Steelers will travel to Paris for 2026 game against Saints
Awesome weekend. It truly was. Um, just, I, I, I just wanna start by, uh, You know, really congratulating the city and the people in this city for, uh, for the draft here and how it turned out. I, I, I can’t tell you guys how awesome the feedback has been, uh, from the people that I talked to, uh, and all the excitement down there. I mean, from, Uh, you know, the politicians, the people, uh, obviously, I can’t tell you guys what Art Rooney and Dan Rooney did for this. Uh, it’s just, it was, it’s, it’s just, it has been great to see. Um, everybody from the league office, you know, the commissioner and his staff, and it, it’s just, I, I can’t tell you how, again, I keep using that word awesome. It’s just, it was awesome. It truly, it, it truly has been You know, and it concluded with that excitement with Eli. I mean, I wasn’t expecting to see that on TV and you can’t help but get emotional when you saw that at the end, but truly, truly, truly ***, uh, tremendous weekend for the city of Pittsburgh and, you know, for the Steelers and I think for the NFL. It, it’s, hopefully we get it back here again. It was, enjoyed every minute of it. Um, you know, before I take any questions, I wanted to thank, uh, you know, my personnel staff. Uh, I gotta tell you guys, in my opinion, I, I, my, my staff’s second to none. They’re, they’re, I’m so proud of these guys and You know, they work so hard and, uh, for me and for the organization and they, they do *** tremendous job and, um, You know, when, um, we, we have such *** good process. I, I truly love our process and Um, you know, we had *** great board and, you know, when you, when you, uh, have *** good process and, you know, you trust your board like we do, and, you know, sometimes the draft throws curveballs your way and, um, you know, things just sort of sort out, uh, from there when that happens, you know, if you have that trust and, I can’t say enough about those guys and they’re, they’re, you know, I just can’t do this without them and they’re awesome. And I also want to thank, uh, Mike and his coaches. Man, the these guys, you know, the, the time and effort they put into this, you know, we haven’t done this. In 19 years with the new staff here and the way these guys, uh, just worked so hard, man, I can’t thank you guys, coach, for, for this process. I know it’s hard moving to Pittsburgh and lots of stuff going on personally and, you know, getting stuff ready for the football side and then you got me throwing *** lot of stuff your way. Um, so I appreciate all the efforts, uh, uh, from the coaching staff too. You know, everyone else in the organization said they, we have *** great organization here, great people, and, um, Really, really pleased with how things turned out. Um, you know, we drafted, what do we end up with, uh, 10 picks and You know, I’m not gonna talk about each one of them individually right now if you guys, I’m sure you guys will fire up some questions, but, um, like I said, that, that ending was tremendous too. I mean, I’m sure you guys all saw it. That was, that was pretty cool to watch. So from there, happy to take any questions. Omar, was the, um, offensive heavy draft, is that kind of reflective of having Mike in his background and what and what you wanna do on offense, or sure, no, uh, he, uh, you know, it just sort of came that way, you know, that’s how the draft, the draft, uh, Uh, sort itself out and, you know, it’s just, you know, we didn’t go in there saying, hey, we’re gonna draft. 9 offensive guys and 1 defensive guy. You know, we, like, like I mentioned, we, you know, you trust your board, you trust the process, and it all sorts out and that’s just sort of how they, how it turned out. About that first round. We haven’t talked to you since the report came out but you guys came on the phone. Kind of take us through the you mentioned the curveball for draft frames just take us through the moments that kind of ensue uh. Yeah, you know, when, when you’re, the draft happens, there’s *** lot of excitement that goes on in, and, and, um, you know, there was no ill intent and, you know, made the call, but, um, as I mentioned, when you have ***, ***, *** good process and you trust your board and, you know, the draft throws curveballs at you in, in every round, trust me, it happens throughout the, throughout the draft and some public, some not, and, um, you know, things just sort of take care of themselves. After taking *** swing at *** receiver there initially at 21. How do you feel you guys pivoted to address that position and Mike, how do you feel your room is now after adding the guys that you did today? Well, I think Omar’s really is, has answered your question. Um, you have to trust your board. Uh, I’ve always looked at the draft board similar, you know, to calling ***, *** huge game, you know, but obviously with *** lot more energy and it, I mean, there’s so much time and energy goes into putting that board together. And it’s, uh, this draft this weekend was very refreshing when you see need hit value, when value hits need. And so when you, when you get down to those picks, you know, you’re usually talking about 234 players and Um, but it really did. It is, you know, we did not go into the draft saying we’re gonna take so many offensive players or so many defensive players. We wanted to raise the level, you know, of our, of our talent, and we’re, we’re aware of positions that we would probably want to add to, but, um, you know, and that’s the case