Joe Sargent/Getty Images Diontae Johnson #18 of the Pittsburgh Steelers celebrates his touchdown with JuJu Smith-Schuster #19 and James Conner #30 during a game against the Cincinnati Bengals in 2019.
After the Pittsburgh Steelers signed defensive end Cameron Heyward to a four-year contract extension last week, it appeared as if the Steelers might be making progress towards signing at least one other veteran to a new contract.
Steelers might not be done signing another player to a new deal before season starts, per source.
But Gerry Dulac, who covers the Steelers for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, provided an update on that front on Saturday, and now indicates that the team won’t be doing any contracts with existing players until 2021.
Steelers will not sign any more of their players to contract extensions before Monday night’s season opener, per source.
That’s hardly a surprise, especially in light of the salary cap challenges facing the team in 2021, but it may be a disappointment to Steelers fans hoping to see the team lock up more of its pending unrestricted free agents.
The Steelers have long adhered to a self-imposed deadline of not engaging in contract negotiations with existing players once the regular season gets underway.
Kevin Dotson’s Rajin’ Cajuns
On Saturday Steelers rookie offensive guard Kevin Dotson took note of the fact that his college team, the Lousiana-Lafayette Rajin’ Cajuns, vanquished No. 23 ranked Iowa State, 31-14. Specifically, he re-tweeted Norman Locke, on-air ESPN radio personality for 1420 AM in Lafayette, Louisiana.
#CAJUNS Win! Top 25 team? Big 12? Turn me up @RaginCajunsFB | 31-14.
According to ESPN, it’s the first time in 27 tries the Rajin’ Cajuns have beaten a Top 25 opponent on the road. Their only other win over a Top 25 team came in 1996 at home against Texas A&M.
A pair of kick returners sparked the win, with Chris Smith authoring a 95-yard kickoff return in the second quarter and Eric Garror delivering an 83-yard punt return in the fourth.
Here’s video from the locker room celebration after the win Saturday, courtesy of the official Twitter account of Louisiana Rajin’ Cajuns Football.
🤟 Just another Saturday afternoon for the #cULture.
Recapping the Week of September 7
Meanwhile, here are a few Steelers-related developments you may have missed in the past week:
On Wednesday former Steelers linebacker Ryan Shazier retired from football, then proceeded to address the media to discuss his decision.
Cleveland Browns star Myles Garrett also did an interview with Cleveland.com in which he claimed that he considered quitting football in the wake of last season’s altercation with Steelers backup QB Mason Rudolph. He also insisted that he would like to meet with Rudolph face-to-face to discuss what happened.
In other QB-related news the Steelers cut last year’s third-string quarterback, Devlin ‘Duck’ Hodges, then added him to their practice squad, the last man added to the team’s 16-man squad.
Meanwhile, recently-retired Steelers lineman Ramon Foster started a new job in Nashville. He will serve as co-cost of a new morning show on 104.5 The Zone.
Finally, in sad news, the son of former Steelers first-round pick Jamain Stephens died at the age of 20. Stephens was a senior at Division II California University of Pennsylvania, where he played football between 2017-19.
AFC North Week One
The Steelers open at the New York Giants on Monday September 14. The Cincinnati Bengals will host the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday while the Baltimore Ravens will host the Cleveland Browns at M&T Bank Stadium, where the Ravens will pay tribute to late Superfan Mo Gaba, who passed away on July 28.
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