Steelers news and commentary from Wednesday, February 28th

Welcome to the Terrible Towel Tales, where we’ll highlight some of the latest stories permeating Steelers media for your reading pleasure every Monday through Saturday. In today’s news…

Steelers OC Receives High Praise at NFL Combine | Noah Strackbein, All Steelers

Atlanta Falcons general manager Terry Fontenot was asked about Smith and his new position with the Steelers and had nothing but positive reviews about Pittsburgh’s new play-caller.

“Yeah, love Arthur Smith and we spent three years together and we were like brothers and we had a really collaborative relationship,” Fontenot. “Love Arthur, love his family and we’re rooting for him going to Pittsburgh. And look, Arthur is, if you spend any time with him, you can tell right away, he’s a smart guy and all he’s worried about is making that football team better. And so, I’ve gotten to talk to coach Tomlin over the last few weeks too now being with Raheem and the relationship he has with Mike Tomlin, but I know they’re gonna have a really good relationship and they’re gonna do everything they can do to make that team as good as they can.”

Steelers Face Uphill Climb if They Want Jaylon Johnson | Nick Farabaugh, Steelers Now

The Pittsburgh Steelers expressed interest in Bears cornerback Jaylon Johnson at the trade deadline. They were in on him until the last minute, pulling back only because they could not agree on draft compensation with Chicago. Now, Johnson could be franchise-tagged by the Bears, but general manager Ryan Poles hopes to extend Johnson if they can.

“Cash flows are strong. Guarantees are strong. The term is ‘strong’ for him,” Poles said about Johnson. “At his age, there’s a really good opportunity for him to go back to the market again and continue to earn money and play well, and hopefully that’s with the Bears for a long period of time. I think there is really good space for us to find the middle ground. Again, we always have the tag to use. But I really would like to get something done long term.

Steelers Could Target Big Name DL Free Agents | Stephen Thompson, All Steelers

“The Steelers should be able to add a veteran stud defensive lineman,” Kaboly wrote. “Cameron Heyward is turning 35 this year and coming off an injury, and Larry Ogunjobi will be 30 and hasn’t lived up to his contract. Throwing money at Christian Wilkins or D.J. Reader might be doable.”

Reader, a standout interior linemen with the Bengals for the past four seasons, was the fifth-highest paid defensive lineman during the 2023 season, brining in $13,250,000 in the final year of a four-year, $53 million contract he signed prior to the 2020 season. Wilkins played on a fifth-year option worth $10,753,000 in 2023.