Aug 28, 2020 5 min read

The state’s decision to not permit fans into the stadiums for games at Heinz Field and Lincoln Financial Field during September did not come as a surprise. Gov. Tom Wolf’s administration has been a follower all the way on its response to the coronavirus, largely doing whatever the governors in New York and New Jersey have already done.

And those two states announced previously there won’t be games at New York Jets, New York Giants or Buffalo Bills games this season.

But while the Steelers showed some hope that there will be fans at Heinz Field at some point this season, saying the decision will be reassessed at the end of September, the Eagles were a little more cryptic, saying they won’t be permitted until further notice.

Now, perhaps there are some local politicians to deal with, as well, but it would seem that what would happen on one side of the commonwealth would occur on the other. We’ll see.

Coronavirus numbers have been much worse in Philadelphia than they are in the rest of the state, or Western Pennsylvania in particular. So, maybe the governor would give the OK at some point to the Steelers and not the Eagles. But I doubt it.

For the Steelers, this means that fans won’t get to see Ben Roethlisberger’s return to Heinz Field Sept. 20 – except on TV. And they won’t get to see the Steelers play the Broncos the following week.

After that, we’ll see. But the expectation is that, having seen how the governor has handled things, the Steelers won’t be playing in front of fans at home games until the Eagles are doing so.

n Roethlisberger said this week that his arm strength is all the way back. In fact, it might even be stronger than before.

“One of the practices, last week I wasn’t able to step into it, and I threw a go ball down the left sideline,” Roethlisberger said. “It felt like when it came off my hand it was going to be short, and it ended up making it there in stride. I was pleasantly surprised with how my arm strength has come back to even a little better than it was before.”

Having seen him throw in person, I can attest to that. He’s throwing the ball with plenty of zip.

His accuracy hasn’t always been on target, but that will come. That’s as much because of his layoff and now throwing to players he hasn’t done so with before as anything.

n Steelers general manager Kevin Colbert is always very careful with his words. He never says something he didn’t mean to say.

So, when he said this week the team has to keep in mind the 2021 season and salary cap when it comes to signing players to extensions before the end of training camp, and mentioned the 2021 cap floor is $175 million, he means that he’s going to work with that number in mind.

That means the Steelers won’t likely be signing any players to contract extensions before the season starts, including defensive lineman Cam Heyward, who had been the team’s top priority.

Pittsburgh also won’t – as has long been the case – negotiate new deals once the season starts. Colbert confirmed that.

But there’s a strong feeling the NFL and NFLPA will come to terms on a 2021 cap that comes in well over that $175 million floor. And it’s not just the Steelers who feel that way.

How else do you explain the Eagles, who are currently set to be $90 million over next year’s cap if it’s $175 million, starting to talk about a contract extension with tight end Zach Ertz that will keep him among the game’s highest-paid tight ends?

The Steelers are being cautious. And since the cap floor is the only number with which they have to deal with, they should. But it’s going to mean they’ll have a mad scramble at the end of this season to get players under contract before the start of free agency.

n There won’t be any Pitt fans at Heinz Field to start the season. But that won’t be all that different than normal.

n Rookie wide receiver Chase Claypool was the 49th selection in this year’s draft and the 11th wide receiver taken.

Having seen Plaxico Burress as a rookie when he was the 8th pick of the draft in 2000, I feel qualified to say that Claypool is better.

It shows you how the game has changed. College receivers come out so much more polished today than they did 20 years ago. It starts with passing camps in high school and continues through college, where so many teams are throwing the ball much more than they did a generation ago.

This is not to say Claypool will have a better career than Burress, who caught more than 500 career NFL passes. But he looks more ready than Burress did to contribute as a rookie.