The 2019 season was the Pittsburgh Steelers' 87th season as a professional sports franchise and as a member of the National Football League (NFL). It marked the 20th season under leadership of general manager Kevin Colbert and the 13th under head coach Mike Tomlin. The team failed to improve upon its 9–6–1 record from 2018 following a Week 16 loss to the New York Jets.
For the first time since 2013, they started the season with a 1–4 record through Week 5, which included a 33–3 opening loss to the defending Super Bowl champion New England Patriots, and an injury to Ben Roethlisberger the very next game. However, they went on to win seven out of their next eight games to reach Week 14 of the season with an 8–5 record before losing three consecutive games to end the 2019 season with an 8–8 record and missed the playoffs for the second straight season. They also tied for their worst record (2006, 2012, 2013) since the 2003 season.
For the first time since 2009, wide receiver Antonio Brown was not on the roster, as he was traded to the Oakland Raiders on March 9, 2019.
Transactions The Steelers were involved in the following transactions during the 2019 season:
Trades Player Acquired from Traded to Date Trade terms OT Marcus Gilbert Arizona Cardinals March 13 2019 6th round pick () WR Antonio Brown Oakland Raiders March 13 2019 3rd round pick (66th)2019 5th round pick (141st) OT Jerald Hawkins Tampa Bay Buccaneers August 31 2021 7th round pick to Tampa Bay 2021 6th round pick to Pittsburgh QB Joshua Dobbs Jacksonville Jaguars September 9 2020 5th round pick FS Minkah Fitzpatrick Miami Dolphins September 17 2020 1st round pick2020 4th round pick2021 6th round pick to Miami 2020 4th round pick2021 7th round pick to Pittsburgh TE Nick Vannett Seattle Seahawks September 25 2020 5th round pick
Free agent signings Player Acquired from Lost to Date Contract terms RB Le'Veon Bell New York Jets March 13 4 years / $52.5 million TE Jesse James Detroit Lions March 14 4 years / $22.6 million LB L. J. Fort Philadelphia Eagles March 14 3 years / $5.5 million CB Steven Nelson Kansas City Chiefs March 14 3 years / $25.5 million WR Donte Moncrief Jacksonville Jaguars March 14 2 years / $9 million LB Mark Barron Los Angeles Rams March 19 2 years / $12 million
Cuts Position Player Date SS Morgan Burnett April 1 ILB Jon Bostic April 27 OLB Keion Adams May 13 G R. J. Prince May 13 RB Ralph Webb August 19 CB Herb Waters August 27 OLB Tegray Scales August 31 TE Kevin Rader August 31 WR Johnny Holton August 31 NT Winston Craig August 31 FS Marcus Allen August 31 DE Conor Sheehy August 31 WR Trey Griffey August 31 CB Brian Allen August 31 NT Casey Sayles August 31 CB Trevon Mathis August 31 C J. C. Hassenauer August 31 OLB Jayrone Elliott August 31 FS Marcelis Branch August 31 C Patrick Morris August 31 OLB Christian Kuntz August 31 ILB Robert Spillane August 31 WR Eli Rogers August 31 RB Trey Edmunds August 31 NT Henry Mondeaux August 31 WR Tevin Jones August 31 RB Malik Williams August 31 WR Brandon Reilly August 31 DE Greg Gilmore August 31 OLB Tuzar Skipper September 7
Roster moves Several players who played significant roles in the Steelers' recent success did not return for 2019. Among the departed were: Offensive tackle Marcus Gilbert, traded to the Arizona Cardinals on March 8, 2019 for the Cardinals compensatory 6th round pick, used on Ulysees Gilbert III. Wide receiver Antonio Brown, traded to the Oakland Raiders on March 9, 2019 for the Raiders 3rd and 5th round picks in the 2019 NFL draft, used to select Diontae Johnson and Zach Gentry, respectively. Running back Le'Veon Bell, who signed with the New York Jets on March 13, 2019. Tight end Jesse James, who signed with the Detroit Lions on March 14, 2019.