with the receiver. I mean, it’s just, I mean, he was, he was right there, and, um, that’s ***, that’s *** great pick, pick right there. Did you, Bernard and, um, their kicker. we got what? How did you feel about the room after you got Bernard in the second round? Yeah, I mean, we, we feel, you know, obviously we traded up to get Jeremy, so, uh, I think it kind of speaks for how we feel about him. Um, you know, we think he’s gonna add to the room, and then Caden, you know, that’s, that’s on coach. He’s gonna have some fun with him, I think, and, uh, you know, obviously his, his, uh, He’s going to help us in the return game, which was an area of need for us. Mike, adding, uh, Drew Allard in the 3rd round, what kind of value do you feel like you’ve got with Drew? What are you getting and, and that made him the attractive pick? I mean, it’s about the quarterback room. Uh, I’ve always approached it that way. I, I learned it that way as ***, as *** young coach. Um, it’s. It’s about training the whole room together and uh we, you know, we had an opportunity to get on the field last week, uh, for two days, you know, with Mason and, and Will, and, and now we had Drew. So this, this is, this is, this is the goal. This is the outlook. I mean, we talked about it in my interview just from *** philosophical standpoint. So we, we wanna have *** healthy, you know, uh, quarterback room that, that we’re always developing. We’re always developing. It’s, it’s the most important position. Maybe in sports. I mean, it’s very difficult. There’s *** lot that goes into that. Uh, we have *** way of how the quarterback will be trained here. Uh, I’ve done it *** long time and, um, it’s great to have two really young guys that I’m, I’m extremely excited about. Does drafting what you guys expect to hear from Aaron or what you want to hear from? It was, it’s, it’s, no, not at all. This is, uh, this is about developing the room and trying to make the room. As deep, you know, as we possibly can. If you, if you do get an answer from here and he does decide to come here, would you be comfortable with two guys who haven’t taken *** snap at the NFL as backups or keep me I mean, these are all questions and answers, hypotheticals that really, uh, it won’t change what I’ve already said. I will, I will coach the hell out of that room. Um, I have *** lot of confidence. Uh, I have history and experience that, that, um, you know, I will give everything I. Uh, can to any quarterback in that room. So we, we, we, we want to grow the quarterback room. We, we don’t wanna, you know, just rely on one quarterback. AFC North in terms of the size, the arm strength, and hands. Is he the AFC North quarterback we’ve been talking about for *** while now? Well, I, I think the biggest thing is you recognize where you play. I mean, you, you know. You’re gonna have 8 home games. So, uh, it’s no different with the return game, you know, the return game is, is, was ***, *** very important, you know, outlook, uh, for, for Omar and I from the first day we start talking about the draft. Mike, what like, what did you like about Drew Oller, and, um, was he the guy you wanted on day two? Definitely. I mean, uh, I, I think like anything, you, you know, I, I, I, I believe in first impressions, you know, I’ve, I’ve had *** chance to, to, to have, you know, watch him play, but meet, meet him at the combine, um, and really all the quarterbacks that came into the meeting room there did very well. But I, I just, you know, I liked everything about him. I think he’s, I think he’s young. I think he’s got *** lot of great, you know, *** lot of room for growth and, and, you know, he’s *** young man that can throw the ball with the best of them, and that, that, that’s *** great starting point to have. CBA rules is the only challenge we have, but, um, you know, everybody coaches under him, but it’s ***, it’s *** good place to be. Um, you know, I was very impressed with Will last week. You know, I, I knew he was *** good athlete. Um, you know, we had *** chance, uh, Tom and I had *** chance to break down. We do *** thing called quarterback profile, so we had *** chance to videotape that on Tuesday, and, and that’s something we’ll share, you know, with Mason and And will on Monday, but it, you know, it’s, there’s *** training regimen that’s involved, um, but you know, we’ll, we’ll stick to it, and, um, I’m, I’m excited about both those guys. How about roster rules, Sue Omar, like you’d said, Mike, on Monday you’d like to have 4 practice level right way. What are the machinations that you can kind of use to your advantage to try to hold on to 4, to 4 quarterbacks practice, like how do you, how do you do? Yeah, I mean, those are all you’re talking about once we get into the season, yeah, I mean those are all options, you know. The one thing about this league is, you know, there’s *** natural attrition that happens, uh, once you get into training camp and injuries happen and that sort of sorts itself out, but, you know, the league’s set up where you have, uh, options and opportunities to keep your best players. Mike, have you ever had *** service academy guy and Herech specifically, how do you envision, I’m sorry, I didn’t hear the first part of that. Have you ever had *** service academy guy and how do you envision Herech? Uh, I, I think the biggest thing is, um, you know, obviously I have *** lot of respect for, for what, what he’s done in the last 4 years. Um, we, we talk *** lot about how many downs *** player plays, you know, does he play all 4 downs, you