The 2015 NFL Draft has come and gone and your Pittsburgh Steelers 2015 draft class is preparing to enter rookie minicamp. There are just a few more phases of the offseason training program before the team breaks in June before training camp. While the new Steelers get acclimated with the Steel City we’ll be busy looking for mentions of your Black & Gold so we’ve got you covered. Here’s your Steelers Morning Huddle for Wednesday, May 13th.
Buckeye Connection
It feels almost as if the Steelers draft a Buckeye every friggin year. I thought for a while it was the Dick LeBeau connection because he was a proud Ohio State grad but this year, as Teresa Varley points out, the Steelers reached out for another Buckeye, cornerback Doran Grant.
Grant joins Ryan Shazier, Will Allen, Mike Adams and Cameron Heyward, all who came from Ohio State to the Steelers. Grant explained that he was instantly welcomed by his former Ohio State teammates once he was drafted by the Steelers in the fourth round of the 2015 NFL Draft. When Grant got to Pittsburgh he was instantly greeted by Shazier.
"“As soon as I walked into the locker room I saw him. Cam Heyward texted me right after I got picked. Ryan face timed me right after I got off with Coach Mike Tomlin. It was great. Ryan and I are like brothers. We were in the same class at Ohio State. We have been close. It’s been great to be with him.” – Doran Grant"
The life of a backup
Bruce Gradkowski’s got a pretty sweet gig as the Steelers’ backup quarterback. Let’s be honest, Ben Roethlisberger isn’t leaving the field unless they’re carting him off so he pretty much just gets to hang out on the sidelines, look interested in team meetings, and toss a football around every now and then.
To break up the monotony of his world on the football field, Gradkowski has branched out to provide backup services in different areas as well.
Had a great time shooting this funny skit for @AOLSports check it out http://t.co/d1Vbt3DTOG
— Bruce Gradkowski (@bgradkowski5) May 12, 2015
You can’t fix stupid
There were plenty of reactions from Monday’s announcement that New England Patriots QB Tom Brady will be suspended for the first four games of the 2015 season and the team would be fined $1 million. None maybe quite as spirited, shall we say, as fellow suspendee LeGarrette Blount.
THIS IS ABSOLUTELY RIDICULOUS!!! SMH 😡 #PATSNATION STAND UP!!!!!
— LeGarrette Blount (@LG_Blount) May 11, 2015
Nothing gets that point across that you’re mad quite like the “SMH” doesn’t it? Blount will be spending the first game of the season on the couch for his part in violating the league’s substance abuse policy but urged for #PatsNation (is that even a thing?) to stand up. Not sure what they would stand up for but one fan took those words to heart and started a Gofundme page to help the struggling Patriots raise the money for their $1 million fine.
The New England Patriots are estimated by Forbes to be worth $2.6 billion and Patriots owner Robert Kraft as an estimated net worth of $4.3 billion. So yeah, every penny helps. But still, simple arithmetic will show you that if the Patriots were fined $1 million and Brady serves a four-game suspension costing him a little under $2 million, the Pats are actually making around $900K off of this whole thing. I guess Pats fans aren’t known to be great thinkers.
Next: Steelers Brown Spared the Madden Curse
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