Steelers Now Eligible For HBO's 'Hard Knocks'

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Photo credit Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports
By 93.7 The Fan

PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) - An invitation to appear on the HBO Training Camp show would obviously be rejected by Coach Mike Tomlin, but he may not have a choice.

Under current rules, if the Steelers are picked to be on the reality show, they cannot say no.

According to the NFL.com, a team can avoid “mandatory inclusion on ‘Hard Knock’ if they fall under any of three exemptions.

  1. They have a first-year head coach. (Tomlin isn’t leaving)
  2. They have a playoff berth in the past two seasons. (True for the Steelers)
  3. They have appeared on "Hard Knocks" in the past 10 years (Steelers have never been on the show)

Along with the Steelers, the Arizona Cardinals, Denver Broncos and Detroit Lions are the four teams that could be selected.

It would be hard to imagine HBO not picking the Steelers for 2020 since the team is one of the more popular franchises in the NFL and has a well-traveled fan base.Other intriguing stories for Steelers camp including a returning Ben Roethlisberger and where his health is along with where JuJu Smith-Schuster and James Conner after a season of injuries and disappointing play.Hard Knocks started in 2001 with the Baltimore Ravens and features the struggles of training camp including position battles, tempers boiling over and even a look inside the players and coach's family life.

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