The Jig Is Up: Steelers Offseason, Vol. 17, Schedule Release
Recently I was thinking about my time writing about the Pittsburgh Steelers. Throughout my career doing so, I’ve essentially done it all.
Commentary, news, breaking stories, features and even took a stab at simple film room breakdowns.
The one thing I’ve never done is work on just a random thought type format.
I can’t speak for you, the reader, but I am always thinking about writing and the Steelers. Thinking about different aspects of the team and game. Thanks to reading Myron Cope’s biography I decided to put a unique spin on this type of feature.
Now, for the name of the article, anyone who is familiar with the Styx song “Renegade” should know where it came from. If not, this is where it came from…
The jig is up, the news is out
They finally found me
The renegade who had it made
Retrieved for a bounty
Nevermore to go astray
This’ll be the end today of the wanted man
The jig is up…time for some randomness.
Schedule Thoughts
When it comes to looking at the schedule, there are a couple things I take notice right away. I look for the bye week, prime time games, holiday games, short weeks, divisional schedule, and if there is any type of back log, like in 2024, of difficult games.
The fact remains the Steelers being paired up with the NFC North was going to make this schedule a difficult one no matter what, and I think the schedule is rather even when it comes to a lot of the factors mentioned above.
The Steelers don’t play on a holiday.
They only have two short weeks, nothing like the craziness of last season playing on Saturday and then a Wednesday.
The Week 5 bye week stinks, but more on that later.
Ultimately, I think the schedule was rather even and the Steelers will have to come out of the gate quickly to get a good start to the season. That sounds familiar, right?
Schedule Predictions Impossible
I understand we do a way-too-early prediction special every year when the schedule is released, but one thing which became clear to me when we were doing the predictions is how doing so is practically impossible. Why? Because we have no idea who is going to be the quarterback for the team in 2025.
If we knew Aaron Rodgers would be the quarterback this season, predicting the potential outcomes would be easier. Likewise, even if Mason Rudolph was the signal caller this year, we would at least know.
In the meantime, while the entire organization and fan base remains in limbo with the quarterback position, predicting things in 2025 is nearly impossible.
Schedule Release Video
I have to be honest, I think schedule release videos can be both creative and fun. There have been some very memorable schedule release videos around the league, none better than the Tennessee Titans video two years ago, but the Steelers have always struggled with their schedule release videos. The last good schedule release video they had was when Cam Heyward was the protector of the schedule, only to have it released early by Franco Harris.
As for this year’s schedule release video? Well, it was…something.
Check it out below:
BIG FOOTball announcement 👀 @laurelhighlands
📺: Schedule release coverage on NFLN pic.twitter.com/qTXpkpyjEH
— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) May 15, 2025
AR2 Drops Knowledge
Sometimes as fans we make assumptions about things surrounding the NFL and the Steelers. Shockingly, when Art Rooney II met with the Steelers official website after the draft he dropped some knowledge on fans.
He talked about how the thought of the NFL allowing teams to choose whether they want their bye week after an international game, or if they wanted to have it some other time during the season. According to Rooney, that isn’t factual, and he made it seem the NFL didn’t really give the Steelers much of a choice regarding their Week 5 bye week.
The early bye week is never something people celebrate, but coming off a game in Ireland it might be needed.
AR2 speaks on the #Steelers 2025 schedule.
MORE: https://t.co/F5JcCI4HzT
— Jeff Hartman (@JHartman_PIT) May 15, 2025
Throwback Thoughts
Last week there were rumors of the Steelers getting a new helmet, and even writers for the Steelers official website scoffed at the idea and thought it was a ridiculous rumor. Well, Art Rooney II announced the team won’t just be getting an alternate helmet in 2025, but also another throwback. Expected to be debuted in July, typically during training camp, the Steelers will be rocking the throwbacks and their new helmet likely in prime time games this upcoming season.
I’m okay with a throwback, but I’m also not one who likes crazy changes either. For the longest time all I wanted was the Steelers helmet to have the grey facemasks they wore during the first two Super Bowl wins of the 1970s. When fans get on ChatGPT and ask them to find alternates/throwbacks, some of them are absolutely hideous. What makes the Steelers great is they never stray far from the center line, and I hope that trend continues with these new throwbacks and helmets.
To see Will Howard, or not?
I was listening to the Steelers Fix podcast with Jeremy Betz and Andrew Wilbar the other day and they were talking about whether it would be good or bad to see Will Howard play in the regular season this year.
They both brought up good thoughts regarding the situation, and I think it’s safe to say if we see an extended look at Will Howard in 2025 things have gone very wrong for the Steelers. Nonetheless, getting a look at Howard would help the Steelers decide whether they have something in the 6th Round pick, or if the plan to get a 1st Round quarterback in 2026 remains the focus.
