIS GUFFEY FROM MARBLE, NC: With the extension of Nick Herbig's contract , the Steelers now have four LBs making more than $15 million per year (Patrick Queen, Herbig, Alex Highsmith, and T.J. Watt). Do you think that those four will be on the field together in sub-packages or is Herbig going to be the most expensive backup LB in the league?
ANSWER: Do you really think the Steelers negotiated that contract with Nick Herbig to anchor him to the sideline during games, or are you just auditioning for a talk show?
MICHAEL WILLIAMS FROM CINCINNATI, OH: I'm one of your older Steelers fans whose roots are firmly entrenched with watching the awesome 1970s-era teams. What made those teams so great was the balance of HOF-caliber greatness on both the offensive and the defensive sides. As vivid as my memories of those great Steelers teams are, I have little recollection of how the special teams performed in that era. Can you provide some insight on the highlights and lowlights of the Steelers' special teams play of the 1970s?
ANSWER: Throughout Chuck Noll's tenure, he re-made the Steelers from a perpetual doormat into a dynasty that punished opponents on the way to winning 4 championships in 6 seasons, and along the way becoming the only team (still) to win back-to-back Super Bowls twice. But special teams was a phase of the game even Noll's championship teams had to overcome. Here's just a quick synopsis of some of the "lowlights:"
• In the 1972 AFC Championship Game vs. Miami at Three Rivers Stadium – the weekend following the Immaculate Reception – the Steelers were leading the undefeated Dolphins, 7-0, midway through the second quarter when Miami punter Larry Seiple took advantage of a breakdown by the Steelers punt return unit to run 37 yards for a first down to set up a tying TD and jumpstart a rally that ended in a 21-17 win that ended the Steelers' season.
• In Super Bowl IX, the Steelers defense was in total control and punishing the Vikings offense on the way to what looked like the first shutout in Super Bowl history when LB Matt Blair broke through to block Bobby Walden's punt and Terry Brown recovered in the end zone for the TD that cut the Steelers lead to 9-6 in the fourth quarter.
• In Super Bowl X, Dallas returned the opening kickoff 53 yards on a reverse to LB Thomas Henderson and ended the drive with a touchdown pass to Drew Peterson to take a 7-0 lead. Also in the game, Roy Gerela missed field goal attempts from 36 and 38 yards and bounced a PAT off the upright to cost the Steelers 7 points. Walden also was having issues getting punts off without them being blocked, and so when it came down to the fourth quarter and the Steelers were trying to protect a 21-17 lead with 1:23 left in the fourth quarter, Noll elected to run the ball on fourth-and-9 from the Cowboys 41-yard line and turn the game over to his defense instead of risk getting a punt blocked.
• If there was a highlight, it was the kickoff retuning of Larry Anderson in Super Bowl XIV. In that game vs. the Rams, Larry Anderson averaged 32.4 yards on 5 kickoff returns. A 45-yard return by Anderson in the first half started a drive that ended with a TD and a 10-7 Steelers lead with 12:44 left in the first half. Anderson returned the second-half kickoff 37 yards to start a drive that ended with a 47-yard pass from Terry Bradshaw to Lynn Swann for a TD that gave the Steelers a 17-13 lead.
• Under Noll in the 1980s, the Steelers were the last team in the NFL to have an assistant coach dedicated to special teams; then in 1988 Steelers punter Harry Newsome had 6 of his 65 punts blocked, which obviously led the league and set a record. In 1986, Newsome led the NFL with 3 blocked punts for the first time in his career.
