Gerry Dulac's Steelers chat: 05.27.26
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Gerry Dulac
9:57
OK kids, we'll get started in a couple minutes, soon as I get a cup of coffee for our session.
10:00
OK, here we go....
Bill in LA
10:00
After DK Metcalf's suspension, why do you think the Steeler kind of "let it go" and didn't void his guarantees as they could have?
Gerry Dulac
10:00
Bill, for the same reason they traded for him in the first place -- they like him on their football team.
Bill in LA
10:02
Why won't Art Rooney II be the "adult in the room" and demand the Steelers "find a franchise QB so we can win a Super Bowl one day" instead of going with the "let's just try to win a playoff game" worn out Mike Tomlin older QB concept for the past 5 years?
Gerry Dulac
10:03
Because "finding a franchise quarterback isn't that easy," and, as they've discovered, "either is trying to win a playoff game. And I think he is the "adult in the room," by a good 10-15 years.
Brian
10:03
Samuel seems to be left out of much of the CB discussion.    How do you see him factoring in to playing time and any OTA observations?
Gerry Dulac
10:04
You're right, not much discussion about him, probably because the Steelers signed Jamel Dean and drafted Deylan Everette. But this is a big year for Samuel to show he is fully recovered and ready to regain the former he had with the Chargers. If so, that's a big plus for the position.
Southside Johnny
10:05
Good morning, Gerry. The Steelers seem to be all “in” for a super bowl run (again). Do you think they’ll try and sign another receiver before training camp?  Thank you.
Gerry Dulac
10:06
They have plenty of receivers, they don't need another one. And I would go easy on that Super Bowl run talk, unless you were trying to be facetious. Let's keep it more modest and refer to it as a possible playoff run. If you want to be more positive, you can refer to it as a possible one-game playoff win run.
Stairway to seventh seed
10:09
Gerry:  at one point before free agency I believe that the Steelers had well over $100 million of cap space available for the 2027 season.  That has dwindled down to only $41 million with the likes of Herbig, Porter, Washington, and Benton unsigned for 2027 not to mention that there is no "veteran" QB signed past this year.  Seemingly very quietly, the Steelers are back to the last decade where they will constantly be restructuring or backloading contracts to kick the can down the road on cap absorption.  The Friermuth restructure is just the beginning.  This made sense when you had the Killer B's in their prime.  Isn't it just absurd to be starting this again now for a roster whose ceiling is probably making the first round of the playoffs?
Gerry Dulac
10:09
Hey STSS, other big contracts kick in this year, too, don't forget. And signing Rodgers with a $22 million guarantee and Boswell to the biggest contract ever awarded a kicker cuts into that. Hey, they navigate the cap as well if not better than any team in the league. The only danger in keep kicking the can down the road is stubbing their toe
Charlie Knoll
10:10
Hey Gerry Charlie Knoll here!  Thanks for the chats.  Much talk about the qb's, o line, and receivers.  My concern is the defense.  Not sure the front office did enough to improve the front  seven to stop what is a leaky run defense.  I believe this will still be an issue.  What do you think?
Gerry Dulac
10:11
Hey CK, as long as they play a lot of sub package with only 2 down linemen, which is 70-75 percent of the time, you're going to be vulnerable against the run. Unless you got Levon Kirkland behind them.
Stairway to seventh seed
10:12
Gerry:  Omar Khan is constantly called a cap wizard because he always finds a way to get under the cap.  There are some analysts even lauding him for restructuring Friermuth's contract to "save" over $5m.  It is not hard to give a player the same amount of money but guaranteed and up front.  This doesn't save any cap space at all, it just moves the cap charge to the future.  The cap is entering its 34th season.  There weren't 32 teams for that entire time, but the bottom line is that front offices have a combined record of over 1000-0 when it comes to "beating the cap" and being able to field a roster that complies.  No team has ever forfeited a season because they couldn't get under the cap.  Has Khan really ever demonstrated that he is better at managing the cap than other GMs?
Gerry Dulac
10:14
They've never had a problem with it, right? So he must be doing something right. Look, I'm not going to call him a genius or trend-setter, but he does his job and he does it well. He has been doing that for over 20 years. And, just so you know, some of those signings in the past couple years that didn't work out, they were orchestrated by the coach. Khan just went about the business of procuring them.
Bill in LA
10:15
Given your French heritage, can we do the Chat in French when the Steelers go to Paris? Everyone can use Google Translate who doesn't speak French, so let's do it!
Gerry Dulac
10:16 
N'y pensons meme pas!
