Steelers news: Highest-graded players 2022, Diontae Johnson tweet, and more

Pittsburgh narrowly missed the post-season, but fans are already looking forward to the offseason. Here’s the latest Steelers news following the 2022 season.

It has been an eventful start to the week for NFL fans, as several head coaches and defensive coordinators have already lost their jobs. Sadly, those hoping that Pittsburgh Steelers offensive coordinator, Matt Canada, would be sent packing are going to have to wait a bit longer. In fact, Mike Tomlin reiterated that they weren’t going to make any brash decisions when it comes to anybody’s future with the team at this point in time (which was an expected response).

As the team is one day further removed from the end of the season, the latest Steelers news has us reflecting on the best players from the 2022 season, and of course, you can always count on a little drama from a Pittsburgh wide receiver.

Steelers news

Following the end of the 2022 season, Pro Football Focus recently released their season grades for the best players on the Pittsburgh Steelers this past year.

To the surprise of many, Kenny Pickett ultimately tied Pat Freiermuth as the highest-graded offensive player during the 2022 season. While this may not have exactly been a high bar to clear, Freiermuth was excellent when healthy this season.

Pickett had a rough start to the season but earned a top-three grade at the quarterback position since Week 8. That’s something worth noting as he finishes his rookie season on a high note. Najee Harris, Diontae Johnson, and George Pickens rounded out the top five offensive players for Pittsburgh in 2022.

Defensively, nobody should be shocked to see ‘the big three’ earn the best overall grades on the team this year. Cameron Heyward and Minkah Fitzpatrick topped the list with All-Pro level seasons, while it was impressive that T.J. Watt was able to earn the third-highest grade on the team despite recovering from arthroscopic knee surgery and a pectoral injury that saw him miss the first 8 games of the season. Alex Highsmith and Cameron Sutton were also recognized for their strong performances in 2022.

More Steelers news

On Tuesday, Diontae Johnson made some noise on social media that had fans in a tizzy. Through a tweet, the starting wide receiver seemed to indicate that something big is going to happen in the near future. However, Johnson didn’t speculate as to what it would be.

Some fans quote-tweeted Johnson in hopes that the disappointing wide receiver would be traded early this offseason. Meanwhile, others speculate that his tweet is a reference to an upcoming offensive coordinator change and that Matt Canada will be fired. Still, it’s possible that this tweet wasn’t even football related, and that the receiver just wanted to get a rise out of fans. I guess we will have to wait and see.

NFL news

On January 4th, former NFL running back, Peyton Hillis was hospitalized after saving his children from drowning. As of this morning, Hillis still remains in critical condition but is said to be doing better. Here’s what his uncle, Greg Hillis, had to say, according to Today.com:

"“I just wanted to let everyone know on Razorback Nation that Peyton is doing better. He’s still in intensive care and having some problems with his kidneys and his lungs but the doctors say he is improving.”"

Former Steelers safety, Ryan Clark, took to Twitter and called Hillis a hero for saving his kids from drowning. Just like our hearts have gone out to Damar Hamlin and his family, our thoughts and prayers are with Peyton Hillis right now.