BRIAN BATKO’S STEELERS CHAT HIGHLIGHTS

Highlights from Brian Batko’s Monday Steelers chat, which you can join weekly at post-gazette.com. Questions and answers have been edited for clarity:

•

RJT: Will Ryan Switzer’s relationship with Big Ben be enough to keep him on the roster? I can’t think of any way he fits on this team.

Brian Batko: If I had to bet on it, right now, I’ll say … no. JuJu Smith-Schuster, James Washington, Diontae Johnson, Chase Claypool are clearly your most talented. Johnson can handle punt returns and rookie Anthony McFarland (or Kerrith Whyte) do more for me than Switzer as a kick returner. Which means it would come down to the No. 5 receiver job, and Deon Cain is more of an asset, in my eyes. Especially when you have two guys who can play the slot in JuJu and Johnson.

ALB: Do you moderate these chat questions yourself or does someone help you do it? Really not sure what kind of volume you’re dealing with.

Brian Batko: Case in point: Oh, heck yeah, let’s get meta about these chats on June 15. Yes, we all moderate them ourselves. The questions come in and we choose which ones to publish/answer. The volume is usually quite … voluminous. More than we can keep up with, especially in-season and on draft night. And for that, we thank you all.

Ted Tucker: I realize the athletes are in good to great shape and I have seen the pics of JuJu and Conner working out and they appear to be in great shape, but, without “normal” routines and activities, do you expect injuries to play a big part in the upcoming season?

Brian Batko: Not necessarily. Ask me again, though, if training camp and/or preseason is shortened or significantly altered. That would make me nervous about injury risk, rust and what not.

GSMP: Do you ever foresee a time when the Rooneys might sell the Steelers? The new partners seem awfully wealthy and could make the Rooneys an offer that would be extremely difficult to decline.

Brian Batko: No, I honestly can’t envision that. I get what you’re saying, but the way I see it, it’s not just about the money for the Rooney family. Never has been and I can’t imagine it ever will be.

Jimmie: What is your assessment of James Washington? For a secondround pick, he was a disappointment, wasn’t he?

Brian Batko: So far, yes, I’d say he’s had a disappointing career. But might I remind you it’s only been two seasons. He’s going into Year 3. Drafting Claypool in Round 2 though is a signal to me that they want to put some pressure on Washington to take a great leap forward, sooner than later, and I don’t fault them for that.

RJT: I think the NFL should avoid the anthem issue by playing it with the players in the locker room or not playing it at all, and maybe have a video about social injustice. What do you think?

Brian Batko: I wouldn’t mind that, personally, but I’m sure many would. You’ll never be able to make everyone happy, that’s for sure. And on this particular issue, you’ll never be able to not make a lot of people very angry. There’s simply no way to avoid it, is what I’m saying. Perhaps the idea within your question is to play both the anthem as well as a video, PSA, whatever you want to call it about the various killings and systemic racism players are trying to address.