Live Wire: 2021 opponents set ... Browns place another CB on COVID list ... Haden, Ebron, Marsh to COVID-19 List

CLEVELAND -- Welcome to our new Steelers Live Wire, a round-the-clock feature that offers news that's fast, friendly to use and fun. The previous week's entry is right here.

As they say, here we go ...

STEELERS 2021 OPPONENTS SET

11:20 p.m. Sunday: After Sunday's results, the Steelers now know who all their opponents will be for the 2021 NFL season. Announced on the team's website, the home opponents will include the Ravens, Browns, Bengals, Bears, Broncos, Lions, Raiders and Titans. The away opponents will include the Ravens, Bengals Browns, Bills, Packers, Chiefs, Chargers and Vikings.

That means the Steelers will play nine games next season against teams who made the playoffs this year. -- Carter

IT'S GAME DAY!

1:43 a.m. Sunday: You know the protocol around here: On game days, we all migrate over to the live game file. Dale Lolley and I are here at FirstEnergy Stadium, and we'll have all your written coverage, as well as a Morning Java video and multiple podcasts. -- DK

BROWNS PLACE ANOTHER
CB ON COVID-19 LIST

10:14 p.m. Saturday: The Browns continue to have issues with the COVID-19 virus. Saturday, cornerback Kevin Johnson tested positive according to Tony Grossi, a longtime Browns beat reporter. Johnson was set to start Sunday in place of Denzel Ward, who has already been placed on the COVID-19 List. -- Lolley

STEELERS PLACE HADEN, EBRON,
MARSH ON COVID-19 LIST

3:55 p.m. Saturday: The Steelers placed cornerback Joe Haden, tight end Eric Ebron and linebacker Cassius Marsh on the Reserve/COVID-19 List Saturday while also making a number of other roster moves in preparation for their game Sunday at Cleveland.

Haden tested positive Saturday morning and is out a minimum of 10 days. Ebron and Marsh are believed to be close contacts. That would mean they have to sit out the next five days but will continue to be monitored to ensure they don't test positive after having close contacts with Haden. Haden and Ebron were slated to start Sunday, while Marsh, signed off the practice squad of Indianapolis, was expected to see plenty of playing time with T.J. Watt inactive.

In addition to those moves, the Steelers elevated placekicker Matthew Wright, wide receiver Deon Cain, offensive tackle Anthony Coyle and tight end Kevin Rader from their practice squad for this game. -- Lolley

STEELERS LEAVING BUNCH
OF PLAYERS HOME

3 p.m. Saturday: The Steelers just announced they are leaving a bunch of players in Pittsburgh for their game in Cleveland Sunday. The players already declared out -- Ben Roethlisberger, Chris Boswell and Terrell Edmunds -- won't travel with the team. Neither will Cam Heyward, T.J. Watt or Maurkice Pouncey. None of that threesome had practiced this week and were not expected to play in this game.

The Steelers also will be without Joe Haden, who tested positive for COVID-19 earlier in the day. Given that situation and the one in Cleveland, which has continued to have positive tests throughout the week, the Steelers are erring on the side of caution. -- Lolley

HADEN DEALING WITH
COVID-19 SITUATION

12:31 p.m. Saturday: Joe Haden has been flagged for a COVID-19 situation and won't play Sunday against the Browns in Cleveland. Per ESPN, Haden tested positive for COVID-19, meaning he is mandated to isolate for the next 10 days, even if he tests negative. That means Haden will not be available to play in the opening round of the playoffs for the Steelers next weekend.

If Haden's exposure had been a close contact, he would be required to be out at least five days -- as long as he continues to test negative.

With Haden out, the Steelers likely will turn to Cameron Sutton and Justin Layne to man his spot against the Browns and next weekend against a yet-to-be-determined opponent. -- Lolley

BROWNS' FACILITY CLOSED

10:06 a.m. Saturday: The Browns announced that a coach has tested positive for COVID-19 and released the following statement: “The team will continue virtual meetings as the facility is currently closed while contact tracing is conducted. We will consult with league medical professionals on the appropriate next steps.”

