Point Park University Friday Insider: Alualu's return takes new relevance ... Bednar lets it fly ... Rakell has new (and familiar) agent

Missing all but five quarters of the 2021 NFL season was not the way Tyson Alualu wanted his career to end. That's a big reason why he worked so hard to come back in 2022.

Alualu suffered a fractured ankle in 2021 that cost him the final 15 games, a figure that was 12 more than he had missed in his entire 12-year career.

It's safe to say it changed his outlook.

"That’s always been my biggest thing," Alualu told me this week at the Steelers' OTA sessions at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex. "The toughest thing about being hurt last year and being out that long was not being available and be able to compete. It was tough. But I’m kind of glad I got to experience that. It gave me a better perspective."

And what was that perspective?

"It reaffirmed the love I have for the game and wanting to be out there," Alualu said. "I didn’t want to let my brothers down. I gained a lot of being away from the game missing it. Sometimes, you’ve been doing it for so long, you take it for granted. It gave me back that perspective what this game means to me."

Alualu turned 35 earlier this month, so he knows he's near the end one way or the other. But as soon as last season ended, he was champing at the bit to get ready for this year.

He and Cam Heyward worked out together -- as usual -- in the offseason to prepare. Only Alualu felt much different than Heyward, who logged 1,064 snaps -- counting special teams -- last season to lead all defensive linemen.

"I’ve been working out with Cam and we’ve been grinding since the season ended," Alualu said. "I’ve been hearing my dog crying. He was hurting. I’m just blessed to be here now. It’s definitely something that could help me continue playing and doing what I love."

MORE STEELERS

2. Of course, Alualu's return takes on a whole new level of importance with Stephon Tuitt's retirement Wednesday. Alualu can play nose tackle or defensive end. He logged 448 snaps in 2020, his last full season, which worked out to 47 percent of the team's defensive snaps. Alualu would certainly seem to be in line for a similar number this season. That still won't make up for the 778 defensive snaps Tuitt played in 2020. -- Lolley

3. With his five years of experience with the Steelers, Mason Rudolph has more time with the Steelers than every other offensive player on the team's roster with the exception of right tackle Chuks Okorafor. He's also worked with Matt Canada the longest, going back to Canada's time in 2020 as the team's quarterbacks coach. Because of that, Rudolph has been fielding a lot of questions from teammates. "Heck yeah, why wouldn't they?" Rudolph told me. "I feel like I know it. I've been around it. There are questions from the receivers, the tight ends, the new guys. I'm trying to help those guys out, which in turn will help myself out when I'm on the field." -- Lolley

4. Rudolph got one spot start in 2021 after Ben Roethlisberger tested positive for COVID less than 24 hours before the Steelers hosted the Lions in a 16-16 tie Nov. 14. There's an old motto that you always prepare as a starter, but Rudolph admitted that wasn't always easy to do in his career, saying of that game, "You find out in the 11th hour, and you go. I thought I did some good things in that game, and I also missed some throws. ... That was a whirlwind, for sure." 

The Steelers lost two fumbles late in the game that would have given them a shot at a game-winning field goal attempt. Does Rudolph think if the Steelers won that game the perception of him would be different? While Dionate Johnson and Pat Freiermuth lost those fumbles, Rudolph also missed Ray-Ray McCloud for what could have been a touchdown late in the game, as well, though he didn't sound as if he's dwelling on it, saying, "I could care less. That's the rearview now. I'm worried about next week's practices. Everything happens for a reason. That's my mindset. Would have I have liked to hit Ray-Ray McCloud in the end zone for a touchdown? Yeah. But there's nothing I can do about it now." -- Lolley

5. The Steelers went over their two-minute offense on the final day of OTAs on Thursday, with both Rudolph and Mitch Trubisky getting their units into the end zone according to Rudolph. And for those who don't think Mike Tomlin does a lot of coaching, he was out there in time stoppages -- each unit had one timeout and also could utilize spikes to stop the clock -- Tomlin was going over the situation in terms of down, distances and what both units were looking to accomplish. "It was good. Coach was out there giving us situational pointers. You gotta hand the ball to the ref, don't throw it. You've got to give yourself up if you can't get out of bounds to save time," Rudolph told me. "It's good a mental look at it, too." -- Lolley

6. Third-year outside linebacker Alex Highsmith had six sacks in 2021, his first season as a starter. The idea now is to build upon that and get more. Working opposite NFL Defensive Player of the Year T.J. Watt should help. "I definitely do," Highsmith told me when I asked if he feels he can get to double digits in sacks in his third season. "But ultimately, I want to help this team get to the Super Bowl. I know how much that means to the city of Pittsburgh. But double digits along the way would be nice." Highsmith finished the season with 15 quarterback hits last season -- third most behind Watt (29) and Heyward (17) -- and in pressures with 26, so the capability is there. Those statistics are typically precursors to bigger sack numbers. -- Lolley

7. The Steelers haven't released their schedule as of yet for training camp. But I'm told that it will be forthcoming early next week before the team arrives for minicamp. That would likely make it sometime Monday. -- Lolley

PIRATES

8. Cole Tucker came into this year with an opportunity to be a starter, but also a very short leash. Between Diego Castillo, Rodolfo Castro, Tucupita Marcano and, of course, top-100 prospects Oneil Cruz and Liover Peguero, the Pirates have plenty of middle infield prospects. Tucker hit well in spring but, once the regular season started, those good mechanical cues went away. After several years of work with multiple hitting coaches, including extra work with Andy Haines this year, the club made the decision to designate him for assignment this week. -- Alex Stumpf in Los Angeles

