Steelers’ Art Rooney II Has A New Big Fear Ahead Of The 2026 Regular Season

The Pittsburgh Steelers and the rest of the NFL have been entangled in many potential rule changes ahead of the 2026 season. The Black and Gold were even in the fray with one of their proposals, and now a rule, that allows teams to have a phone call with a free agent during the legal tampering period. There was some backlash to this rule, as many speculate that there was always some form of tampering involved and that the Steelers didn't want to get in on it. Now, the league is administering changes based on its referees, and some owners have some concerns, including Steelers' Art Rooney II. 

There have been a plethora of controversies surrounding NFL referees throughout the 2026 offseason so far. The NFL has a plan to implement replacement refs amid negotiations between the league and the NFL Referees Association. The collective bargaining agreement has been in place since the summer of 2024, according to NFL.com. With that, there's a huge rule change that would be put in place along with the replacement refs. 

This rule would allow the replay center to correct mistakes from potential replacement refs. These corrections include calling penalties on bigger infractions, like fighting and roughing the passer calls. They would not occur with minor penalties like holding or pass interference. However, according to the Post-Gazette's Gerry Dulac, this could be a huge issue with the pace of the game and that's something that Rooney has taken issue with. Dulac spoke about this on a recent episode of the Chipped Ham & Football podcast. 

"Art Rooney was saying on Tuesday night that, let's hope we don't have to use that very much. But I got a feeling that if there are replacement refs, we're going to see that. I'm not going to say quite a bit, but certainly enough. And the problem, the thing all the owners worry about, at least most of them, including Art Rooney, is that it disrupts the pace and flow of the game," said Dulac. 

The NFL has made it a huge point of emphasis that games need to be faster-paced and less time-consuming. Fans want games that are around three hours, and the league has been implementing measures that keep games shorter. However, the integrity of the game needs to remain, and having to stop to review a call, or non-call, from New York could harm those efforts. The league needs to ensure that they're still committed to the faster pace of the game while still making up for a potential lack of quality officials. 2026 should be an interesting year when it comes to officiating, and the Steelers brass is aware of that. 

A scenario that hits close to home for Pittsburgh is with DK Metcalf's altercation with a fan in 2025. The situation occurred late in the season during halftime of a matchup versus the Detroit Lions. It seemed that a fan said something to Metcalf that provoked him, and the star wide receiver took a swipe at the fan. This would be cause for ejection, but the officials did not eject Metcalf. Instead, he finished the game and was suspended for two games after the fact. The officials did not see the event when it first took place and were unable to throw a flag. The replay center did not have the authority, at the time, to make an ejection, so Metcalf still could play. 

This was one of the reasons this rule was brought up, and one that connects to Pittsburgh. 

Steelers Need To Be Wary Of This Change

The Steelers are under a new coaching staff, and the team needs to make sure they're aware of this change. The team is known for its pass rush and aggressive nature. There is a possibility now that the replay center can call roughing the quarterback penalties from New York. The defense needs to be extra disciplined now that this will be implemented in 2026. 

Being cognizant of the rule will be a key factor for a lot of NFL teams as they'll have to be careful. "Big Brother" seems to be watching this season, so organizations need to gear up for it. 

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