Rogers ready for bigger role
we need that in our offense.”
Slot men run through traffic over the middle, and Ben Roethlisberger believes Rogers was the best at it with the Steelers in his 13 seasons as their quarterback. Adding another threat on the outside should only clear things even more on the inside for Rogers.
“Theyalready played A.B. with two, three guys on him at times, now they have another element to respect on the field,” Rogers said. “That will be great for me working in the slot, having those guys that wide at safety.”
Even with Bryant missing all of 2016 to a suspension and injuries to others who tried to fill that role, Rogers thrived in his first season on the field. He caught 48 passes for 594 yards and three touchdowns, including the winner in the fourth quarter of their crucial victory Dec. 18 in Cincinnati.
The only Steelers wide receiver with more was Brown, also 5-10, who caught 106 and hauled in more passes than anyone in history over a four-year span. Halfback Le’Veon Bell was second with 75 receptions, then Rogers.
Height hasn’t stopped Brown, and Rogers said it won’t stop him either.
“What is size? The best receiver in the world right now is 5-10, so … it doesn’t matter.”
Playing the slot comes more naturally to Rogers because he did play some at Louisville, whereas most receivers who make it in the pros were their college teams’ stars on the outside.
Undrafted, Rogers spent his rookie season in 2015 on injured reserve after a strong training camp. He mentally prepared the rest of that year for 2016. Not only did he average 12.4 yards a catch, but he also rarely missed any passes that came his way. Rogers ranked 11th among NFL wide receivers by catching 72.6 percent of balls thrown to him.
The Steelers also have rookie JuJu Smith-Schuster and holdover Demarcus Ayers working in the slot, but the job is Rogers’ until anyone can show he can do it better. There will be room for two slot guys when the Steelers deploy four wide receivers, which they are expected to use more often in 2017.
“Last year I played off of skill and my prior knowledge of the game,” Rogers said of his first season in action. “I have that experience now, and experience is everything. I’m excited to get back out there to put my skill on display and my new set of skills.”
His coaches expect more from him, too, based on what they saw last season. The thoughts of having Brown, Bryant, Smith-Schuster and perhaps a revived Sammie Coates in the lineup with him has Rogers dreaming big, if not tall.
“I’m excited to see how it’s going to play out,” Rogers said. “I have a couple of visions of mine I’ve seen, but I’m just excited to see what it’s going to look like with all of us on the field.”