As of now, the Browns will at least be missing due to COVID-19 Denzel Ward, B.J. Goodson, Malcolm Smith, Andrew Sendejo, Harrison Bryant. The NFL won't postpone this game, but the Browns' continued rising of players and coaches testing positive before the playoffs could carry over to the playoffs should they make it. -- Carter

BROWNS TO USE GARRETT
AS TEAM CAPTAIN

5:35 p.m. Friday: The Browns have largely been tone deaf when it comes to blame regarding the situation between Myles Garrett and Mason Rudolph last season. 

Players have talked about how Garrett's decision to bludgeon Rudolph over the head with his helmet was somehow justified. And they cried about Garrett being suspended for the remainder of last season for what would have been considered attempted murder had it not happened on a football field. Former head coach Freddie Kitchens was spotted in public with a "Pittsburgh started it" T-shirt on, allowing himself to be photographed with it on. Earlier this season, running back Kareem Hunt went as far as saying the previous meeting between the two teams "was for Myles." The Browns were beaten by the Steelers 38-7.

The Browns' first-year head coach, Kevin Stefanski, apparently hasn't learned a lot from the mistakes of the past. Friday, he announced -- unprompted -- that Garrett will be the team captain for the Browns this week and will handle the pre-game coin toss.

"I do not normally announce captains, but I am going to have Myles Garrett be the captain this weekend," Stefanski said. "I do not want that to be misconstrued. It is a big game so I am sending the big guy out there, but it is in no way a call back to anything previously, so I just wanted to make sure that is clear.”

Gee, how could that be misconstrued?

Garrett, of course, tried to justify his assault on Rudolph by saying the Steelers quarterback had used a racial slur against him, causing him to lose his cool. But he waited a full week before making that accusation. He then doubled down on the accusation on ESPN after his suspension by the NFL had been lifted.

Sure, we all get it. Garrett is the Browns' best player. But this move in this situation only feeds the narrative and assures this whole thing is talked about even more. -- Lolley

JOHNSON MISSES PRACTICE
FRIDAY WITH ILLNESS

3:39 p.m. Friday: The Steelers held their final full practice for Sunday's game at Cleveland and Diontae Johnson was a late addition, not participating Friday because of an illness. Typically, that wouldn't matter so much, but given the times in which we now live, it will be interesting to see if Johnson is cleared to play Sunday against the Browns.

Chris Boswell (groin) and Terrell Edmunds (shoulder) are out for this game. Boswell missed last week's win over the Colts with the same injury, while this will mark the first time in Edmund's three-year career that he will miss a game.

In addition, Ben Roethlisberger, Maurkice Pouncey, T.J. Watt and Cam Heyward did not practice on Friday. They're all expected to be held out of this one. It appears everyone else will play. In fact, Roethlisberger was officially declared out after the Steelers released their initial report. 

For the Browns, guard Wyatt Teller, linebacker Sione Takitaki, offensive tackle Kendall Lamm and linebacker Tae Davis are questionable. Offensive lineman Nick Harris, who started in place of Teller last week in a loss to the Jets, is out. -- Lolley

RUDOLPH HAS NO PLAN
TO TALK TO GARRETT

2:02 p.m. Friday: Mason Rudolph will get his first opportunity to play against Myles Garrett and the Browns Sunday in Cleveland since the incident last year that ended in a brawl and Garrett alleging Rudolph used a racial slur against him. That incident happened at the end of a 21-7 win by the Browns in Cleveland and Devlin Hodges started for the Steelers two weeks later when Pittsburgh won, 20-13.

Garrett was suspended for that game and the remainder of the season for clubbing Rudolph over the head with his own helmet after ripping it off of him.  After being silent about the incident for a week, he later claimed Rudolph had used a racial slur against him, a charge he repeated in the offseason in an interview with ESPN after he was reinstated by the NFL.

Rudolph will start in place of Ben Roethlisberger Sunday with the Steelers having the AFC North wrapped up.

"He has not reached out to me in any capacity," Rudolph said of Garrett. "I’ve got a lot of respect for Myles. He’s a great player. Outside of that, this game is too big to worry about anything external that happened last year."

