Justin K. Aller/Getty Images Ben Roethlisberger #7 of the Pittsburgh Steelers talks to Cameron Heyward #97 during warmups before a game against the Cleveland Browns.
On Monday the Pittsburgh Steelers players voted for their team captains and the results are in.
Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and center Maurkice Pouncey earned the honors on offense.
One might say it was an especially good day for defensive end Cameron Heyward too. Not only did he get a chance to gush about his four-year contract extension and how happy he is to be remaining in Pittsburgh, he was named one of the team’s two defensive captains, along with Defensive Player of the Year candidate T.J. Watt.
Finally, backup safety Jordan Dangerfield was named captain for special teams.
Team Captains History
According to the Steelers’ official web site, this is the twelfth time—and tenth consecutive year—and that Roethlisberger has been voted a team captain. It’s the fourth such honor for Pouncey, who was also selected with Roethlisberger in 2013, 2018 and 2019.
This is the sixth consecutive season that Cameron Heyward is a defensive captain, but the first time for Watt. According to Mark Kaboly of The Athletic, Heyward is now tied with Mean Joe Greene for the most times captain by Steelers defensive lineman.
It’s also the first time that Dangerfield has been named the special teams captain.
Is Another Veteran in Line for a Contract Extension?
With Heyward’s contract extension taken care of, it begs the question whether the Steelers will extend another veteran player before their self-imposed deadline of Monday September 14—that being the regular season opener, of course.
The team’s top pending unrestricted free agents entering 2021 include wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster, running back James Conner and offensive tackle Al Villanueva, but the most likely candidates for an extension are less prominent players, like offensive lineman Matt Feiler, cornerback Mike Hilton and defensive back Cameron Sutton.
Still, if the Steelers get even one more player extended before the season it will be an accomplishment, as ‘COVID-19 adjustments’ make it difficult to predict what the cap number will be in 2021 and beyond, though we know it will not fall below $175 million next season.
Why Did the Steelers Replace Jordan Berry with Dustin Colquitt?
As for the most significant roster move of the past 24 hours or so, that would be the Steelers releasing punter Jordan Berry and signing longtime Kansas City Chiefs punter Dustin Colquitt.
Mark Kaboly of The Athletic notes that “Berry hasn’t been very good for the past couple years and was not very consistent in training camp.”
But an ever bigger motivation for the move was money. “The Steelers saved in the neighborhood of $1 million with a transaction that, at worst, will keep their punting game status quo,” as Kaboly puts it. “The Chiefs were said to move on from Colquitt simply because they wanted to get younger and not because of a significant decline in play.”
Colquitt is the son of former Steelers punter Craig Colquitt, who played for the team between 1978 and 1984 and won two Super Bowls with the team.
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