Miller retires
Heath Miller retires as the Steelers’ all-time leader in receptions (592), receiving yards (6,569) and touchdowns (45) among tight ends.
Associated Press
Heath Miller played 11 seasons with the Steelers and his 592 receptions are sixth-most for tight ends in NFL history.
Heath Miller missed just eight games in his 11-year career.
PITTSBURGH – With a typical lack of fanfare, tight end Heath Miller announced his retirement Friday, ending an 11-year-career with the Steelers that coincided with one of the most successful periods in team history.
Miller, one of the most popular Steelers of the past two decades, is the team’s all-time leader in receptions (592), receiving yards (6,569) and touchdowns (45) among tight ends. He also ranks sixth in yards from scrimmage (6,577). Miller is one of only four players in Pittsburgh history with 500 career receptions, and one of five players with 6,000 yards and 40 receiving touchdowns.
A first-round draft pick in 2005 from the University of Virginia, Miller was a key component of teams that played in three Super Bowls, winning two.
“Heath Miller was as great a combination of character and football player as I have ever been around,” said Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin. “Heath helped us win many games, including two Super Bowl championships, while also being an important part of our community. We want to thank Heath for his contributions and wish he, (wife) Katie and the kids nothing but the best.”
His departure leaves quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, linebacker James Harrison and long-snapper Greg Warren as the only remaining members of the Steelers’ last three Super Bowl teams.
Respected on and off the field for his quiet leadership, Miller leaves a void in the Steelers’ locker room.
Steelers general manager Kevin Colbert used Miller as an example earlier this week when discussing potential draft picks and whether they can be “too nice.”
“Art Rooney, Jr., and I still have his postcard in my office. He said, ‘Don’t mistake kindness for weakness,'” Colbert said. “I don’t think that’s the case. You can be a good person and be a good player, a great player. If you talk to Heath Miller, then you don’t get that edgy kind of feel when you talk to him one-on-one, but I think there’s a huge difference when he hits the field. I think high-character guys can be great players.”
Miller was a two-time Pro Bowl player and the Steelers’ MVP in 2012. He is one only 12 tight ends in NFL history with 6,000 career receiving yards. His 592 receptions are the sixth-most all time at the position.
“On behalf of the entire Steelers organization and Steelers Nation around the world, I would like to congratulate and thank Heath for his many contributions to the Steelers,” said team president Art Rooney II. “The chants of ‘Heeeath!’ will be missed at Heinz Field and around the entire NFL. Heath is the most accomplished tight end in team history and his efforts will not soon be forgotten. We wish his entire family the best in his retirement, and we thank them for being part of the Steelers for 11 great years.”
Despite his pass-catching ability, the Steelers valued him as much for his blocking as what he did as a receiver.
In an era where many tight ends are nothing more than bulked-up wide receivers, Miller was a throwback.
“Heath doesn’t get enough credit. The guy goes out there and blocks his butt off, does all the dirty work that people might not see. I’ve never seen him complain,” said Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown. “I’ve never seen him worry about anything. He just always goes out there and does his job to the best of his ability. Those are the kind of guys you want to have on your team. He’s extremely unselfish.”
Miller was a high school quarterback who transitioned to tight end early in his college career. He eventually won the John Mackey Award as college football’s best tight end before entering the 2005 NFL draft. A sports hernia injury kept Miller from working out for NFL teams, much to the good fortune of the Steelers, who selected him at the end of the first round.
“We pay attention and want to know how big and fast a guy is, but that’s not always the case,” Colbert said. “Go back to Heath. We never timed him in a 40(-yard dash), because he was coming off sports hernia surgery. So we never knew.”
They quickly found out as Miller became a starter from Day 1 in his rookie season. Miller played in 168 games, missing only eight games in his career. Included in that stretch was a streak of 110 consecutive games with at least one reception that ended in a loss at Kansas City last season.
“Those things, they are going to end sooner or later,” Miller said at the time. “It bothered me more that we didn’t play well enough to win the game, and I didn’t play as well as I would have liked.”
Miller was to earn $4 million in the final season of his current contract but retirement will clear that money off the Steelers’ salary cap figures.
Miller’s departure leaves with a hole at tight end. Pittsburgh selected Jesse James in the fifth round of last year’s draft and still have veteran Matt Spaeth under contract. The only other tight end on the roster is Xavier Grimble, who spent last season on the practice squad.
“He’s the consummate good guy,” Spaeth said of Miller. “He’s a great teammate, a great husband, a great father. He’s just great in all aspects of life. For me, coming in and being around a guy like that, I wonder what I would have been like if I’d have been around someone who was the total opposite to learn from and look up to.
“I’m just thankful I had a guy like Heath to look up to in many aspects, not just football.”