Steelers sign first round pick Max Iheanachor to rookie deal

By: Anthony McCulley

 

first round pick Max Iheanachor on draft night. Photo: bolavip.com 



Steelers sign first round pick Max Iheanachor to rookie deal



The Steelers made it official with first round pick Max Iheanachor, signing him to his rookie deal on Friday valued at $20.6 million, per NFL insider Aaron Wilson. 


Iheanachor’s standard rookie deal is fully guaranteed with the $20.6 million total and $11.5 million signing bonus. The deal is set to come with a fifth year option the Steelers would be eligible to exercise after his third season, per yardbarker.com. 


Iheanachor was a redshirt senior in 2025. He played and started all 12 games during the season. Iheanachor was productive, seeing a total of 860 offensive snaps and 484 pass-blocking snaps, earning him Second-Team All-Big 12 honors, according to TribLIVE.com 


In his career, Iheanachor started 31 of his 32 games during his time at East Los Angeles College and Arizona State. He attended East Los Angeles College from 2021-2022 and transferred to Arizona State from 2023-2025, according to Wikipedia.com. Iheanachor has a total of 1,159 pass-blocking snaps and only gave up three sacks within that span. 


Iheanachor is a 6 '6, 321 lbs offensive tackle, specializing on the right side of the line. The Steelers currently have Troy Fautanu who played 100% of the snaps in 2025. Head coach Mike McCarthy hasn’t made any decision on who will take over right tackle in 2026 after drafting Iheanachor this spring. Fautanu has experience on the left side, showing his versatility. He has held his own when playing left tackle in college. 


Moving either Fautanu or Iheanahcor depends on the rookies’ development and the availability of tackle Broderick Jones. Jones is a four-year veteran who declined his fifth-year option for 2027. This means Jones could be a free agent after the 2026 campaign. One thing to note on Jones is that he is currently recovering from neck surgery and has yet to be cleared for week 1 action. 


Pittsburgh will likely switch Iheanachor to the left tackle position, keep Fautanu on the right side and use Jack Driscoll and Dylan Cook as depth if Jones leaves after 2026, according to ProFootballRumors.com  




Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Stefon Diggs found not guilty in assault trial

By: Anthony McCulley
Image
\   Stefon Diggs found not guilty in assault trial Pro bowl receiver Stefon Diggs was acquitted on assault charges Tuesday following a December 2025 incident.  Diggs was found not guilty on felony strangulation, misdemeanor assault and battery charges following an incident with his personal chef, Jamila Adams on December 2, 2025. The incident took place in Diggs’ home in Dedham, Massachusetts.  Adams stated that she approached Diggs over not paying her the week of November 7-14. She claims that Diggs then entered her unlocked room, became angry and then hit her with an open hand, followed by choking her.  Diggs denied the allegations after Adams filed a police report on December 22, 2025. She filed criminal charges afterwards. She states that the incident occurred after she became upset when she wasn’t allowed to attend a planned trip with friends to Miami.  Diggs’ defense suggests Adams “curated” her messages to police to support her story. Video evidence was p...
Read more

Texans, LB Azeez Al-Shaair agree to 3-year deal

By: Anthony McCulley
Image
  Texans, LB Azeez Al-Shaair agree to 3-year deal The Houston Texans have wasted no time this offseason keeping their defense bolstered for the 2026 season. Houston re-signed pro bowl Linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair to a three-year, $54 million deal.  Al-Shaair had a productive year throughout the 2025 campaign. In 16 games, he had 103 total tackles, 48 of those were solo. Al-Shaair had 2 interceptions, a forced fumble and a recovery.  As far as production, 2025 is joined by his 2023 campaign with the Tennessee Titans where he played in all 17 games with 163 total tackles, 84 were solo. He also had 2 sacks and a recovered fumble that year. His 2021 campaign with the San Francisco 49ers was another high-production year. He had 102 total tackles and 58 solo. He had two sacks, a forced fumble and two recoveries. He also had an interception.  In his career, he has played 101 games. He has 535 total tackles, 288 of those are solo. He has accumulated six sacks and five fumbles ...
Read more

Chiefs expected to release new stadium renderings in 2026

By: Anthony McCulley
Image
  expected to release new stadium renderings in 2026 Plans continue to move forward with the Chiefs new stadium, expected to be completed by the start of the 2031 season. On Friday Chiefs’ President Clark Hunt announced that the renderings for their new $3 billion project will be released later this year.  The plans for the project were announced back in December by Kansas Governor Laura Kelly and team Chairman Clark Hunt. It is expected to seat 65,000 fans, which is 10,000 fewer than Arrowhead at 73,426.  The new domed stadium will be built in Wyandotte County, Kansas. It will be near The Legends, which is a large shopping and commercial area. Dating back to the summer,  Hunt has put emphasis on wanting to enhance the fan experience in renovations at Arrowhead.  The move is due to the state of Kansas having offered a more suitable finance package that includes the STAR bonds currently implemented in comparison to the Missouri proposal.  “Frankly, not every...
Read more