Ultimately, the hope is Howard doesn’t see the field. Not that I don’t want to see him play, but I also realize if Howard gets the nod the Steelers season is likely off the rails. If he plays and plays well, then the Steelers will have a tough decision to make in 2026…
Are the Steelers cheap??
This is likely to be my Steelers Burning Question this afternoon, but I have to ask that if when George Pickens called the Steelers organization cheap, was he wrong? In Pickens comment, which has since been deleted, he hinted at the team being cheap in paying players, stating they never want to stack years.
To that, I disagree. The Steelers aren’t rolling over massive amounts of salary cap space year after year. Instead, they typically pay up to the cap year-in and year-out.
As for the facilities, there might be a something to Pickens’ comments. The fact the team didn’t have some basic amenities like a sauna and steam room was certainly telling. You can have an older facility, and you can even share a facility, but it can be filled with the best of the best in this regard.
It’s a tough question to answer considering we don’t truly know what the Steelers do, and don’t, spend money on, but the roster certainly isn’t one of them. For that, we truly do know how much they spend on a yearly basis.
Player Spotlight
I wanted to start doing a spotlight segment every week during the offseason of a lesser known player who donned the black-and-gold for a time.
This week’s player: Mewelde Moore
Moore was selected by the Minnesota Vikings with the 119th overall pick in the fourth round of the 2004 NFL draft out of Tulane University.
In 2008 Moore signed a three-year contract to join the Pittsburgh Steelers. Moore was given the opportunity to start after Willie Parker and Rashard Mendenhall were injured. Although he was a backup for most of the year, he racked up 588 yards and 5 touchdowns rushing and 320 yards and one touchdown receiving. He also has one passing touchdown.
At the end of the 2010 season, Moore and the Steelers appeared in Super Bowl XLV against the Green Bay Packers. He had three rushes for 13 yards and had one kickoff return for 11 yards in the 31–25 loss.
Moore finished his career after one year with the Indianapolis Colts in 2012.
On a personal note, Moore took 24 credits in spring 2004 so he could graduate on time with a double major in Finance and Accounting from Tulane University. Moore was noted for winning mathematics contests before matriculating at Tulane. Moore is active in the Twin Cities community with the National Football Foundation, United Way, and Memorial Blood Center. Moore was a recipient of the Community Service Award for Business Ethics at the Tulane Council of Entrepreneurs and Business School Council Awards Gala in spring 2003. Moore was a member of the National Honor Society at Belaire High School in Baton Rouge. He also supports youth education through his Mewelde Moore Knowledge First Foundation. Moore regularly visits his alma mater, Tulane, for fundraising events.
Check out the latest “Let’s Ride” podcast in the player below:
That does it…the jig is up, they’ve finally found me. This renegade is outta here…be sure to stay tuned to SCN for the latest news and notes surrounding the Steelers as they prepare for the rest of offseason leading up to training camp.
*Disclaimer* I just skimmed this, but it’s not a foregone conclusion that seeing Howard = bad for the Steelers. There is a scenario where he blows the doors off the other QB’s and earns the start – if there’s no Rogers (fingers still crossed) this could be a lot more likely than I think anyone is thinking.
It’s a go for no AARod regardless, IMO.
Okay, as to schedule release videos, my preference is for ’23’s, with Zach Gentry. I hope he is doing well.
I liked JoeBwankenobi’s idea for helmet design as it is unique. Doubt the upcoming one will be as innovative.
Freely offered player spotlight suggestions; Jim Sweeney and Terry O’Shea. Couple of guys from the old nelghborhood. David Trout–he’s a good human being, though not-so-good at placekicking. Pretty good at kickoffs, though. Sauls is far better.
JoeB’s faster than me at typing, AGAIN.
The only thing I will say about Will Howard is that it depends on why he plays. He could come in and show that this guy is ready and he will be a NFL Starting QB. That seems unlikely but not unprecedented. If he plays because QB1 gets hurt or is ineffective and QB2 stinks up the joint, then it is likely not a good thing because by that time you are probably into the end of the season, and I am not sure what that really shows sometimes.
The plan was to never play BR#7 as a rookie, but I think they knew pretty early on that he had the game to be out there. It would be awesome if they knew Howard was a starter level player after camp. The thing with rookies, you have to know they will make mistakes and there will be bumps in road.
I have no idea who Howard is but I wouldn’t fear seeing him in 2025.
Yes.
I never knew about the schedule release videos… I was a bit disappointed to see Heyward as the sasquatch. When I saw that dip and rip through move I thought maybe it was TJ Watt, as that would have made for a Triple Wisconsin Badger release–but instead they went with the good ole Buckeye–which one can never go wrong with–(I’m biased being from OH) Here’s hoping they found a gem in Will Howard at QB, another Buckeye and Chester County (SE PA native) Fun fact about Will that I learned from Gruden’s QB school with him, his parents developed the Baby Merlin Sleep Sack–perhaps I should send his parents a thank you note for the nights of sleep I got with my newborn with the Baby Merlin Sleep sack.