Steelers won't have full-season captains under Mike McCarthy

Published September 7, 2026 03:53 PM It’s currently team captain season, with plenty of NFL franchises unveiling plenty of season-long captains. In Pittsburgh, however, there won’t be a tweet with anywhere from five to 11 players listed as those who will be wearing a “C” in 2026.New coach Mike McCarthy told reporters on Monday that he won’t use full-season captains. Instead, he’ll name captains for each week’s game. That’s how McCarthy handled the captain designations while serving as the head coach of the Packers and the Cowboys.The approach is a clear departure from past practices under Mike Tomlin, and another clear sign that some things will be very different with one Mike yielding to another.Last year, the Steelers had four permanent captains: quarterback Aaron Rodgers, defensive lineman Cameron Heyward, linebacker T.J. Watt, and safety Miles Killebrew. (After Killebrew was lost for the season due to injury, linebacker Payton Wilson replaced Killebrew as the special-teams captain.)