The Pittsburgh Steelers have secured a new target for whoever their quarterback will be next season.
The Steelers struck a one-year, $2 million deal with veteran wide receiver Robert Woods on Monday, according to the NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport. He’ll join an already solid wide receivers room in Pittsburgh that includes both George Pickens and DK Metcalf, who was traded to Pittsburgh in March.
Advertisement
Woods had 203 receiving yards and didn’t score last season, his second with the Texans. Woods will now enter his 13th season in the league this fall, and the Steelers will mark his fifth NFL team. The Buffalo Bills first selected Woods with the No. 41 overall pick in the 2013 NFL Draft out of USC, and then he spent time with both the Los Angeles Rams and Tennessee Titans before landing in Houston.
Woods won’t be the top guy in Pittsburgh, but he’ll be a solid veteran presence in the locker room that is preparing to work around a new quarterback this fall. The Steelers have been linked to Aaron Rodgers repeatedly this offseason, but the former Green Bay Packers star has yet to make a decision about his future — whether that’s in Pittsburgh or retiring altogether. It’s expected that Rodgers will make his decision in the near future, but there isn’t a clear timeline available.
“That’s certainly a possibility,” Steelers coach Mike Tomlin told NFL Network on Saturday about Rodgers joining the team, via ESPN. “I’m not going to forecast the ifs and whens regarding not only him, but any other potential free agent. We’ve had really productive talks with him, and I’ve enjoyed having productive talks with him and getting to know him.”
The Steelers selected Ohio State quarterback Will Howard in the sixth round of the NFL Draft last weekend. He’ll now join both Mason Rudolph and Skylar Thompson in Pittsburgh, though the team is very much without a clear starter. Justin Fields and Russell Wilson split starting duties last season, but both have since signed elsewhere. Howard threw for 4,010 yards and 35 touchdowns while leading the Buckeyes to a national championship last season.
Advertisement
“It’s not a matter of what happens out on the field or if I play right away, it’s about getting better and it’s about learning,” Howard said, via ESPN. “And whoever is in the room with me, whoever is there competing with us, I just cannot wait to delve into this situation and to really give my all to this team, because that’s how I do things, man. I don’t do things half in, I go all in, and I have every expectation that this next step with the Pittsburgh Steelers is going to be amazing for me.”
Whether it’s Howard, Rodgers or someone else in the starting role in Pittsburgh this fall remains to be seen. In the meantime, a move to add a receiver like Woods should only help make that transition easier for whoever is running the offense in a few months.
Read the full article here