Steelers News: Will the Steelers have to regain their winning culture after tough offseason?

The Pittsburgh Steelers’ season is over, but if you think the news surrounding the black-and-gold is over — think again. For the drama-filled Steelers, things are just heating up, and this is where the daily links article comes in. You might have missed some key news, and we fill you in and give you the latest, and sometimes greatest, news surrounding the Steelers.

Today in the Black-and-gold links article we take a look at whether the Steelers will be successful in regaining their winning culture after a tumultuous offseason.

Let’s get to the news:

• Antonio Brown is gone. Le’Veon Bell is gone. But is the winning culture in Pittsburgh gone?

Steelers look to regenerate winning culture after lost season

By: Jeremy Fowler, ESPN

...No culture has been more dissected than that of the Pittsburgh Steelers, which is curious against the backdrop of the franchise’s historic success and stability: six Super Bowls, three head coaches since 1969, no losing seasons since 2003. Mike Tomlin’s .654 win percentage is second to that of New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick since 2007.

Fair or not, the issues over the last six months have influenced perception about what’s going on in Pittsburgh’s locker room. Le’Veon Bell’s yearlong holdout raised questions about the team’s approach to negotiations with star players. Analysts and fans are accusing Tomlin of leniency with stars in light of Antonio Brown skipping work in Week 17 and requesting a trade. Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is taking heat from former teammates for his leadership tactics...

To read the full article, click HERE

• Antonio Brown isn’t just inspiring young athletes, he wants to inspire millionaires too.

Antonio Brown: I want to inspire people to do better business

By: Michael David Smith, ProFootballTalk

Brown says he hopes to use his social media presence to help people understand their own worth and how to maximize their earnings.

“I want to encourage and inspire people on how to do better business,” Brown told Complex.com. “Talk about 1099s and the NFL and Nike and some of these companies only paying me five percent of my royalties. With my jersey sales, [which are] No. 5 in the NFL, the NFL pays me a million dollars at five percent. How much more are the NFL and Nike making off of me? That’s an extra 9 or 10 million [dollars]. So we’re just going to be educating people on things because I think the public is so outdated with information.”

Brown does not think, however, that many other players are going to be able to take control of their situations the way he did.

To read the full article, click HERE

• Le’Veon Bell’s rap career isn’t for me. Personally, I think it is awful, but some might enjoy it. Nonetheless, his newest release rips the Steelers...so there is that.

Le’Veon Bell’s rap rips Steelers. Then, an NFL star ripped him.

By: Tim Benz, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

The new Jets running back released a clip of his new single named “Free At Last.” That’s in reference to Bell’s thinking that he’s been held prisoner by the Steelers, and his apparent belief — based on his social media activity — that he is the Martin Luther King, Jr. of running backs.

As you may expect, it’s saturated with self-aggrandizement and bragging about his exit from the Steelers. Some lyrics I’ve been able to decipher from what Twitter describes as “mumble rap” go like this:

• “They ain’t signing me back, but they gotta pay for it, too.”

• “I gotta stick it and move.”

• “They got control over you … They gonna put you through some bull (radio edit) if they able. They gonna work you and work you and underpay you. I told ‘em (radio edit) it, I’m outie just like a navel.”

I’m totally guessing on that last line. But I think I got it right. I really do. “I’m outtie just like a navel.”

To read the full article, click HERE

Around the AFC North

• OBJ on future with Browns: ‘It’s about being a legend’
• Browns trade DE Ogbah to Chiefs for Eric Murray
• Browns’ Kitchens not worried about high expectations
• John Harbaugh thinks the draft should be sooner
• John Harbaugh: We want rough, tough guys at wide receiver

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