know, his ability to play multiple positions. So I, I think Eli definitely brings that to the table. So, um, I think both, uh, you know, we, I just, I met with, uh, Angelico briefly, you know, earlier, so I, I think we’re going to open up our playbook *** little bit. Omar mentioned the emotion that came with drafting Eli and you know, the crowd going crazy for you. What is that moment like to draft *** Pittsburgh native guy and see him get to walk across the stage in front of this Pittsburgh crowd? Oh, I mean, I, I, I, I think everybody in the room felt it. I felt it. Um, I, I couldn’t imagine what it would, you know, would have been to walk out there like that. So I’m just really proud of him and, you know, and I think the biggest thing. For me as *** coach is to create opportunities for, for all these guys and especially for Eli. just, um, when you entered the draft with 12 draft picks, that’s *** lot of capital. What was your plan to try to leverage that to your advantage and how do you think? Um, I think the execution went, went, uh, went pretty good, you know, we’re really, really happy with how, with the players that we acquired. Um, you know, we went into it, as I mentioned to you guys, I didn’t know if we were gonna end up with 10 or 14 picks, you know, we were open to anything. There were some good players in this draft. It, it really was, and, uh, you know, we got 10 good ones, and, um, you know, I’d like to tell you that I went in there saying, hey, we’re gonna end up with 10 or end up with 9 or 8 and 4 1st rounders, but, but, you know, you just sort of have to let it come, come to you, and, uh, you trust your process. When you have *** player like Caden whose contributions are primarily on special teams, how do you try to balance the value that that provides somewhere maybe *** depth at another position or *** guy who could be *** potential future starter? Yeah, I mean, I think his resume speaks for itself, you know, um, he’s very productive in that area in college. I mean, that’s, that’s, I mean, I just, just look at his stats. I mean, I think that speaks for itself, but, uh, you know, it’s. It was *** neat position. Um, he was the top guy in the area in my opinion. Um, and, uh, you know, for us, that’s the value we, we, we put on him, and we, we feel really good about where we got him. With Max, is it *** case where since you cook up football so late that you see *** higher ceiling, but there’s still essential in terms of where his game can be or where he learns more even? Oh, absolutely, absolutely. I mean, he, he’s so impressive. I mean, you guys got to meet him, got to meet him, uh, yesterday, and, uh. I mean, there’s, there’s *** lot to like there and *** lot of growth to come and, you know, I’m excited for him being *** Pittsburgh Steeler for years and years to come. I know Mike was, uh, giving you grief about it, but how did the eight-minute clock thing come into play? Was, was that at all an issue with the whole thing with Makay? Would you like, did you have time to go back to the Cowboys and say, hey, you know, should we get, we, can we? Yeah, it was, it was *** non-issue. I probably made more out of it than I, I, I, I should have the other day, but it was, it was fine. first impressions earlier. What were your first impressions of Jennings Dunker? He seems like *** pretty interesting guy and, uh, would stand out even in *** crowd of 10 offensive linemen when you look at him. Yeah, I mean, we love his hair. I mean, we’re, we’re, it’s. You know, I’m sure our marketing department, marketing department likes it even more, but no, he’s impressive. Uh, I know James Camp and, and, and that the whole offensive line staff. I’m just, you know, so impressed with him. And then I think it’s just like anything when you, you sit there and watch these men, whether you do *** Zoom or meet them in person, you go through the, you know, the process. First time you, you may meet him is at the combine, um, but he’s, you know, when he walked through the door, I mean, he’s, he’s *** very, very impressive young man. Rubio. I’m sorry, what stood out to you guys? Well, I just think number one, you watch the way he plays and you look at, you look at his skill set. I mean, he’s, he’s ***, he’s *** Pittsburgh Steeller defensive lineman. I, I think he’s an outstanding fit for the 3-4, and, uh, I thought that was *** no-brainer pick right there. Mike is still in your offense? Well, Riley, I think when you look at Riley, his versatility, uh, just jumps off the charts. I mean, if you go back through his background at Wisconsin. You know, he played in the two-back offense, played in the 3 surface offense where he played, you know, both the fullback up on the line, did all the movement ability. You know, he played 1 year in ***, in *** run and shoot type one back, so he has some, he has some one back running ability too. And, and I cannot, you know, tell you how impressed I was with him and his story, uh, to leave Wisconsin and, uh, to go to Indiana and be *** captain on the national championship team. So, um, this is an outstanding pick and And on top of that, I know, I’m excited about it because I, I love the two-back offense. There’s *** lot of things that, um, you know, you, you start in this league in the 90s where, you know, two-back offense was *** primary component of normal down and distance. Now I’ll be able to bring some of that back. It’s something that did *** little bit in Dallas, you know. Um, down there to, you know, 23 and 24, so to be able to have that, but the