Steelers News: Do the Steelers have their next backup center and guard already on the roster?

The Pittsburgh Steelers 2019 season is officially over. After finishing the year 8-8, the Steelers, and their vast fan base, has another long offseason awaiting them. Just because the games are done doesn’t mean we stop providing you with features, commentary and opinions to tide you over throughout the offseason!

Today in the black-and-gold links article we take at whether the Steelers have their next B.J. Finney already on the roster?

Let’s get to the news:

• J.C. Hassenauer has had quite the football career, and it has led him to the Pittsburgh Steelers. Will he make enough plays to prove he is the next Finney on the team’s roster?

From big-time Alabama recruit to the AAF to the Steelers, J.C. Hassenauer carving out role

By: Chris Adamski, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

Did a season that went from Iron to Steel provide J.C. Hassenauer with enough mettle to make it over the long term in the NFL?

An interior offensive lineman who was part of a national championship team at Alabama, Hassenauer began last year as property of the Alliance of American Football’s Birmingham Iron. He ended it on the Pittsburgh Steelers’ active roster.

In between, he experienced two full training camps, a league folding in the middle of a season, getting cut by the Steelers and being brought back three months later for scout-team work before his Week 17 promotion to the 53-man roster.

“That’s just the business,” Hassenauer said. “It’s just how it is. You just have to kind of adjust to it and be ready when your time is called.”

Hassenauer made sure he was ready for action Dec. 29 in Baltimore, but he never was summoned by the Steelers during their season-ending defeat. He was signed to the active roster because Pro Bowl stating center Maurkice Pouncey was out with a knee injury.

Even after taking part in two NFL training camps and spending the 2018 season on the Atlanta Falcons practice squad, getting a spot on the 53-man roster and being activated for a regular-season game meant something to Hassenauer.

To read the full article, click HERE (Free)

• 3 things the Steelers need to do this offseason.

Three things the Steelers must do in the offseason

By: Brooke Pryor, ESPN

After missing the postseason for the second consecutive year, Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin and general manager Kevin Colbert will begin to make personnel decisions that will shape the team’s future.

The Steelers flourished on defense in 2019 but had major struggles on offense. To bounce back, the organization has some glaring holes to fill.

Pittsburgh, though, is primed to enter the 2020 season without much salary-cap space, thanks to the $33.5 million hit that comes with quarterback Ben Roethlisberger’s contract. It also bears mentioning that Colbert’s contract is set to expire after the 2020 NFL draft, and determining his future with the organization is paramount this offseason. In his 20th season as general manager, Colbert pulled off a risky trade to acquire Dolphins safety Minkah Fitzpatrick for a first-round pick. With all that in mind, here are the top three items on the Steelers’ offseason to-do list:

Keep linebacker Bud Dupree

To read the full article, click HERE (Free)

• Who exactly are Alan Faneca and company going up against for the Pro Football Hall of Fame?

Who are ex-Steelers Troy Polamalu, Alan Faneca up against to make it to the Hall of Fame?

By: Chris Adamski, Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

It’s been all of three years since a player or figure most associated with the Pittsburgh Steelers gained induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame. And while that might not seem like too much, consider that since the first of the Super 70s Steelers began a black-and-gold march up the Turnpike to Canton in the late 80’s, only twice has Pittsburgh waited longer than three years for a gold-jacket ceremony.

In other words, Steelers Nation feels as if it’s due. Good thing the Steelers seem to have a reasonably strong shot at getting someone into the Hall of Fame’s Class of 2020.

While part of that optimism is based in the fact that there is a special “Centennial Class” to be enshrined in recognition of the NFL’s 100th anniversary – Bill Cowher and Donnie Shell are among 38 names from which 15 will be picked – the more traditional five-man class also could have Steelers representation.

Safety Troy Polamalu and guard Alan Faneca were among 15 finalists for that honor that were announced Jan. 2. Those two former teammates survived cuts that had also previously whittled down from an initial 122 nominees to 25 semifinalists.

To read the full article, click HERE (Free)

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