With Derrick Harmon on IR, the Steelers gave rookie Gabe Rubio his first real crack at game action on Sunday - and he made the most of it. After spending the first four weeks without a helmet, Rubio finally got on the field and delivered in a limited role, logging just 14 snaps but helping the Steelers bottle up the Colts’ run game, especially in short-yardage situations.
What stood out most was how well Rubio held his ground against double teams and how comfortably he worked up and down the line while engaged. That’s not enough to crown him anything just yet, but it was a promising debut. If he keeps this up over the next few weeks, Pittsburgh will at least have a useful problem on its hands.
Jaylen Warren picked up a bigger piece of recognition for his own work against Indianapolis. He was named AFC Offensive Player of the Week, which fits the way he carried himself in that win. Well-deserved.
The quarterback conversation, meanwhile, is already drifting toward the future. Last year’s crop of passers was supposed to give the Steelers a chance to land their franchise guy, but that buzz faded fast.
This year’s class doesn’t feel nearly as flimsy. Dante Moore has had a rough go behind a shaky Oregon line and has also been knocked out, which has limited his playing time.
Drew Mestamaker, the Oklahoma State quarterback, is climbing draft boards and sits as Dan Brugler’s top QB at The Athletic. Trinidad Chambliss is in the mix too, along with Sam Leavitt, CJ Carr and Darian Mensah.
The bigger question, though, is whether the Steelers already believe they have their quarterback of the future in Drew Allar. If they do, the whole lead-up to the 2027 Draft changes.
There’s also been some deadline chatter involving T.J. Watt after his name surfaced on a popular website as a possible trade candidate.
That’s not something to dismiss out of hand, but it only really makes sense if the Steelers were losing and heading nowhere. Right now, that doesn’t look like the situation they’re in.
Nick Herbig has been busy as both a pass rusher and run defender, but he still doesn’t have a sack this season. If he were already sitting on four or five, maybe that Watt discussion would land differently.
At receiver, Pittsburgh may be heading to Tampa with a thin group. The expectation is that the Steelers will have D.K.
Metcalf, Germie Bernard and Kaden Wetjen available, though that may not be the full story. Brandon Smith logged about 16 snaps on Sunday and was the preferred option over Wetjen once Wilson and Ben Skowronek left the game.
Part of that may have simply been tied to how the game was unfolding. Smith is the stronger blocker, and with Jaylen Warren central to the plan, that mattered.
It doesn’t necessarily mean Mike McCarthy will use the same approach against the Bucs.
There’s clearly some wide receiver shopping going on behind the scenes, but a trade doesn’t sound likely.
A few other notes are floating around as well. The President will not be attending Sunday’s game, which matters for the fans, the broadcast and even the coaches’ headsets. Joe Buck and Troy Aikman’s run together on Monday Night Football also sounds like it’s nearing the end, and Jason Kelce is the name this writer would put at the top of the list to replace Aikman.
Acrisure Stadium will get new grass for the November 1st game against the Browns, even though the newer surface was supposed to make that unnecessary. And Keannu Benton has shown up on the injury report this week with an ankle issue.
In Other News...
Steelers Suddenly Have A Receiver Problem They Cant Ignore
A week after the win over the Colts, the Steelers are suddenly short on answers at wide receiver. Injuries have piled up across the room, leaving only three healthy receivers from the original 53-man roster heading into Week 6 and forcing the team to confront a depth problem it cannot simply brush off.
With the Buccaneers up next, the front office is at least being pushed to consider outside help, and the market offers a few familiar names who could plausibly be available. Jauan Jennings, Calvin Ridley, Jerry Jeudy and Brian Thomas all sit in the mix as speculative targets, a reminder that Pittsburgh may need to weigh both the urgency of the moment and the cost of fixing a position group that has suddenly become thin. [Read more 🡒]
Mike Tomlin Still Feels Like A Steeler In One Important Way
Mike Tomlin may no longer be pacing the Steelers sideline, but he still sounds like someone who spent nearly two decades inside the building. After ending his 19-year run as Pittsburghs head coach following the 2025 season, Tomlin has moved into an NFL analyst role, and he recently acknowledged on a podcast that his long association with the franchise still shapes the way he sees it. For a fan base used to hearing his voice around the team every week, that lingering connection is hardly a surprise.
Pittsburgh is now trying to settle in under Mike McCarthy, who has guided the club to a 3-2 start heading into Week 6. The Steelers are still sorting through the early stages of a new coaching era, and Tomlins presence in the media only adds another layer to how the team is being watched from the outside. Even in a different job, he remains tied to the franchise in a way that feels hard to shake. [Read more 🡒]
Steelers Trade Deadline Search Puts One Roster Need In The Spotlight
With the Nov. 10 trade deadline approaching, the Steelers search for help has put wide receiver front and center. Injuries have thinned the position enough to make outside additions worth exploring, and ESPN analysts have already floated a list of possible targets that includes Rashod Bateman, Quentin Johnston, Jauan Jennings and Jerry Jeudy, giving a clearer sense of the type of receiver market Pittsburgh may be forced to work through.
The fit, though, is far from simple. Some of the names come with obvious hurdles, whether it is the challenge of prying a player loose from another roster or the uncertainty around how realistic any deal actually is, and the Steelers also have to weigh how much they want to chase help at a spot that has become such an obvious need. As the deadline gets closer, Pittsburgh appears to be testing the market while knowing the most intriguing options may be the hardest ones to land. [Read more 🡒]