But he said if Garrett approached him at some point, he'd be willing to listen to what the Pro Bowl defensive end had to say.

"I’m happy to hear Myles out if he wants to approach me if he wants to talk," Rudolph said.

Rudolph's teammates and the Steelers coaches have consistently said they don't believe Garrett's charges, including this statement from Mike Tomlin.

• Rudolph said he is simply happy to get an opportunity to play in this game, and that the opponent really doesn't matter to him.

He has appeared in four games this season in mop-up duty, throwing four passes and completing three for nine yards.

"I think Im just motivated that I got this opportunity," said Rudolph, who compiled a 5-3 record in games he started last season with Roethlisberger out for all but two games. "All the guys who have an opportunity this week, Coach Tomlin has talked about engineering a victory. Even the mop-up time, I think I’ve thrown two or three passes, it’s just fun being out there. It’s just a totally different feel. It will be the real deal on Sunday." -- Lolley

NO NEW POSITIVE TESTS
FOR BROWNS FRIDAY

11 a.m. Friday: After having a spate of positive tests for COVID-19 over the past week, the Browns did not have any on Friday.

That was good news for the NFL. The league has been intent on holding this game on scheduled on Sunday, but the Browns had to start getting through some days without positive tests.

Cleveland had a one-hour practice on Wednesday afternoon, but was unable to practice on Thursday because its facilities were shut down. As things currently stand, the Browns have eight players on the RESERVE/COVID-19 List, including two practice squad players. Now, we'll see if they can make it through Saturday without any additional positive tests. -- Lolley

BOSWELL HELD OUT
OF TODAY'S PRACTICE

4:48 p.m. Thursday: It's becoming clearer who all will be held out Sunday. Chris Boswell, a full participant yesterday, was held out today, per the report the Steelers just released. And he's got company. -- DK

BROWNS' WARD OUT,
PRACTICE CANCELED AGAIN

4:16 p.m. Thursday: The Browns will be without Denzel Ward, their best cornerback, Sunday after he was added to the COVID list today. The full injury report:

Also, the team's facility in Berea, Ohio, will again be closed today, the team just announced, because of positive COVID results for tight end Harrison Bryant and linebacker Malcolm Smith. 

Disaster seems to be looming for those guys, huh? -- DK

BIG BROTHER'S TAKE

3:57 p.m. Thursday: Before little brother's head gets too big. -- DK

WATT NAMED STEELERS
MVP FOR 2020

2 p.m. Thursday: The Steelers players voted T.J. Watt their team MVP for the second consecutive season, marking the first time since James Harrison was named in 2007 and 2008 that a player has won back-to-back. Watt, also a leading candidate for NFL Defensive Player of the Year, leads the NFL with 15 sacks, 23 tackles for a loss and 41 quarterback hits to go along with his 53 tackles, two forced fumbles and an interception.

"I'm very appreciative of my teammates and coaches," Watt said. "This is very special because it's my teammates and peers."

Now, the question is whether or not Watt will play this weekend against the Browns and if he wins NFL Defensive Player of the Year?

Watt said he has not heard anything from Mike Tomlin about whether he'll play or not -- he likely won't -- but he is preparing the same way. 

He's not fretting the league award. He's seen his older brother, J.J., win the award three times, has seen them in his office and gone to the awards ceremony every time J.J. won it.

"I’ve been to that awards show three or four times. Every time I went, I would leave more motivated leaving the building," Watt said. "Just to be  up for the award is really cool to be in that conversation. Winning it something for another day. I’m not satisfied."

For his teammates, Watt winning the award was a no-brainer.

"His preparation is unmatched, unrivaled," said safety Minkah Fitzpatrick. -- Lolley

GEARING UP 
FOR THE BROWNS

4:46 p.m. Thursday: Here is 20 seconds of team footage from today's practice on the South Side. - Hiles

STEELERS EXPECT FANS
FOR PLAYOFF GAME

12:15 p.m. Thursday: The announcement hasn't been made official yet, but with the state lifting many of its COVID-19 restrictions Jan. 4, according to a source, the Steelers expect that they will be permitted to have fans in the stadium for their playoff game next weekend.

