Steelers news: Heyward added to Pro Bowl roster, Pat Freiermuth tells all, and more

Pittsburgh Steelers defensive tackle Cameron Heyward (97) during AFC practice at ESPN Wide World of Sports. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Pittsburgh Steelers defensive tackle Cameron Heyward (97) during AFC practice at ESPN Wide World of Sports. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Pittsburgh will have another representative in the 2023 NFL Pro Bowl games while Pat Freiermuth opens up about the offense. Here’s the latest Steelers news.

Many football fans are getting ready to plunge head-first into Senior Bowl week as the best college seniors around the nation take the field together in preparation for the 2023 NFL Draft. The focus of the week will be around this, as representatives from every team will be on hand.

While there have been no updates on Brian Flores potentially being poached for a new position, it’s worth noting that he was spotted at the Senior Bowl in full Steelers gear. Here’s the latest Steelers news you need to know.

Steelers news

After T.J. Watt backed out of the Senior Bowl, it appeared that Minkah Fitzpatrick was going to be the only representative in black and gold this year. However, a new name was added to the AFC Pro Bowl roster: Cameron Heyward.

Heyward will take the place of Chris Jones in the 2023 Pro Bowl games as Jones and the Chiefs prepare for the Super Bowl against the Philadelphia Eagles. This will mark five straight years that Heyward has been to the Pro Bowl. It’s hard to argue that he wasn’t deserving either, and many thought he was initially snubbed after recording 10.5 sacks, 14 tackles for a loss, and 22 quarterback hits this year, per ESPN stats.

More Steelers news

The other Steelers news circulating yesterday will be more enticing to many fans. Second-year tight end, Pat Freiermuth joined former QB Ben Roethlisberger on his podcast to shoot the breeze. Surprisingly, Freiermuth really opened up about how simple Matt Canada’s offense was. Here’s what he had to say, via the Footballhin Podcast:

"“I tell Kenny this all the time. It’s so different because we didn’t have hots. With you, how many times did we have a concept and you looked at [Diontae Johnson] and give a signal and it’d be a twelve-yard completion. We didn’t have that this year… Instead of looking at you the whole time, we were looking at the coverage. Like, I know what I’m supposed to do. It was almost too slow at first because you weren’t anticipating. With [Ben], we could see Cover Zero and you’d give us a Ram or something.”"

It’s probably not good that a player who just finished his second NFL season is talking about how simple the ‘slow’ the offense is. This is a telltale sign that Canada dulled things down for Kenny Pickett and company in 2022, but it certainly doesn’t sound like it’s the players’ preference. If this is true, it’s what we feared all along. Pickett must have more flexibility to adjust the play under center.

NFL news

Senior Bowl practices kicked off yesterday, and some players already turned heads. Ohio State offensive tackle Dawand Jones wowed with remarkable weigh-in numbers. His combination of height, weight, hand size, arm length, and wingspan were among the most impressive we have ever seen entering the NFL.

In addition to Jones, Notre Dame pass rusher Isaiah Forksey had some very impressive rushes in one-on-one drills. He’s a name to watch early in the draft. Here’s a full look at the Senior Bowl roster this year.

Schedule