Steelers' DeShon Elliott Leads Charge In Team Absolutely Blasting The NFL For Potential Season Expansion

The Pittsburgh Steelers have already experienced controversy this offseason in regards to their upcoming 2024 schedule. They've been given a gauntlet for the likely purposes of manufacturing an intriguing storyline for the in-season edition of HBO's Hard Knocks. Roger Goodell already has ideas for the future of the league as a whole, but there are some members of the Steelers organization that are against these potential plans. 

On NFL Draft day in 2024, Goodell made an appearance on The Pat McAfee Show to talk about how the league wanted to expand to 18 regular season games, while taking away one preseason game. Preseason games have been known to be a bit of a snooze fest among many fans, but it's an important time of the year for fringe players trying to make an NFL roster. Nonetheless, it makes sense on paper as to why the league would remove a game, but it's just not that easy and the Steelers know it. 

While safety Damontae Kazee had to accept his past fate late last season in how the league operates, DeShon Elliott has done the exact opposite. After Kazee talked about being a veteran and just taking whatever the league throws at him, Elliott also gave his blunt opinion. ESPN's Brooke Pryor reported the conversation, as well as some other comments.

"I would [complain about an 18-game season]. They don't pay us enough," explained Elliott.

Overall, players around the league seem to have mixed results about adding an extra regular season game. Some players, like Kazee, are happy to get an extra paycheck and get another chance to show off their abilities. Other players, like Elliott, see this as a shameful money chaser with no respect for the players or the game. 

Steelers Players Sound Off Against The Expanded Regular Season Idea

While Elliott was the main one sounding off on the terrible idea of playing an extra game, he was not the only Steelers player that disapproved. 

"They're not paying us enough money already. They're stingy with their money, so they want to make us play 18 games. As a player union, we should get way more money than what we're getting, and not just the top guys. And the thing is, they're not out here playing football. They're not here running around putting their bodies on the line. They don't care. All they care about is making money, but if you're going to make money on the top end, the bottom end has to make money too," Elliott continued.

Star defensive back, Minkah Fitzpatrick chimed in as well.

"Why do we keep adding games? I think 17 is more than enough, plus a playoff... The dudes that play a hundred percent of the snaps in the regular season are probably barely playing in the [removed] preseason game, so it doesn't really do too much," said Fitzpatrick.

There are other players that are torn on the situation, like James Daniels. While he understands why it would make sense to go with the NFL's plan, he also is not a big fan of the idea of adding yet another game to a long season.

"You're talking about player safety, but how do you have player safety when you add a game?  If they were worried about player safety, it would take away games, but it's not about player safety, it's about money and extra games, an extra prime-time game, that brings millions of dollars to the NFL, millions of dollars to cities everywhere. I understand it from both sides," Daniels admitted.

Of course, there are pros and cons to everything. Preseason football does not make as much money as regular season football does. The NFL and their players would all benefit financially from this scenario, but is it worth more wear-and-tear on a player's body? Is it worth it to create more injuries? Is it worth it to take away the in-game snaps to help settle camp competitions and knock the rust off the veterans' bodies? The NFL says yes, but the NFLPA will have to decide on that as well. 

What do you think of the whole situation, as well as how many of the Steelers players feel about it? Comment below!

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