The state announced earlier this week that schools will be permitted to resume winter sports starting next week. The expectation is that the Steelers will be permitted to have fans with an announcement coming sometime early next week. What they don't know, however, is how many.

After playing without fans in Sept., the Steelers were permitted to have 5,500 fans in the seats in October and November. That gave them fans in the seats for three home games this season, an average of 5,292. That is 7.7 percent of the capacity of Heinz Field.

The Steelers were one of just 18 NFL teams that had fans in the seats for even one game this season.

Earlier this week, the state of New York, which has not permitted fans at Bills games this season, announced it will allow a small number of fans into the stadium for Buffalo's playoff games. -- Lolley

FICHTNER SEES A CONFIDENT
MASON RUDOLPH

11:50 a.m. Thursday: Mason Rudolph has played sparingly in his third season with the Steelers after not playing at all as a rookie and then appearing in 10 games last season. But offensive coordinator Randy Fichtner said he can see the growth in confidence in Rudolph this season, despite the fact he's only appeared in mop-up duty.

"I see a confidence. I don’t hear a confidence. He doesn’t have to tell me his confident. I feel it," Fichtner said of Rudolph, who will start in place of a resting Ben Roethlisberger Sunday against the Browns.

"His communication skills have gotten better in the huddle, in the locker room, in the individual meetings. Mason has kind of grown up a little bit."

• Fichtner said the report that the Colts were calling out some of the Steelers' offensive plays in the first half of last Sunday's 28-24 win is natural this season in empty stadiums.

Defenders are constantly calling out run or pass plays, depending on formations, etc., in a normal year. But it might not be heard as much as it is now in an empty stadium.

"There’s always communication. You see it. We feel it. One of the things now is that we hear it, as well," Fichtner said.

He pointed to one specific play in the first half of that game.

"We ran an isolation. It was our first one of the year," Fichtner said. "We put Derek Watt in the game to get the linebacker. It was third-and-1. Chase Claypool came off the field and said, ‘They were yelling run.” It was third-and-1. Most of the time, we run on third-and-1."

Defensive coordinator Keith Butler said that's part of the reason why it's difficult to defend a team when it is operating out of a no-huddle offense. The quarterback adjusts to how he sees the defense line up, and there's little time for the defense to re-adjust.

"They listen to what we say. We listen to what they say," Butler said.

"You can change the play on the field but we can’t change the play on the sideline. It happens too fast." -- Lolley

BUTLER DOESN'T LIKE
PLAYING SUBS

10:45 a.m. Thursday: Keith Butler has had to use a lot of young players on defense this season because of injuries, but that doesn't mean he's comfortable having to play or potentially play a bunch of them in Sunday's game against the Browns.

With the Steelers having the division locked up, they could potentially sit a number of defensive starters. But the Steelers defensive coordinator doesn't decide who sits and who doesn't. He's glad he doesn't make that decision.

"I aint’ drawing that line because I don’t like that line," Butler said.

"We get in those situations and this is a good situation to be in. I just don’t like it. Everybody says you should have rested this guy I just want us to be competitive and beat the Cleveland Browns." -- Lolley

TWO MORE POSITIVE TESTS
FOR BROWNS

10 a.m. Thursday: The NFL isn't interested in moving any of Sunday's games to later in the week. But the Browns might not give them a choice. Thursday, the Browns had two more players test positive for COVID-19, bringing their total number of players who either have the virus or are on the Reserver/COVID-19 List to 12. 

Cleveland is expected to get a few close contact players back today, including its entire receiving corps.

The team shut down its facility again today. It was shut down Wednesday for a cleaning, but reopened at 4:30 for a practice.

But at this point, it's looking like this outbreak isn't anywhere near under control, with players testing positive every day. -- Lolley

WATT, HEYWARD AMONG
HEALTHY SCRATCHES

6 p.m. Wednesday: Because the Browns didn't practice until 4:30 p.m. thanks to their facility being shut down by a COVID-19 outbreak, the Steelers didn't release their injury report until later in the day. But the report included way more than just Ben Roethlisberger. 

