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By Rowan Fisher-Shotton
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The Pittsburgh Steelers are entering what will likely be Aaron Rodgers' final NFL season.
T.J. Watt will turn 32 in October, and Cameron Heyward just turned 37, with both likely future Hall of Famers. And Super Bowl winner Mike McCarthy is the head coach. The time is now for this Steelers team to make a run.
Defense has always been Pittsburgh's identity, and even with an aging Watt and Heyward, that won't change. Watt has posted 37.5 sacks since 2023, the fifth most in the NFL, and Heyward earned second-team All-Pro honors last season after tallying 78 combined tackles, nine tackles for loss, six pass deflections, and 3.5 sacks.
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But as Steelers training camp opens, the defensive unit is already missing two key contributors: both Jalen Ramsey and Joey Porter Jr. have landed on the active/physically unable to perform (PUP) list.
Ramsey suffered a knee injury in minicamp and is expected to miss "a couple of weeks," but won't require surgery. Meanwhile, Porter was unexpectedly placed on the PUP after reportedly aggravating his back during a morning mobility workout.
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The Steelers traded for Ramsey, an eight-time Pro Bowler and Super Bowl champion with the Rams, last offseason. And his first year in Pittsburgh was quietly productive. He finished with 88 combined tackles, four tackles for loss, eight pass breakups, three sacks, and an interception. He played the third most snaps (1,104) of any player at his position last year.
Porter was the Steelers' No. 32 overall pick in the second round of the 2023 NFL Draft, and across his first three seasons in Pittsburgh, he has posted 165 combined tackles, three tackles for loss, 31 pass deflections, and three interceptions. His 11 pass breakups last season were the seventh-most among all corners.
Both players are central to the Steelers' Super Bowl hopes and will be key storylines to monitor throughout training camp and preseason.
Being on the PUP means that Pittsburgh can activate either one of them before the Aug. 30 roster cut date. If they don't by then, though, they'll be placed on the reserve/PUP list and forced to miss at least the first four games of the 2026 season.
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