Richard Coastal Bend
10:16
Good Morning Gerry, any chance Cole Holcomb becomes a factor at ILB with continued recovery from his serious leg injury. When he was acquired he was considered a young veteran upgrade at the position.
Gerry Dulac
10:17
He will continue to be a factor in that he is usually the first ILB off the bench -- and a good one at that.
Stairway to seventh seed
10:17
Gerry:  the Steelers are certainly acting as if coaching was the problem last year and not the roster.  Backloading cap hits and restructuring contracts to sign 30+ year old vets and a 42 year old QB to $22m for one more "run".  They certainly aren't acting like they believe the national media narrative that only Tomlin could elevate their trash roster.  AJRII said he was willing to run it back with Tomlin.  Is it possible that he actually helped convince Tomlin to resign and had to say that he was willing to keep him to avoid possibly owing him the rest of his contract?
Gerry Dulac
10:18
He did not convince Tomlin to resign. In fact, he was taken aback when Tomlin told him. And you are really fixated on the cap today, my chat friend.
And, once he resigned, they did not owe him the final year of his contract.
Silent Bob
10:19
Hi Gerry - Would you say that out of all the new Head Coaches hired in the off season, the Steelers got the best offensive coach in MM? Many fans (including me) wanted someone from the McVay or Shanahan tree. It occurrs to me that these guys had a good mentor but they are not McVay and they are not Shanahan. AR's comments about MM's offensive prowess were quite the endorsement.
Gerry Dulac
10:20
I don't think there's any question about that. And not only the best offensive coach, the winningest. You can't just go out and hire a coach with that many NFL wins.
SMP
10:20
The first time in a long time I’m exciting we actually have a 10% chance to find a young qb. One question about Howard, what kind of arm does he have, like allar or average NFL arm? So, glad I still got G-man in my life. All the best.
Gerry Dulac
10:21
Thanx man. His arm is fine, his release point seems to be fine, too. I don't think he has Allar's arm, but it's not always about that.
Mntnr93
10:21
Gerry - are the Steelers pumping Will Howard in an attempt to get someone to take him for an extra day 3 pick in the 2027 draft?  Or do you think there is an *actual* chance he could supplant Mason as QB2 (understanding it's still only May)?
Gerry Dulac
10:22
I don't think they are "pumping" him at all, especially for that reason. But, yes, there is a chance he could be the No. 2. But he better have an incredible preseason to do so.
BUCS21
10:22
Does it seem that this year the offense & defense will be designed to make the players more successful, and in previous years, they designed the system first & tried to make the players fit the system?
Gerry Dulac
10:23
Most successful coaches find players to fit their system. The Steelers have always done that better than most, if not all of them. That's why they're successful. And that's why you see players from here go other places and struggle. They don't fit that system.
KSStillersFan
10:23
Morning Gary, Two thoughts.  One, why shouldn't the Steelers go after Ayoik from the niners?  Money?  They are dying to get rid of him and he is a solid receiver.  Two, if it comes down to only keeping 3 QB's, I would think Mason is odd man out.  Rodgers is one and done, we have and need to see what Howard has, Allar can spend the whole season practicing and having them "rebuild" him.  I like Mason but trde him and move on with the future.  Worst case, if ROdgers misses time, we really see what we have in Howard and can plan for next year and beyond.  Thoughts?
Gerry Dulac
10:24
Two thoughts: They don't need another receiver, especially a high-priced one like Aiyuk. That ain't happening. And, they are not interested in seeing what they have for 2027. They are interested in what they have in 2026. Sincerely, Gary
Pierogi Nowakowski
10:25
Hey Gerry! Regarding the Lemon situation. You and Omar Khan implied things like that happen all the time in the draft. If so, why was this specific instance so publicized compared to other times? Was there any backlash from the Steelers to the league for broadcasting this potentially embarrassing situation when the draft was in Pittsburgh?
Gerry Dulac
10:25
Because, in today's world of social media and uber-attention, everything becomes a big deal
Pierogi Nowakowski
10:25
Hey Gerry, sorry to see Brian leave the PG. Got any good BB stories to share?
Gerry Dulac
10:26
Me, too
Gundog
10:26
How soon after the draft do teams go after non-draftees? It seemed that it wasn't immediately.
Gerry Dulac
10:26
It is rather immediately, though not as immediate as in previous years
Rooney
10:26
Do we really believe “communication” stops the run? They don’t have run stoppers in their base and especially at the nose where it is most important. Queen doesn’t not play down hill violently like an ILB should in my opinion but d-line helps with that. Agree? Ty!
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