Also sitting out without injuries were Maurkice Pouncey, David DeCastro, Cam Heyward and T.J. Watt. I would not expect anyone from that group to play Sunday. Sitting out with injuries were Terrell Edmunds (shoulder) and Stephon Tuitt (back). That duo could sit this one out, as well. Chris Boswell (groin) was back at practice, as were Marcus Allen (shoulder) and Ola Adeniyi (shoulder).

Here's the latest on the Browns' practice today in Berea, Ohio. -- Lolley

SMITH-SCHUSTER, CLAYPOOL THINK
RUDOLPH WILL DO WELL

2:45 p.m. Wednesday: JuJu Smith-Schuster spent the better part of last season with Mason Rudolph playing quarterback, while Chase Claypool has only seen him take a handful of snaps at the end of games this season. But both feel Rudolph will be up to the task of leading the Steelers into Cleveland Sunday with Ben Roethlisberger sitting the game out.

"It’s been good," Smith-Schuster said of Rudolph's improvement. "Last year, I had a great time with Mason. We still built that connection. I’m really excited to see him play this weekend."

Claypool, the team's rookie of the year, hasn't played with Rudolph nearly as much but has leaned on the backup quarterback over the course of the season.

"His locker is close to mine. We talk every day," Claypool said. "He talks to me on the bench looking at film. He gives me advice and tells me what to do or what Ben would like me to do. I think he’ll do really well based off what he’s done in practice and I’m excited to see him go to work." -- Lolley

ROETHLISBERGER WILL FULLY
SUPPORT RUDOLPH

12:45 p.m. Wednesday: Apparently, there was a report on the NFL Network that Ben Roethlisberger and Mason Rudolph don't get along, but Roethlisberger said that's not the case and that he will fully support Rudolph Sunday when he gets the start at quarterback against the Browns.

He also said he and Rudolph have spoken about the situation that occurred in Cleveland last year and that Rudolph can handle the situation in two different ways.

"Really, he can put it behind him like most quarterbacks and just have a short memory about whatever happened," Roethlisberger said. "Or, he can take it as motivation to really put it on them. I know that talking to Mason and knowing Mason, he wants to win this game."

Roethlisberger said he will be at the game providing insight and ideas for the offense, as well.

• As for criticism of Randy Fichtner, Roethlisberger said the offensive coordinator is being unfairly targeted: "I saw that he is taking a little bit. He shouldn’t be. He calls the plays, we have to execute them. In the second half (Sunday), he’s talking to me, giving us the insight and direction. It boils down to us making the plays, not the play calling."

• Roethlisberger said his body can use the week off this week to heal up from the rigors of playing in 15 games. But he again denied the reports he's been dealing with some kind of knee injury, an issue that was raised again Sunday by the CBS crew working the game: "I feel good. I know there have been so many crazy reports out there, but really it's just arthritis." -- Lolley

HILTON NAMED AFC
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF WEEK

12:23 p.m. Wednesday: Steelers nickel cornerback Mike Hilton was named AFC Defensive Player of the Week for his performance against the Colts Sunday. It marks the second time Hilton has won the award in his career. He also won it in Week 16 of the 2017 season -- must be something about Week 16s. Hilton had four tackles, a fumble recovery, an interception and two pass defenses in the win over the Colts. -- Lolley

ROETHLISBERGER WINS
THE CHIEF AWARD

11:45 a.m. Wednesday: Ben Roethlisberger was named the winner of The Chief award today for being the player who best represents team founder Art Rooney's cooperation with the media. This is the second time in his tenure Roethlisberger has won that award. He also won it in 2010. The award is also voted on by the local chapter of the Pro Football Writers of America. -- Lolley

CLAYPOOL NAMED
ROOKIE OF THE YEAR

11:45 a.m. Wednesday: Though there were some other good candidates, wide receiver Chase Claypool was named the Joe Greene Great Performance award winner today by the Pittsburgh Chapter of the Pro Football Writers of America. The award is given to the Steelers' rookie of the year. Claypool, a second-round draft pick, has 57 catches for 772 yards and eight receiving touchdowns this season. He also has rushed for a pair of scores. -- Lolley

