All you need to know about Steelers rookie tight end Pat Freiermuth is the team was willing to draft him in the first round, had running back Najee Harris not been on the board.

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The curtain goes up Saturday on the 2021 version of Ben Roethlisberger and the Steelers’ new-look offense. The Steelers' third preseason game vs. the Detroit Lions at Heinz Field will be the closest thing to regular-season action until the real game begins in September.

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How long can the T.J. Watt waiting game go on before it short-circuits the Steelers' preparation for the all-important 2021 season?

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It’s happening. Former first-round draft pick Dwayne Haskins is beating out “mediocre” Mason Rudolph for the Steelers’ backup role to Big Ben Roethlisberger. But more it’s even more significant than that. A long-shot quarterback succession plan could be falling into place for the Steelers.

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The NFL is imposing some strict new rules for unvaccinated players, who are now being marked by those telltale yellow wristbands. While the Steelers are said to have a high overall rate of vaccinated players, Najee Harris was recently spotted wearing the wristband.

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Ben Roethlisberger is plucking a page out of Tom Brady’s playbook -- and his cookbook – in order to serve up a Steelers’ Super Bowl run. Word is Roethlisberger is on a new reducing plan to increase Pittsburgh’s chances of success this season. Ben’s determined dieting comes as 18-year Steelers’ veteran QB is said to be highly motivated to get into tiptop shape to prove all his carping critics wrong. In fact, they’re saying Big Ben’s diet is even stricter than the Father Time-reversing food plan Tom Brady is on.

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Steelers’ linebacker Devin Bush is definitely not getting a dead cat bounce on recent controversial posts to his Twitter account. Instead, cat-loving Steelers’ fans have their claws out for the once-loved linebacker. This, after Bush quote-tweeted a very twisted video of a cat rescue gone wrong. The video, which was posted by another account and has since been deleted, shows two people trying to rescue a cat many floors above the ground and it fails. Instead of tragic, Bush apparently found it all very, very funny. What Bush found funny, cat lovers across Steelers Nation found very, very disturbing.

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An NFL team’s offensive line is supposed to be a barrier, all right. A bulwark to protect the quarterback and a bulldozer to open lanes for the running game. But last year, the Steelers’ running game ground to a halt and Big Ben Roethlisberger was rushed into releasing his flurry of pop-gun short passes in mere nanoseconds. Much of it was because the one-time Steelers’ strong suit of its veteran offensive line had fallen into precipitous decline in Pittsburgh. This sad state of Steelers affairs stood in stark contrast to the glory days when Big Ben had plenty of All-Pros upfront. The line took care of him, and Ben lavished his linemen with high praise, plenty of steak dinners, and some pretty expensive gifts over the years. When Maurkice Pouncey’s first snap of the Browns’ playoff game sailed over Big Ben’s head, we all knew changes were coming. But did the Steelers really have to change everything, trying to install virtually a whole new offensive line on the fly in a single offseason? The patchwork of protection and run-blocking now stands as the Steelers’ biggest barrier to 2021 success.

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It used to be the most popular person in Pittsburgh was the backup quarterback. Now it’s the third-string or even the fourth-string QB. That depends on where Steelers’ reclamation project Dwayne Haskins lands in the passing pecking order. It’s still not clear following mini-camp just how well Haskins is doing in his Steelers’ second chance. This, after having been cast off from the Washington Football Team last season. The now 24-year-old turned his one-year starting at Ohio State into a passing prodigy pedigree that saw him taken at pick 15 in the 2019. Haskins still-unproven potential is now draft fanning the furnace-hot hype flames of Steelers Nation. Pittsburgh is a magical place where unproven passers are empty vessels into which Steelers’ fans pour all their hopes and dreams. Without doubt, Haskins, himself, is dreaming about Big Ben Roethlisberger’s soon-to-be-vacated starting job. One sports radio host is even comparing Haskins to Brett Favre. At best, he remains a work in progress. He has a rocket right arm. But one year’s work at Ohio State doesn’t make you a passing prodigy in Pittsburgh. But until we see Haskins either flash brilliance or expose his deficiencies on the field, he’ll remain the highest hope and the biggest hype behind Big Ben. That’s the way it always is in Steelers Nation. We explore all the “best-of” and “worst-of “Haskins in this even-handed edition of the Steelers Update Podcast. So listen up, Steelers fans. And don’t miss my PennLive column on this great Haskins debate Thursday morning on PennLive. As usual, it’ll be packed with all the best memes bringing this football fracas in the Steel City to life.

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The Steelers and their new coordinator Matt Canada are in the midst of installing an innovative offense built around lots of tempo and pre-snap motion, a plethora of running plays, hordes of play action, and above all, finding the mismatches that allow Steelers’ personnel to excel. Canada will try to put Big Ben Roethlisberger back under center, then on the move with play action to set up both the run and the long-ball pass. The offense should keep veteran receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster in the slot, where his size gives him a leg up on getting those hard yards on difficult downs. At least this the way the new Steelers’ offense should be shaping up. But both an aging Roethlisberger and a contract-hungry Smith-Schuster could prove major roadblocks to Matt Canada’s offensive overhaul. Between Big Ben’s physical limitations and JuJu’s money-motivated demands to play outside, Canada’s hands seem tied before he even begins to tinker with the Steelers attack. But there’s one huge Steelers’ X-factor that will remake the Steelers’ offense, regardless of Ben or JuJu. His name is Najee Harris, and he’s poised to explode. The team’s entire 2021 attack is being built around this tree-trunk-legged rocket. Pittsburgh Priority No. 1. is rejuvenating the moribund running game. The mandate comes from none other than Steelers’ president and owner Art Rooney II. Clearly, Canada aims to deliver. His not-so-secret weapon will be a rookie running back named Najee, who also happens to be the Steelers’ biggest offensive star. This is how Canada – and the Steelers – win, regardless of any roadblocks from Big Ben or JuJu. At least that’s the way I see it. For more Pittsburgh perspective, I’ve rounded up the views of plenty of other Steelers’ scribes as they spied the Steelers’ mini-camp practices this week at Heinz Field. It’s all here in this anything-but-mini edition of your Steelers Update Podcast. And be sure to check out my PennLive column first thing Thursday. It will be packed, as always, with plenty of memes bringing this week’s Steelers’ saga to life. Now, listen up and check out the podcast! 

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