PITTSBURGH -- With coach Mike Tomlin recently calling the departures of receiver Antonio Brown and running back Le'Veon Bell a "cleansing" of sorts, it highlights a new era of Pittsburgh Steelers football.
But that word doesn't quite cover it all. Tomlin addressed another layer to all this much earlier, from the NFL owners meetings: mainly, a change in on-field ownership.
Young, ascending players will be emboldened.
"No disrespect to those guys or what they’ve been able to do over the course of their careers, particularly in Pittsburgh, but we had a Pro Bowl wideout on our team who’s still on our team from last year. We had a Pro Bowl running back last year who was on our team who’s still on our team," said Tomlin, referring to wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster and running back James Conner. "So, we’ve got good players. We’ve got good, quality players specifically at those positions. Will we need additional plays from other people? Certainly, but you have that discussion and make those statements year in and year out, and we do."
Starting with OTAs, which begin Tuesday, the Steelers hope to offset the loss of major talent with improvements in chemistry, depth and expanded roles.
The leadership growth of Smith-Schuster and Conner in year three will be one of many pivotal storylines, with two-thirds of the now-defunct Killer B's trio in different locker rooms.
The only "B" left, quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, likely will address the local media on Tuesday from the team facility for the first time since Week 17 of last season. Good thing Roethlisberger led the league in passing last year, because there's serious ground to cover: From Brown's departure and criticisms of his former quarterback, ex-teammates taking shots at the QB and his new contract.
To be sure, it's hardly a guarantee Roethlisberger and younger offensive weapons can replicate the production of Brown and Bell, perennial All-Pros who broke multiple records together.
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Bell?....Bell's production was huge last year!
Seriously I understand to replace Brown's production, but Bell ... c'mon, he was not even with us last year!
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Originally Posted by Dwinsgames