BROWNS CLOSE FACILITY

11:30 a.m. Wednesday: With at least one more player and and a staff member testing positive today for COVID-19, the Browns have closed their practice facility. Cleveland had nine players on the Reserve/COVID-19 List as of Tuesday night. This latest player would make that list 10. -- Lolley

BACK TO WORK

5:22 a.m. Wednesday: The Steelers' first practice of Cleveland week will begin today, 12:15 p.m., on the South Side. After that, Ben Roethlisberger will have his weekly session with us. And after practice, it'll be Cam Heyward, JuJu Smith-Schuster and Chase Claypool. Dale Lolley will be there to cover. -- DK

T.J. 'FROM ANOTHER PLANET'

7:29 p.m. Tuesday: Mike Tomlin's amazing quip this afternoon that T.J. Watt is 'visiting from another planet,' when asked to assess the NFL's best defensive player, brought about this meme from the team ...

... as well as this even more amazing response from big brother down in Texas:

Social media can always be awesome. Never forget that. -- DK

BROWNS' COVID LIST
NOW UP TO NINE

3:15 p.m. Tuesday: The Browns placed starting free safety Andrew Sendejo and rookie tight end Harrison Bryant and on the COVID-19 list today. It's not yet known if any of the eight will be allowed to play Sunday. Later in the day, they were joined by Karl Joseph, the team's starting strong safety. That makes nine Browns total on the Reserve/COVID-19 List.  -- DK

TOMLIN WILL SIT
ROETHLISBERGER

12:10 p.m. Tuesday: Mike Tomlin said he will sit Ben Roethlisberger against the Browns this Sunday but would not commit to not playing anyone else at this time, saying it might only be another player or two because of injuries at other positions.

"We’ll look at resting some other players," Tomlin said. "Player availability will dictate that."

That means Mason Rudolph will make his first start of the season. He'll also be returning to Cleveland for the first time since Myles Garrett's unfounded accusations about him using a racial slur in their meeting last season.

"I'm sure Mason will be excited for the opportunity," said Tomlin, who hasn't spoken to Rudolph about it yet.

• Tomlin said the reason he didn't use his timeouts at the end of the half had more to do with what had happened just prior to that on defense more than anything the offense had or had not done. 

The Steelers allowed a screen pass to Nyheim Hines that went for a 70-yard gain that was called back by a block in the back call and Tomlin felt his defense was on its heels, despite the Colts being backed up in their own end with just over a minute remaining.

"I was taken aback by the screen that we gave up just prior to that," Tomlin said. "It’s really unsettling when you give up a field-flipping play like that. It changed my mentality about the way that half was unfolding." 

• Though Tomlin did not say if Robert Spillane will be available or made available this week, he is getting close.

Tomlin said Spillane was meeting with athletic trainer John Norwig today as he recovers from a knee sprain suffered a month again. I'm told the idea, however, is to have Spillane ready for the playoffs, so I would not expect to see him activated this week, though he might start practicing.

• Tomlin also said that while he has not heard directly from the NFL in regard to a video posted by the players in the aftermath of the win against the Colts Sunday that clinched the AFC North title, the organization has heard from the NFL. Several players were not wearing masks during the postgame celebration.

The Saints were fined and docked a draft pick for a similar celebration earlier this season. 

"I haven’t heard directly from the league," Tomlin said. "Our organization has. Emotions were what they were. We are in a global pandemic. We’ve got to control our emotions." 

• As for JuJu Smith-Schuster's claim to the NFL Network that the Colts were calling out the Steelers' plays in the first half of Sunday's game -- a claim Eric Ebron threw water on Monday -- Tomlin called it nonsense without using that term.

"We were calling out their plays, too," Tomlin said. "Philip Rivers was calling out our adjustments. It’s one of the things that goes on in 2020 when you’re playing in crickets. It’s one of the things we all have to deal because of the level of communication in a 2020 environment." -- Lolley