The Pittsburgh Steelers are gearing up for an eventful offseason. After getting a good look at the talent on hand at the 2025 Senior Bowl, the front office and coaching staff will soon make preparations for the NFL Combine and free agency.
This is the calm before the storm. Over the next few weeks, Pittsburgh could cut ties with cap casualties to create more salary cap space and begin their search for a quarterback who will lead this team in 2025.
In the latest Steelers news, the NFL officially announces an international game for Pittsburgh, and T.J. Watt comes up short during the NFL Honors ceremony.
Steelers will be 'home' team in 2025 Ireland game
The Pittsburgh Steelers are coming home! The worst-kept secret in the NFL is now official. Over the past two years, it has been rumored that the Steelers will play in Ireland in 2025. Now the announcement has been made official.
The Steelers will act as the 'home' team in Dublin, Ireland for their international game this year.
Seo linn, go mBaile Átha Cliath!☘️
— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) February 7, 2025
We will be playing in the @NFL's first-ever regular season game in Dublin, Ireland in 2025. @AerLingus #NFLDublinGame | 📝: https://t.co/wGmzwlCQdy pic.twitter.com/mGYu1sf0mO
The NFL UK & Ireland account on X released an exciting teaser video for the event that included a date on the NFL calendar. The Steelers will play in Week 4 at 9:30 a.m. Eastern Time. The away opponent for this contest has not yet been released.
Ar Aghaidh Linn 🇮🇪☘️
— NFL UK & Ireland (@NFLUKIRE) February 7, 2025
The NFL is coming to Dublin, Ireland and the @steelers are the designated team! pic.twitter.com/kpAemsOUvc
The Rooney family has strong Irish roots, so it's not surprising to see that the Pittsburgh Steelers will be the home team for this highly-anticipated international contest. Mike Tomlin's team will arrive early in Dublin for festivities in the week leading up to the game.
T.J. Watt finishes 4th in DPOY voting at NFL Honors
If you were holding out hope that T.J. Watt would win his second Defensive Player of the Year award in 2024, you can exhale now. While Watt was the frontrunner for the award for most of the season, his odds crumbled down the stretch (just like the Pittsburgh Steelers).
On February 6 during the NFL Honors ceremony, Denver Broncos cornerback Pat Surtain II was handed the DPOY award after a strong 2024 campaign. Surtain earned 26 first-place votes (330 vote points) compared to just three first-place votes for Watt (114 vote points).
Watt's underwhelming production, highlighted by just 11.5 sacks, wasn't enough to catch the eye of Associated Press voters. When you combine this with the collapse of the Steelers late in the season and an underperforming defense, it wasn't hard to see why he fell short of DPOY honors this year.
Russell Wilson reportedly not wanted back by the Steelers
In a recent quote from Dejan Kovacevic of DK Pittsburgh Sports, the Steelers writer explains that the team does not want Russell Wilson back for the 2025 season.
“I'll keep this short and very much to the point: Russell Wilson's not wanted by the Steelers," Kovacevic said. "Like, at all.”
This comes shortly after Jay Glazer sat down with NBC Sports' Fantasy Football Happy Hour during Radio Row when he explained that he believes we will 'see a new start for Russell somewhere.'
Early signs seem to indicate that Wilson will not be part of the future plan in Pittsburgh. Though Wilson started his 2024 campaign strong after taking over in Week 7, his team finished the season losing five straight games while averaging 14 points per contest (including the playoffs). There could be a new starter at the helm at QB in Pittsburgh this year.