Steelers Achieve 'Standard' vs. 'Rusty' Kirk Cousins and Falcons

SEPT 10 RUST? The Falcons lost in Kirk Cousins' Atlanta debut, 18-10 loss at home to the Pittsburgh Steelers, because of what they are calling QB "rust.'' And indeed, Cousins played his first game since suffering a torn Achilles last season with the Minnesota Vikings.

But the Steelers have another view of what happened here, and Atlanta's $180 million QB really has nothing to do with it.

Pittsburgh was playing with a backup QB and didn't score a TD ... and yet kept control of a Falcons offense featuring Bijan Robinson, Kyle Pitts and Drake London.

"I was disappointed," Cousins said after the defeat. "Certainly disappointed. You always go out there with an expectation that you're going to play at a high level, and we didn't play up to our standard today."

That's one angle. A better one? The Steelers defense played up to its standard .

AUGUST 31 - WATKINS - Despite failing to make the Pittsburgh Steelers 53-man roster this offseason, veteran receiver Quez Watkins will remain with the team as a practice squad member.

The former Philadelphia Eagles receiver signed with the Steelers back in April after spending his first four seasons with the other Pennsylvania NFL team. In four seasons with the Eagles, Watkins played in 49 games, totaling 1,249 yards and six touchdowns on 98 receptions.

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AUGUST 31 - PRACTICE SQUAD— While the 53-man roster was just recently set, that doesn't mean teams will stop making moves ahead of the regular season kickoff. For the Pittsburgh Steelers , the most recent additions have been made to the practice squad.

According to ESPN's Adam Schefter , the Steelers have added a trio of veterans. The Steelers added former Philadelphia Eagles running back Boston Scott, ex-Los Angeles Rams receiver Ben Skowronek, and former Denver Broncos receiver Brandon Johnson.

Seeing the Steelers double up on receiver reinforcements isn't surprising, considering it is still arguably the team's biggest remaining need heading into the season. This makes it seem like a real possibility that one or both Skowronek and Johnson find themselves called up to the 53-man roster at some point.

AUGUST 30 - WORKOUTS— While the Pittsburgh Steelers trimmed their roster down to the 53-man limit earlier in the week, they are still considering potential free-agent additions as they prepare for the upcoming season.

The latest potential additions include four players the Steelers brought in Thursday for a workout. According to the KPRC2 's Aaron Wilson, the Steelers worked out offensive guard Nouredin Nouili, defensive ends Kenneth Odumegwu and Adetokunbo Ogundeji, and safety Ayo Oyelola.

It is unclear whether the Steelers were considering these players as potential 53-man roster or practice squad additions. However, at the very least, the Steelers are keeping their eyes on potential signings.

AUGUST 30 - WATSON RESTRUCTURE - While NFL free agency has come to a screeching halt compared to what it was in March, that hasn't stopped the Cleveland Browns from giving themselves more cap space flexibility.

The Pittsburgh Steelers ' AFC North rival made a rather eye-popping move Thursday: restructuring Deshaun Watson's contract. While restructuring contracts has become a norm in the NFL, what makes it notable is the amount of cap space the Browns now have because of it.

After converting $44 million of his base salary for the upcoming season into a signing bonus, the Browns opened $35 million in new cap room. This means they have the NFL's highest cap space at $62 million.

AUGUST 29 - STEELERS EX - A day after being cut by the New York Giants, veteran receiver Allen Robinson has already found a new home. NFL.com 's Tom Pelissero reported that the former Pittsburgh Steelers playmaker joined the Detroit Lions practice squad.

The 31-year-old spent last season with the Steelers, playing in all 17 games and totaling 280 yards on 34 receptions. The former second-round pick out of Penn State has struggled in his last three seasons to recapture the form that saw him go for over 1,000 yards in back-to-back years (2019-20) with the Chicago Bears.

And while he won't start on the 53-man roster in Detroit, he will have the opportunity to work his way onto it.

AUGUST 28 - FOUR GOOD QBs? - Despite the saying, if you have more than one quarterback, then you have none. The Cleveland Browns decided to keep four signal-callers on their initial 53-man roster.

That was despite an earlier report revealing that the Pittsburgh Steelers ' AFC North rival was open to fielding calls about Jameis Winston and Tyler Huntley, both of their veteran backups. Obviously, a trade never got done before Tuesday's 4 p.m. deadline, so why does Cleveland want to carry four quarterbacks right now?

“We have four good quarterbacks,” coach Kevin Stefanski said Tuesday. “Simply.”

"Simply?" Maybe it is a simple decision for the Browns, but it doesn't seem to be for the reason Stefanski gave the public. Rather, the decision seems to be a case of a trade that hadn't materialized in time for the deadline, so the Browns are selecting to wait for a deal instead of cutting them and getting nothing.

AUGUST 27 - CEEDEE EXTENSION - After a weeks-long holdout from training camp, star receiver CeeDee Lamb returned to the Dallas Cowboys facility Monday as he signed his new contract.

After almost a month of waiting and even some indirect back-and-forth between Lamb and Cowboys' owner Jerry Jones, the two sides came to an agreement on Monday.

According to reports, Lamb signed a four-year contract totaling $136 million, with an annual average value of $34 million. He became the league's second-highest-paid non-quarterback. Only Minnesota Vikings receiver Justin Jefferson ranks above him in terms of money.

The Pittsburgh Steelers will face the Cowboys and Lamb in Week 5, which will be NBC's "Sunday Night Football" game.

AUGUST 26 - TOUCHDOWN - The road back to the NFL was long for former Pittsburgh Steelers receiver Martavis Bryant . The now-current Washington Commander had his once-promising career sidelined as he served a six-year suspension due to multiple infractions of the NFL's policy on drug use.

However, despite the long layoff, he is still trying to make an NFL comeback. This led to Bryant's first highlight during Sunday's 20-12 Commanders preseason win over the New England Patriots, where he found the endzone for the first time since being reinstated.

The four-yard touchdown reception was Bryant's first since December 17, 2017, when, ironically, he totaled 59 yards and a touchdown on four receptions as a member of the Steelers versus the Patriots.

AUGUST 25 - CHASE IS BACK? - With the NFL's preseason wrapped up for all but six teams, attention is turning toward the upcoming roster cutdown day and preparations for the regular season opener. However, for others, like Cincinnati Bengals star receiver Ja'Marr Chase, it is time to return to work.

The former first-round pick has been a holdout from Bengals training camp as he awaits a contract extension. Despite not having one yet, he finally returned to the practice field as a participant Sunday, according to NFL.com's Tom Pelissero .

While this doesn't necessarily mean that Chase will receive a contract extension immediately, it seemingly indicates that his holdout will likely not extend into the beginning of the regular season.