big part of it, no one’s happier than Danny Crossman. I mean, you know, he’s *** four-core special teamer, you know, he’ll have *** chance to potentially be *** leader captain type on special teams. So, uh, I thought that was an excellent pick there by Omar. Well, Mike, on the offensive line, you have *** lot of youth, *** lot of flexibility, and then also question mark. How do you go about sorting out where all these. Great question. Uh, there’s different ways of doing it. You know, I’ve done left side, I’ve done right side. I think you gotta look at the experience of these guys, how we bring these rookies into the, into the, into the place. So, um, those discussions have started, um, and frankly, until we sit down with the players, you know, I’m not, I’m not gonna sit here and talk about it openly, uh, until then. But yes, it, it’s, I mean, because you, you wanna create an opportunity for everybody to have *** chance, uh, to line up, but boy, the longer I do this, it, it takes, it takes the whole group. To get through, get through the season. So how we train them together in their, in their position flexible, but will be *** big part of our decisions on how we start. Omar, you ended up drafting *** lot of guys that were younger but also had multi-year experience. Is that kind of *** concentrated effort to get guys that had multiple years starting but also, I think were 23 or younger, I think the only guy that’s 23 or older. Yeah, you know what, it, it goes back to you just kind of trust your board. We didn’t go into it saying, you know, we want to average this age group by the end of the or this amount of experience. It just, it just sort of, you know, we trusted our board and it came to us that way. I appreciate your question because I, I didn’t realize that until you said it. Yeah, it’s good homework. 2 more, 2 more days when you get to that stage, you got *** 200 pound guy that runs *** 4.3. Is that something that Look at the that the safety the first, the first time, yeah, yeah, size and size and speed, yeah, size and speed, you know, value, value at that, at that spot. Our scouts really liked him, um, just, you know, special teams contributor, um, *** lot to like there. It’s Eli, last one here is Eli *** running back that catches the ball, or is he more of *** receiver? How, what’s, how do you use them? Both the playbook definitely no position flex, I mean. I mean, he can play from the slot, he can play from the backfield, you know, you see him out displaced, uh, you know, I think anything when you, you put *** young man in the receiver room, he has to play all three positions. That’s the way we want to play. That’s the way it’s been introduced the last couple of weeks. Uh, but his ability also to play from the backfield and, you know, just, you know, the, the diversity is, is, is important. So like I said, um, you can’t do everything. I’ve, I’ve, I’ve done, Randall Cobb, you know, I’ve had different players in the past. So, uh, we’ll definitely look at those things. Hey guys, I, I meant to mention one thing when I, in my intro, um, she’s gonna not be happy with it, but Maureen Mannion, you know, our assistant, she’s, she’s retiring, and, uh, she’s been here since, uh, my first day in 2001, and she’s very special to all of us down there and You know, I just, you know, she’s probably not gonna be happy with me I said this, guys, but I just wanna publicly say, you know, how much we’re gonna miss her and appreciate, uh, all her, all of her, her, uh, hard work through the years. She’s been ***, *** great asset for us, and, uh, we’re gonna miss her. So if you guys get *** chance to see her, and if, I know some of you guys know her, just please congratulate her. So she’s ***, she’s *** man and I, I played for her uncle, so this is, this is the right stuff.
Steelers will travel to Paris for 2026 game against Saints
Updated: 9:58 AM EDT May 13, 2026
The Pittsburgh Steelers are heading overseas for the second season in a row. The Steelers will play the New Orleans Saints in the first NFL regular-season game in Paris, France, on Oct. 25. The 80,000-seat Stade de France will host the Week 7 matchup at 9:30 a.m. Eastern time.This will mark the second year in a row that the Steelers will travel to Europe. Last year, they took on the Minnesota Vikings in Dublin, Ireland.The NFL officially announced its slate of international games on Wednesday.The news comes weeks after Pittsburgh hosted the NFL Draft, which drew in more than 800,000 people over the course of three days.The full 2026 Steelers schedule will be announced Thursday night.Looking for more news in your area | Subscribe to the WTAE YouTube Channel
The Pittsburgh Steelers are heading overseas for the second season in a row.
The Steelers will play the New Orleans Saints in the first NFL regular-season game in Paris, France, on Oct. 25.
The 80,000-seat Stade de France will host the Week 7 matchup at 9:30 a.m. Eastern time.
This will mark the second year in a row that the Steelers will travel to Europe. Last year, they took on the Minnesota Vikings in Dublin, Ireland.
The NFL officially announced its slate of international games on Wednesday.
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You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site.
The news comes weeks after Pittsburgh hosted the NFL Draft, which drew in more than 800,000 people over the course of three days.
The full 2026 Steelers schedule will be announced Thursday night.
Looking for more news in your area | Subscribe to the WTAE YouTube Channel