Pittsburgh Steelers name 2023 team captains

The Pittsburgh Steelers named their team captains for the 2023 season Monday, featuring two players on defense, one on offense and one on special teams.

Second-year quarterback Kenny Pickett will captain the offense, while veteran defensive lineman Cameron Heyward and edge rusher T.J. Watt will represent the defense, with safety Miles Killebrew gettin the nod on special teams.

Our 2023 team captains 🫡

📝: https://t.co/fR862FKnjz pic.twitter.com/zB7ohYSlca

— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) September 4, 2023

Pickett, Pittsburgh’s first-round selection in the 2022 NFL Draft, has been voted as a captain for the first time. Heyward, entering his 13th season with the Steelers, is a defensive captain for the ninth season running (2015-23). Watt takes the captaincy for the third time in his career, with Killebrew earning it for the second consecutive season.

With their captains in place, the Steelers are officially set to embark on the 2023 season, looking for a return to the postseason after a 9-8 campaign this past season. With a loaded defense to accompany an offense taking strides under Pickett, many are bullish on the Steelers this season. Head coach Mike Tomlin, however, is paying no attention to what people are saying on the outside.

Mike Tomlin shares what excites him the most about Steelers heading into 2023

As always, Tomlin is focused on what’s taking place within his group, and loves the “fearlessness” they’ve showed to this point, he said on “The Rich Eisen Show” this past week.

“I think we’ll find out on Sept. 10 and beyond,” Tomlin said. “I know before we started playing preseason games, everybody’s tone wasn’t like that. I don’t read too much into it when it’s not supportive… Don’t read too much into it when they’re crowing us. The important thing is we work continually and daily to get better individually and collectively. That’s what I’ve seen from this group and that’s why I’m excited about them.

“I just like the collective fearlessness of the group. They’re not scared. That’s a major ingredient I think of really good teams. Man, you gotta be fearless. What you’re pursuing is rare air, and so you can’t be bashful about the pursuit of it or fearful. I haven’t sensed fear in this group at any step of the process to this point and that’s exciting to me.”