Why Terrell Edmunds’ new rap song should concern Steelers fans

Terrell Edmunds is the latest Steelers to be thrown around social media conversation for something not related to football.

According to a Twitter announcement by DMV (@DmvMusicPlug), Steelers safety Terrell Edmunds has broken through as a to-be rapping sensation with his new song titled “We Ride.” To hopefully no surprise, there was a noticeable amount of criticism targeted at this endeavor. However, some have also appeared to hold a “you do you” mentality when it came to Edmunds merely doing something that he wanted to do. Let’s not act like he is the first professional athlete from both past and present to ever take part in a field such as music production.

But nonetheless, upon first viewing the release hype, I got a sense of annoyance out of the whole project. Which is strange, because typically I acknowledge that whatever these individuals indulge in their spare times is none of my business. In all honesty, I blame my reaction to the news of this song on the previous instances of social clout potentially outweighing the game of football for NFL talents, particularly on the Pittsburgh roster.

In recent memory, media platforms such as TikTok have been associated with Steelers wide receivers JuJu Smith-Schuster and Chase Claypool amongst internet profiles almost as much as the Steel City’s franchise itself. When many onlooking fans (myself included) believe that Pittsburgh can perform better on the field than they did in their last season, that is not a realization that we want to see made.

As I previously stated, Terrell can do whatever his heart desires off the field, same thing goes with JuJu and Chase. The only problem is that such activities should not pose a threat to their quality of performance on the field. This is not a “stick to football” rant. Even if that was my take, I certainly would not be sharing it. All I am saying is that the National Football League and these players’ tenures in it are what brings home the bacon, much more than TikTok videos and a rap song. When they have spent years and years of their young lives focusing on football, is that not what their top priority should be?

Now despite all of my evident skepticism with what this new side gig could unleash, I do sincerely wish Edmunds all the best with it. As doubtful as it may sound by this point, I am going to refrain from being too critical of his decision. The reason for this is that at the end of the day, neither I nor anybody else knows if this up and coming rap career will actually have a negative effect on Terrell’s gameplay. In my opinion, TikTok has not greatly impacted JuJu’s performance, and I would say the same for Claypool’s. The fear comes in when it takes the drive away from the game. While there have appeared to be instances of that over time, it has not gone too far quite yet. Let’s just hope that it stays that way.