Getty Mike Tomlin watches warm-ups from the sideline.
Isaac Semualo? Nah. Patrick Peterson? Nah. Three weeks into 2023 NFL free agency and Mike Tomlin and the Pittsburgh Steelers have just made their biggest splash.
On April 1, the Steelers announced they agreed to terms with star wide receiver Calvin Broadus Jr. who projects as a threat to the blossoming Pickens-to-Pickett connection.
Kaleb Everhart of Steelers Nation’s Three Point Stance podcast did a quick media analysis of the USC product. “He’s tall, lengthy, he’s got extreme lung capacity. He’s got a rhythm to his game, it’s just flawless. I can’t wait to see what he does with the Steelers.”
“The 6’4” Broadus Jr. brings a massive outside target for Kenny Pickett in year two,” Free Agency Frosty tweeted shortly after news broke. “Look for the Pickett-Broadus Jr. Connection to be lethal in the Red Zone. Fans would be smart to purchase his jersey ASAP.”
Fans who fled to NFLShop.com to find the Broadus jersey were sorely disappointed. No, they weren’t sold out. It just doesn’t exist.
The Steelers social media team pranked fans with an April Fools’ Day joke — one that is certain to go down in history. Broadus, of course, is the birth name of one of the biggest celebrity Steelers fans and rapper, Snoop Dogg.
One of the most common responses was “But that’s Snoop Dogg!”
The man himself went along with prank. “Sources say tha deal is done,” Snoop tweeted.
Steelers defensive tackle Cam Heyward tweeted, “Ain’t enough (hats).”
Snoop Dogg’s Steelers Fandom
Sporting Los Angeles Dodgers, Los Angeles Lakers and USC Trojans jerseys, Snoop Dogg has famously repped L.A. throughout his career, but he’s a Steelers fan through and through. The rapper shared that he grew up admiring Steelers legends like Mean Joe Green, Rocky Bleier, L.C. Greenwood, Lynn Swann and John Stallworth. It all began with rebelling against the mainstream.
“It was in the 70s watching them on television battle the Raiders,” he said in a Steelers.com interview in 2009. “In California, it was the Raiders or the Steelers and everyone was choosing the Raiders and I just couldn’t go with what everyone was going with. I wanted to go with the Steelers. I loved their attitude and the way they played and went out and won. I became a fan in the 70s and have been riding with them ever since.”
Snoop is often called out for being a fake Steelers fan but said it’s only business. “I watch all of the games. I have personal friendships with some of the players, we are close friends,” he said. “When they see me go to another facility and hang out with other players and teams, they get offended. It’s all business. I have friends everywhere, but this is where my heart is. I am a diehard Steelers fan. I love the NFL, I love players from other teams, but this is my team that I live and die for.”
Though his fandom dates back to the days of Chuck Noll, Dogg is a big supporter of the Steelers’ third head coach in 54 years. “I think Coach Tomlin was a great transformation from Coach (Bill) Cowher,” he said. “It was just the same amount of intensity with a great work ethic and a desire to want to win and keep up the Steelers prestige that goes on around here. He was the perfect fit as far as a coach to come in and fill in the shoes for Cowher.”