Several of these moves were made in the name of eliminating "distractions", namely from Brown and Bell. Brown had several clashes with the coaching staff, sports media and teammates (most notably Ben Roethlisberger and JuJu Smith-Schuster) and was subsequently benched in the Steelers season finale against the Cincinnati Bengals, which led to Brown demanding a trade. Bell had been tagged with the franchise tag the previous two seasons and sat out the 2018 season; the Steelers opted not to tag him for a third time due to salary cap constraints as well as the emergence of fan favorite James Conner and Bell subsequently signed with the Jets for less than what the Steelers had offered him. Gilbert was injured for much of 2018 and was made expendable due to the emergence of Matt Feiler in his spot. James, initially groomed to be the heir replacement to Heath Miller, ultimately remained a backup after the Steelers traded for Vance McDonald.
In addition to the players traded away and cut, Ryan Shazier remained out due to his 2017 spinal injury against the Bengals. After struggling to fill his role during the 2018 campaign, the Steelers addressed his long-term absence by going to the other side of the Michigan–Ohio State football rivalry by trading up in the 2019 draft to draft Michigan linebacker Devin Bush Jr. Shazier was subsequently placed on the reserve/PUP list for the 2019 season.
Draft
2019 Pittsburgh Steelers Draft Round Selection Player Position College Notes 1 10 Devin Bush ILB Michigan from Denver 3 66 Diontae Johnson WR Toledo from Oakland 83 Justin Layne CB Michigan State 4 122 Benny Snell RB Kentucky 5 141 Zach Gentry TE Michigan from Oakland 6 175 Sutton Smith OLB Northern Illinois from Oakland192 Isaiah Buggs DE Alabama 207 Ulysees Gilbert III ILB Akron from Arizona 7 219 Derwin Gray OT Maryland from Tampa Bay Notes
Pittsburgh traded their 2019 fifth-round selection to Oakland in exchange for wide receiver Ryan Switzer and Oakland's sixth-round selection. Pittsburgh traded their 2019 seventh-round selection and wide receiver Sammie Coates to Cleveland in exchange for Cleveland's 2018 sixth-round selection that originally belonged to Pittsburgh. Pittsburgh traded their 2018 sixth-round selection to Tampa Bay in exchange for their 2019 seventh-round selection and free safety J. J. Wilcox. Pittsburgh traded right tackle Marcus Gilbert to Arizona in exchange for a 2019 sixth-round compensatory selection. Pittsburgh traded wide receiver Antonio Brown to Oakland in exchange for Oakland's third round selection and their fifth-round selection.
Undrafted free agents All undrafted free agents were signed after the 2019 NFL draft concluded on April 26 unless otherwise noted.
= Made Week 1 roster
Position Player College Notes S Dravon Askew-Henry West Virginia P Ian Berryman Western Carolina G Garrett Brumfield LSU DE Greg Gilmore LSU Signed May 13 DE Jay Hayes Georgia QB Devlin Hodges Samford Signed May 13 G Fred Johnson Florida RB Travon McMillan Colorado CB Alexander Myres Houston NT Chris Nelson Texas T Damian Prince Maryland Signed May 13 LB Tuzar Skipper Toledo Signed May 13 TE/LS Trevor Wood Texas A&M K Matthew Wright UCF
Staff
Final roster
Preseason Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap 1 Tampa Bay Buccaneers W 30–28 1–0 Heinz Field Recap 2 Kansas City Chiefs W 17–7 2–0 Heinz Field Recap 3 August 25 at Tennessee Titans W 18–6 3–0 Nissan Stadium Recap 4 at Carolina Panthers L 19–25 3–1 Bank of America Stadium Recap
Regular season
Schedule The Steelers, along with the rest of the NFL, unveiled their schedule on April 17. The team released a video on social media unveiling their schedule by using the Neighborhood of Make-Believe from Mister Rogers' Neighborhood in honor of Pittsburgh native Fred Rogers. Longtime radio play-by-play announcer Bill Hillgrove did the voiceover, referring to the Steelers division rivals as their "neighbors", their Thursday night game as "speedy delivery" (in honor of Mr. McFeely), their three West Coast games as "traveling to a far-away land", and the series' closing theme to reference the team's bye week. The Steelers received critical acclaim by both USA Today and the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review for honoring Rogers.
