hello Steelers fans get ready to dive into some exclusive news that's about to rock the Pittsburgh football World subscribe to receive more videos from our Channel Steelers signed DT cam Hayward to contract extension the Pittsburgh Steelers are keeping their defensive tackle around a few more years inking Captain cam Hayward to a three-year $45 million deal according to ESPN's Jeremy Fowler Hayward and the Steelers have been negotiating all summer but that hasn't stopped the veteran from playing with the team despite many across the league holding in Hayward decided to practice and remain on the field during negotiations he's also made it clear that he wanted to play another three seasons including this one and now will according to Fowler the deal includes $29 million in new money and $16 million in guaranteed money with the new contract Hayward will remain with the Steelers through 2026 Hayward 35 is the 2023 Walter Payton Man of the Year winner he's also a 10-time captain for the Steelers including this season throughout his time in Pittsburgh he's been selected to six Pro bowls and has been named an allpro five times in his career three first team and two second team the Steelers will keep the band together as long as possible while they hunt for a Super Bowl with Hayward sticking around Pittsburgh has he Minka Fitzpatrick and TJ wat under contract they also signed inside linebacker Patrick Queen and have two young stars in Joey Porter Jr and Keo Benton on the defensive side of the ball the Steelers might not be done yet with tight end Pat fouth also under negotiations for a new deal the team could make another big-time signing before they head to Atlanta for week one their rule is that all negotiations ends when the season starts giving them VES a clock for when fire muth's extension could be finalized but according to reports the two sides are in talks and remain optimistic a deal will get done Steelers Mike Tomlin shuts down George pickin's concerns with the Pittsburgh Steelers making final preparations for their week one opener against the Atlanta Falcons all eyes are turning to the Steelers offense Russell Wilson is set to be under Center an allnew Arthur Smith created offensive scheme and their top wide receiver figures to be a huge part of it George Pickins enters his third season in the NFL and his first as the team's top offensive weapon the Steelers have faith in their top pass catcher but they aren't 100% sure what this season will bring for Pickins it's a brand new offense with a new quarterback and new offensive line members despite the changes head coach Mike Tomlin is confident that Pickins can handle the extra attention speaking to the media ahead of their week one matchup Tomlin was asked if he believes Pickins can handle the extra attention positively absolutely he said Tomlin made it clear that he thinks Pickins has improved significantly entering his third season with the Steelers the production matches that as he increased his receiving total significantly from year 1 to year two but Tomlin sees pickin's growth not just as a receiver but as a person and leader in the organization I I think he's grown in all areas Tomlin said not just in terms relative to his position which he has a lot of that but the nuances of the game getting in and out of the cuts hand selection and so forth he's grown in a lot of ways obviously as a human he's grown in ways that you expect young guys to grow in terms of knowledge of the game and what it means to be a professional and how to conduct yourself Pickins is coming off of his first season of 1,000 yards receiving and that was with Kenny picket and Mason Rudolph slinging passes his way it makes sense that Tomlin has seen growth from their number one target with the best quarterback to arrive in Pittsburgh since Pickins joined the Steelers he's ready to show even more Improvement as the team's number one receiver Steelers signed former Jaguars DB the Pittsburgh Steelers have signed safety AO Oola to their practice squad kpr rc2 Houston's Aaron Wilson reports Oola worked out with the Steelers last Thursday and will join a fellow participant in Edge rusher atak combo o gundi as the two players the team signed from that session Oola is a member of the international player pathway program and was assigned to the Jacksonville Jaguars during the 2022 and 2023 Seasons meaning the team was awarded an exemption that allowed them to keep him via an extra spot on the practice squad once he cleared waivers at final roster cut the Steelers can apply for that same exemption after signing Oola though it's unclear if it will be enforced because he was not assigned to them and instead chose to sign with the team Pittsburgh had its practice squad filled with 16 players so it would need to open up a spot once Oola officially signs assuming an exemption will not apply in this situation up until this season using that exemption meant that an organization could not Elevate an IP player to the active roster on game day thus as a result Oola never appeared in a regular season contest throughout his tenure in Jacksonville starting this year however teams can promote one of those players up to three times a season before they are required to sign them to their active roster Oola is a native of England who attended the University of Nottingham and played for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers of the Canadian Football League appearing in one game during the 2021 campaign standing at 5 foot 11 and 213 lb he played a combined 43 snaps on defense and 20 on special teams with the Jaguars over the 2022 and 2023 preseason Oola was waved by Jacksonville in April and remained a free agent until joining the Steelers Insider Steelers put nji Harris extension away while the Pittsburg Steelers remain diligent in attempting to hammer out extensions with several of their top players before the start of the regular season which acts as a volitional deadline of sorts the team appears to be content allowing nji Harris to play out the string on his rookie deal the Pittsburgh Post gazettes Jerry dulock reported that both Pat fouth and cam Hayward are actively negotiating with the Steelers signaling that the team's priorities are not with retaining Harris or several other key members of the offense before they reach free agency next off season meantime extending Fri mouth would make sense because the Steelers have a number of consequential players who will be free agents after the season including Russell Wilson Justin Fields Naji Harris and jayen Warren dck wrote they don't have plans to extend any of those players before the start of the Season it won't come as a surprise that the Steelers are adopting a wait andse approach with both Wilson and Fields in their first Seasons with the organization but they're hesitancy in engaging with Warren and Harris on the contract front raises some questions Warren profiles as a restricted free agent who would hit the open market with major strings attached next year if Pittsburgh offers a qualifying offer and retains right of first refusal so while a new deal feels unlikely at this juncture it's a pretty safe bet that he will ultimately return Harris presents an entirely different case however after declining his fifth year option at $6.8 million for the 2025 season the Steelers are comfortable letting him walk and setting up this year as a trial period of sorts in Arthur Smith's wide zone offense the organization is no stranger to playing hard ball or outright avoiding extensions with their running backs as they have done with Le'Veon Bell and James Connor to differing extents in recent years and Harris will be no different after a stellar rookie campaign in 2021 where he recorded 1,667 yards from scrimmage in 10 touchdowns Harris saw his production steadily decline over the following 2 years his carries targets receptions and both rushing and receiving yards have all slipped over that stretch raising some alarms on his long-term viability considering how much tread he has on his tires at 26 years old despite all of that Harris still posted the fourth most rushing yards in the NFL over his first three seasons and is a valuable part of Pittsburgh's offense in a run-heavy system he will earn plenty of opportunities alongside Warren to go out and prove his Worth to both the Steelers and the rest of of the league as he looks to secure his payday