Steelers Get Harsh Assessment From NFL Insider 3 Weeks Before Regular Season

PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA - JANUARY 04: Aaron Rodgers #8 of the Pittsburgh Steelers celebrates a touchdown with Spencer Anderson #74 during the fourth quarter fabr at Acrisure Stadium on January 04, 2026 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Joe Sargent/Getty Images) Getty

The Pittsburgh Steelers are less than three weeks away from opening the regular season at Acrisure Stadium against the Atlanta Falcons. But they might not be heading toward winning back-to-back AFC North titles.

Sports Illustrated NFL Insider Albert Breer toured a handful of training camps this summer, and he told Fox Sports radio host Colin Cowherd that the Steelers could unravel fast this season.

“I think the obvious one might be Pittsburgh because of the age and the roster, Breer said Monday on “The Herd.” “The construction of the team makes a lot of sense. If you think about it, it’s Aaron Rodgers, and at receiver you got [Michael] Pittman Jr. and [DK] Metcalf, and you got Rico Dowdle coming in at running back and Pat Freiermuth at tight end. On defense, it’s like veterans at every level. Cameron Heyward, T.J. Watt up front, Patrick Queen at linebacker, Jalen Ramsey, DeShon Elliott, and Jamel Dean in the secondary, and they have complex schemes coming in.

“Mike McCarthy is going to want to do a lot; he’s going to be able to leverage a lot out of Aaron Rodgers becuase he’s got veteran teammates. On defense, you’ve got Patrick Graham from the New England tree there going to try to throw a lot of volume at other offenses, and he’s got the group to do it. It’s just when you have that amount of age on your roster, you’re walking a narrow path. Will the team wear down over the course of the year? What will practice look like in October and November, and will there be any injurie s?”

The Steelers Have the Oldest Roster in the NFL

It’s no secret that the Steelers have the oldest roster in the NFL on average. According to Bill Speros at Bookies.com, the Steelers’ roster averages 27 years and 98 days, about 96 days older than the next-oldest team, the Los Angeles Rams .

Having the oldest roster isn’t the worst thing since a lot of veterans can help win games early on. But again, can the veterans stay healthy throughout a full season?

The Steelers might not have enough of a blend of youth and veterans to get through a full season and compete well into the playoffs.

Breer Liked What He Saw From the Browns

Even though Breer might not be high on the Steelers this season, he liked what he saw from one of Pittsburgh’s biggest rivals, the Cleveland Browns , this summer.

“The other one [training camp] where the energy sort of surprised me a little bit, and I guess it’s timely considering everything that happened today was Cleveland,” Breer added. “If you want to talk about being caught off guard a little bit, I just sensed really good energy with the Browns, and again, that is despite everything that’s happened the last three or four days. But it does feel like Todd Monken has been able to inject a different feel to this team.”

The Browns did seem to have good energy around them until they named Deshaun Watson the starting quarterback on Monday. Now it feels like Cleveland might not be on track to have a great season at all.

Pittsburgh should have a good chance of beating the Browns twice this season, and the first matchup between the two teams will be on “Thursday Night Football” in Cleveland in Week 4.

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