Week Date Opponent Result Record Venue Recap 1 September 8 at New England Patriots L 3–33 0–1 Gillette Stadium Recap 2 September 15 Seattle Seahawks L 26–28 0–2 Heinz Field Recap 3 September 22 at San Francisco 49ers L 20–24 0–3 Levi's Stadium Recap 4 Cincinnati Bengals W 27–3 1–3 Heinz Field Recap 5 October 6 Baltimore Ravens L 23–26 1–4 Heinz Field Recap 6 October 13 at Los Angeles Chargers W 24–17 2–4 Dignity Health Sports Park Recap 7Bye 8 Miami Dolphins W 27–14 3–4 Heinz Field Recap 9 November 3 Indianapolis Colts W 26–24 4–4 Heinz Field Recap 10 November 10 Los Angeles Rams W 17–12 5–4 Heinz Field Recap 11 at Cleveland Browns L 7–21 5–5 FirstEnergy Stadium Recap 12 November 24 at Cincinnati Bengals W 16–10 6–5 Paul Brown Stadium Recap 13 December 1 Cleveland Browns W 20–13 7–5 Heinz Field Recap 14 December 8 at Arizona Cardinals W 23–17 8–5 State Farm Stadium Recap 15 December 15 Buffalo Bills L 10–17 8–6 Heinz Field Recap 16 December 22 at New York Jets L 10–16 8–7 MetLife Stadium Recap 17 December 29 at Baltimore Ravens L 10–28 8–8 M&T Bank Stadium Recap Note: Divisional opponents are in bold text.
Game summaries
Week 1: at New England Patriots
The Steelers started their season on the road against the Patriots. The Patriots scored first, 10 minutes into the opening quarter, when Tom Brady found Josh Gordon on a 20-yard touchdown pass to make it 7–0 for the only score of the period. They made it 10–0 in the second quarter when Stephen Gostkowski kicked a 25-yard field goal. This was followed up by Brady connecting with Philip Dorsett on a 25-yard touchdown pass to make it 17–0, before Gostkowski kicked a 41-yard field goal to make it 20–0 at halftime. In the third quarter, the Steelers managed to get on the board when Chris Boswell kicked a 19-yard field goal to make it 20–3. However, Brady and Dorsett connected again on a 58-yard touchdown pass to make it 27–3. This was followed up by Gostkowski kicking a 35-yard field goal to put the Pats up 30–3. In the fourth quarter, the Pats scored the only three points with Gostkowski's fourth field goal of the game to make the eventual final score 33–3.
With the loss, the Steelers started 0–1.
Week 2: vs. Seattle Seahawks
The Steelers opened their season at home against the Seahawks. After a scoreless first quarter, the Steelers scored first in the second when James Conner ran for a 1-yard touchdown to make it 7–0. The Seahawks tied it up when QB Russell Wilson found Will Dissly on a 14-yard pass to make it 7–7. Though, the Steelers would retake the lead at halftime when Chris Boswell kicked a 41-yard field goal to make it 10–7. Wilson and Dissley connected again in the third quarter on a 12-yard pass to make it 14–10, though the Steelers later came within a point after Boswell kicked a 33-yard field goal to make it 14–13. The Seahawks pulled away when Rashaad Penny ran for a 37-yard touchdown to make it 21–13. In the fourth quarter, the Steelers came within 2 when backup QB Mason Rudolph found TE Vance McDonald on an 8-yard pass (with a failed two-point conversion) to make it 21–19. The Seahawks responded as Wilson found DK Metcalf on a 28-yard pass to make it 28–19. The Steelers scored the final points of the game with Rudolph again connecting with McDonald from three yards out to make the final score 28–26.
With the loss, the Steelers fell to 0–2, their first such start since 2013. Longtime franchise QB Ben Roethlisberger was also ruled out for the season after suffering a non-contact elbow injury during the game.
Week 3: at San Francisco 49ers