9. I'll also add that Kevin Newman was more or less in the same boat as Tucker coming into the year. He was hitting better than last season before he suffered the groin injury that has sidelined him for most the season, but he was at replacement level through the first 12 games, according to Baseball Reference. He'll need to provide more. -- Stumpf

10. David Bednar let a curse word slip live on air after his 50-pitch performance Monday in L.A.:

His teammates loved it, not just because of the faux pas, but because he had that much energy and was still geared to go after an outing like that. He's emerged as a leader in that bullpen. -- Stumpf

11. Wil Crowe gave me a colorful quote on this road trip, as well. But he additionally used another word that is taboo in the clubhouse this week: He called Bednar the "closer." Bednar has obviously been the guy at the end of games, but outside of "hybrid" pitchers, no one has really had a defined formal role in that bullpen. Whether he is officially referred to as the closer, he's viewed as the guy. -- Stumpf

12. In last week's Insider, I wrote about Bryan Reynolds' struggles against the fastball this season. On this road trip, he hit two doubles and a homer against fastballs from Joe Musgrove and Walker Buehler. If you want a sign that he's breaking out, that's a really good one. -- Stumpf

13. Marcano isn't really a power hitter, which is what made his two home runs in Dodger Stadium even more noteworthy. He did show some pop in Altoona this year, but a lot of it was to the opposite field. Staying right on fastballs by Buehler and Julio Urias and driving them to center and right-center shows he can occasionally get the barrel out in front. -- Stumpf

14. Nick Gonzales' heel injury is still likely a short-term ailment, but he's going to be shelved after a strong May. A big reason for his success, he told me, was the work he and hitting coach Jon Nunnally had been doing on how he brings the bat through the zone. Gonzales has some of the quickest hands in the farm system, which can be an obvious plus, but it can also have him get ahead of breaking pitches, resulting in too many swings and misses. It's a work in progress, but May showed he can perform well against upper-level pitching. -- Stumpf in Los Angeles

15. I don't have anything to add to Kevin Kramer's tweets this week criticizing the previous regime's player development system, other than there's a reason there are barely any holdovers:

It needed to change.

What I will say is that the pitcher the Pirates traded Kramer for last season, Nathan Kirby, is someone who I heard good things about during my trip to Indianapolis. He throws about 90 mph and there are some control issues -- partially because injuries had limited him and he's not as developed -- but he's got a very high spin breaking ball that moves. It's a good tool, one that could eventually land the 28-year-old southpaw in the majors. -- Stumpf

16. Contrary to popular belief, there isn't a formal Super-2 deadline because it's the average of the top 22% of players with more than two years of service time and less than three. It fluctuates year to year. If you want an estimate of when it would be, though, the last three Super-2 service figures would put the cutoff anywhere within June 3-13. Something to keep as mind considering the Pirates have called up several prospects recently, and there could be more on the way. -- Stumpf

PENGUINS

17. It’s unclear when the change happened, but pending unrestricted free agent Rickard Rakell is no longer represented by agent Peter Wallen at Alterno Management. He is now represented by Claude Lemieux -- yes, that Claude Lemieux -- at 4Sports Hockey. Rakell is projected to receive a little over $5 million per season on a three- or four-year deal, per Evolving Hockey, but a team that has a bit more cap space than the Penguins might be willing to offer more money and term. It could be enough for Rakell to sign elsewhere, even though he told reporters he believes Pittsburgh is a place where his game can flourish. -- Danny Shirey at PPG Paints Arena

18. Danton Heinen had a somewhat up and down season in which he found himself at the bottom of the lineup on several occasions. Despite averaging the lowest time-on-ice per game of Penguins' regulars, he still scored 15 goals at five-on-five, tied with Sidney Crosby for second on the team. That might not sound all that impressive, at least until you look at which Penguins have accomplished such a feat since the 2006-07 season: Crosby, Evgeni Malkin, Jake Guentzel, Bryan Rust, Phil Kessel, Conor Sheary, Chris Kunitz, Pascal Dupuis and James Neal. That's it. If the Penguins are to re-sign the pending restricted free agent, he figures to be one of their most impactful sources of depth offense next season. -- Shirey

19. The Penguins have three solid goaltending prospects in Joel Blomqvist, Filip Lindberg, and Taylor Gauthier. Don't rule out the Penguins using one of their draft picks this year on a goaltender, though. The goaltending development staff spent the year going on scouting trips to watch draft-eligible goaltenders, including a trip to Europe by goaltending development coach Chuck Grant that came in late March, after Gauthier was already signed. The philosophy is to take the best player available, even if it's a position in which their prospect pool has real depth. Even if the player doesn't ever make it to Pittsburgh, he can still become a strong asset in a potential trade, like when the Penguins traded goaltender Calle Clang to Anaheim in the Rakell deal. -- Taylor Haase at PPG Paints Arena

20. Jeff Carter's two-year contract extension kicks in July 13, and once it does, the Penguins lose any power to move him. Not only will Carter have a full no-movement clause, but the contract has a salary structure that is $250,000 higher in the first year than the second year. Because the contract is front-loaded, the cap hit will remain in full in the event that Carter retires or is bought out during the deal, and an assignment to the AHL would only reduce the cap hit by $100,000. That small difference in salary between years is likely something Carter's camp pushed for in negotiations, because it essentially guarantees that Carter won't be bought out. -- Haase

21. Last summer, Drew O'Connor started training at Prentiss Hockey in Connecticut, a decision he said helped him get stronger and faster, and helped him improve his diet. The owner, Ben Prentiss, is the strength and conditioning consultant for the Rangers, and a number of players like Chris Kreider and Adam Fox still train at Prentiss in the offseason. O'Connor will be back training at Prentiss this summer, as well. -- Haase