For decades, Steelers and Giant Eagle have been partners in the types of activities that allow people to enjoy autumn football weekends. This year, this partnership is expanding into an area of much more importance.
Starting next week, Giant Eagle pharmacies will join the Steelers to use Heinz Field with the idea of placing the COVID-19 vaccine in the arms of as many people as possible.
“Steelers have a long relationship, a long partnership, with Giant Eagle that goes back decades,” said Steelers President Art Rooney II, “and then, when Giant Eagle Pharmacy wanted to create a vaccination site in Heinz Field , we thought it was a great idea. A great opportunity to really help them serve the community, so we’re excited for it to happen
The vaccination effort at Heinz Camp will begin on Tuesday, March 2, and will last that week, and Rooney said there is an expectation of additional days throughout March.
“They need a big place,” said Rooney. “They are going to try to vaccinate thousands of people over the course of a week and therefore they need a big place for that. Obviously, there is ample parking available (next to Heinz Camp) at this time of year, so it really is a perfect fit for Heinz Field and Giant Eagle at this point. “
Parking will be available at the Gold Lot 1, and effective vaccines will be administered at the PNC Champions Club. Vaccination will only be done by appointment, and those eligible will be able to schedule an appointment by visiting GiantEagle.com.
“We are going through unusual times, to say the least,” said Rooney, “and then being able to help probably the most important thing that we are doing now in this community, which is trying to vaccinate everyone, trying to give everyone that kind of protection , I really can’t think of anything more important that we could be doing now than partnering with Giant Eagle to do that. “
The vaccine to be distributed at Heinz Field will be the Pfizer COVID-19 Vaccine, and the vaccines will be administered by pharmacists Giant Eagle. Since the Pfizer vaccine requires two separate injections given 21 days apart, there will be a follow-up appointment scheduled to receive the second injection.
As for the length of time Heinz Field should be used as a vaccination site and how many people can be seen there, Rooney said: “It all depends on the supply (of the vaccine) for Giant Eagle. I think it will end for weeks. what they have in mind here, but all we’ve been told so far is next week that Heinz Field will be scheduled for the entire week and so we hope there will be additional weeks, but we don’t have those specifics yet. “
PROGRESS TO BRING BEN BACK TO 2021
On February 24, Rooney released a statement about a meeting he had with Ben Roethlisberger that day, during which the player and the team pledged to do something contractually to allow him to return to the 2021 season.
“We stayed in communication with Ben throughout the pre-season and made it clear that we would like him back, but we needed to do something with the contract,” said Rooney. “We are reaching a point where the time is right. We have a better idea of where the salary cap will be, which is an important component of the decision. It felt like it was time to sit down with Ben and have a good discussion, make sure to that the lines of communication are open. We had a good and productive discussion and I assured him that we would like to have him back and he assured me that he wants to go back and play. of the contract. “
The first day of the new league year for the NFL teams is Wednesday, March 17, which is the opening of the free agency and also when all teams must comply with the 2021 salary cap. That makes the day March 17 the deadline for the Steelers and Roethlisberger to do something.
“We hope that we can resolve something before that,” said Rooney, “but certainly if you want to say that there is a difficult deadline, March 17th would be the best.”
Rooney also explained that the decision and the work to be done at Roethlisberger has to do with his contract and its impact on the team’s salary cap all the time. It wasn’t about performance.
“We think Ben played at a high level last year,” said Rooney. “We won our division and set a franchise record for most consecutive wins at the opening of a season, so there were a lot of good things. Ben was as disappointed as anyone with the way he finished. That last game is just hard to swallow, and I think in part Ben wants to come back and leave on a high note. We are still confident that he has the ability to do that. His arm, I would say, is as strong or almost as strong as ever, so I think he certainly able to get the job done. Part of the concern is putting a (competitive) team around it and we had a good discussion about it. We know that there are still a lot of pieces of the puzzle that still need to fit together. season, and we are working hard trying to make that happen. “
PREPARATION FOR 2021 PROJECT MISSING A BIG PIECE
At first glance, it may seem like a repeat of last year, all of which is preparing for a draft that will almost certainly be done virtually. But even though the NFL went through a lot of that last year, this year is different from last year, and not in a good way.
“It’s not like last year, in the sense that we had Combine last year,” said Rooney of 2020. “This is really a key piece of the puzzle in terms of putting the ratings together, and then we had a few Days Professionals. I’m a little more concerned with this year than last year. Last year everyone was talking about the draft itself and doing it virtually, which was a challenge, but really the important part of the draft is the preparation This year is going to be a much bigger challenge in getting the information you would like to have, without Combine, be with a limited number of Pro Days and not even be sure that all schools will have Pro Days, in addition to dealing with players who chose to leave the 2020 (college) season. There are a lot more challenges in preparing for this idiot than last year. “
The Scouting Combine was invented as a way for NFL teams to acquire and share comprehensive medical information from 300 potential customers, and even though it has evolved into an event made for television that is a revenue producer for the NFL and the city of Indianapolis , acquiring and sharing this medical information remains the most valuable part of the entire exercise.
“We are still working (how are we going to get medical information), said Rooney.” I’m concerned about what’s going to happen with getting medical exams and that sort of thing. This remains a question mark as we sit here today. “
Rooney was a little more optimistic that, once the virtual draft is completed, the NFL may be able to return to something close to normal.
“While we are sitting here today, our plan is to have a training camp in Latrobe. We still have a lot to do to get there, but I think there is a good chance that this can happen,” said Rooney. “We are still hopeful of having some kind of off-season program, and it probably won’t start on time, but I think it is especially important for young players that we have an off-season program again and then a full training and games field. pre-season. I think we need to have that to help young players continue to develop. “