For the second year in a row, the Steelers did not receive favorable reviews in the NFLPA's annual facilities report card . The Steelers once again were ranked No. 28 out of 32 teams.
The Steelers made some improvements, most notably by adding a gameday daycare for players. That raised their family support grade from an F- to a C-. But overall, the Steelers are still lacking in several key departments.
The state of the Steelers facilities came up again recently due to the New York Jets revealing a state of the art locker room at the team's facility.
Former Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Ryan Switzer defended the Steelers facilities on X. He loves the old-school traditions that the franchise carries.
"That's Heinz. The one at the Southside facility is a lot smaller," Switzer responded to a fan. "Call me crazy – but one of the coolest parts about being a Steeler was the nostalgic of the wooden lockers, non-modernized locker room. You felt the history everyday you went to work."
After taking a tour of the Chargers facility before his introductory press conference in March, Najee Harris took a bit of a shot at the Pittsburgh facilities while speaking with the L.A. media .
"It's a great weight room, first of all," Harris said . "Even the facility, is all great things. A lot of things that they provide here you can take advantage of. I was telling them, it's not like this everywhere, man. This is a special thing right here. It reminded me of college at Alabama, all the resources that we have. So just getting the chance to take advantage of all these opportunities is a blessing. And I was telling him, y'all have a great thing going on right now. It's not like this everywhere. It's not. Man, yeah, I'm just happy to be here."
Former Steelers cornerback Patrick Peterson also told Andrew Fillipponi of 93.7 The Fan on 1st & Pod that when he played for the Steelers in 2023, he had to go to a local hotel everyday to use its sauna because the Steelers didn't have one.
I used to go to the Fairmont (in Downtown Pittsburgh) and use their sauna every single day. Promise. Every single day because I had to have a sauna. I had to have it," Peterson said .
Fillipponi was shocked by Peterson's revelation. "Bro, you go to like LA Fitness and there's a sauna. You go to an NFL team and there's no sauna?"
It should be noted that the Steelers have added a sauna and upgraded their weight room, however. This was done last offseason, so Peterson is talking about the 2023 season when he was with the team.
Former NFL tight end and current host at 93.7 The Fan, Dorin Dickerson , said Pat Freirmuth and Cam Heyward used to come over to his house to use his sauna before the Steelers installed one in the facility.
The biggest issue is that the Steelers just lack space at their South Side facility. Rooney even said during an interview with Jenna Harner of WPXI that they potentially have to look into a new facility.
Rooney's average rating for perceived willingness to invest in the facilities is 6.00 out of 10 from the Steelers players, a ranking of 30 out of 32 owners in the league. The players feel that Tomlin is moderately receptive to locker room feedback on the team's needs, ranking him 15 of 32 head coaches in the league.
"When asked to identify top improvement areas, players mention locker room, which is in serious need of renovation, and the strength staff, which scores low on providing individualized training plans and contributing to the players' success," the NFLPA overview report stated.
This article originally appeared on Steelers Now : Former Steelers WR Defends Team's Facilities: 'You Felt the History Everyday'
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