Tomlin and Steelers OK on rebuilding

PITTSBURGH — Melvin Ingram needed a job. The Pittsburgh Steelers needed depth at outside linebacker, so they took a flyer on the nineyear veteran, signing him to a one-year deal on the eve of training camp with the hopes he would provide quality depth if required.

Less than four months later, Ingram was gone. Unhappy with a diminished role behind star T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith as the trade deadline neared, Ingram effectively pouted his way out of town.

The Steelers sent him to Kansas City last Tuesday for a sixth-round pick, leading Pittsburgh Coach Mike Tomlin to trot out a variation of one of his favorite “Tomlinisms.”

“It’s better to have volunteers as opposed to hostages,” Tomlin said.

Ingram’s abrupt exit highlighted an ethos the Steelers have stuck to for the past half-century. Better to build through the draft and indoctrinate players into the organization’s “the standard is the standard” culture than throw around wads of cash in free agency in hopes of making a quick fix.

“When you do business with guys from the time, they’re 20 and 21, you get an opportunity to be a part of their growth and development,” Tomlin said.

“They get an opportunity to buy into your system of ball or their roles in it at a very young age, and it just makes the division of labor thing a more fluid thing.”

Typically the Steelers rely on that fluidity by choice. This year, they didn’t have that luxury. A salary cap crunch and the departure of several high-profile longtime contributors such as center Maurkice Pouncey, left tackle Alejandro Villanueva, tight end Vance McDonald and running back James Conner forced Pittsburgh to rely heavily on the draft to find replacements.

After a sluggish start — something everyone from Tomlin to quarterback Ben Roethlisberger hinted would be practically unavoidable — the Steelers enter midseason with something that looks like momentum. Pittsburgh (4-3) takes a three-game winning streak into tonight’s visit from Chicago (3-5).

The Steelers have turned things around in large part thanks to the development of an offense featuring four rookie starters in running back Najee Harris, tight end Pat Freiermuth, left tackle Dan Moore Jr. and center Kendrick Green.

An offense that finished last in rushing in 2020 is starting to find some traction. The Steelers have topped 100 yards on the ground over their past three games, heady territory for a unit that did it just once in the 16 games prior and for a new-look line that appeared overwhelmed in September.

Not so much anymore, a tribute to the way the newcomers have embraced the unenviable position they were thrust in. They didn’t get drafted by a team looking to rebuild slowly and deliberately, but one attempting to do it on the fly.

All four were asked to become immediate contributors for a team that believes the Super Bowl window with Roethlisberger, 39, has not slammed shut. All four have attacked the challenge.

It’s not unusual for Green and Moore and the rest of the offensive line to spend an extra 10 to 15 minutes after practice working through the finer points of their jobs. Harris — the NFL’s reigning Offensive Rookie of the Month after averaging 122 yards of offense and a touchdown in four games — will linger for individual drills long after most of his teammates have retreated to the locker room. Freiermuth is focusing on the finer points of blocking, a weakness he is attempting to turn into a strength.

Their boss has noticed all of it, the development of Moore and Green in particular. The latest proof came in last week’s gritty 15-10 win over Cleveland in which Moore mostly held his own against Browns star defensive end Myles Garrett.