Steelers' Kwon Alexander Puts 49ers Offensive Weapons On Notice 'Hit And Make Them Not Move Afterwards'

The Pittsburgh Steelers have an overly exciting Week 1 matchup on Sunday versus the San Francisco 49ers. Brock Purdy and co. will come to town for Pittsburgh's first home opener in the first week of the season since 2014. Emotions will be at an all-time high and Mike Tomlin and his staff will have the daunting task of finding the end zone against a stout San Francisco defense, as well as slowing down a dynamic offense led by Head Coach, Kyle Shanahan. The Steelers enter the game as a slight underdog as the long-awaited year two beginning of Kenny Pickett's career gets underway.

The two franchises have combined for a total of 11 Super Bowls and both have aspirations to get back to the big game in the near future. The 49ers would be less of a shock to accomplish the feat in 2023 after making an appearance in the 2022 NFC Championship Game. Pittsburgh, on the other hand is competing in a brutally tough division and will need to scratch and claw to make it to the postseason.

Players have waited the entire offseason for the chance to play a different colored jersey in a meaningful football game. It may not be a divisional or conference matchup for either team, but that doesn't mean all 22 players on the field won't be flying around looking for the nearest guy to hit throughout the game. Both defenses could be vying for the NFL's top spot throughout the 2023 campaign.

The 49ers are led by edge rusher, Nick Bosa, who landed an incredibly lucrative five-year contract extension just in time to get ready for the Week 1 contest. In Pittsburgh, the team, and defense, will go as far as TJ Watt takes them. The two players have won the two most recent AP Defensive Player of the Year Awards with Bosa taking it home in 2022 and Watt in 2021.

Steelers Newcomer On Defense Has Strong Message For The 49ers

The Steelers 2023 offseason was an extremely busy one for the front office led by General Manager, Omar Khan. One of the later signings that came through was veteran inside linebacker, Kwon Alexander. Pittsburgh completely turned the unit upside down compared to 2022, with Mark Robinson being the lone player from a season ago on the roster.

Alexander may hold a bit of a grudge against the 49ers after playing for the team in 2019 and 2020. He was traded after playing five games for San Francisco in 2020. He must have circled the game on his calendar as soon as he signed with the Steelers in late July. When speaking to local and national media ahead of the contest, he said he is aware that Shanahan's group on offense will try to get out in space and run for yards after the catch. He has a simple solution to disallow that from occurring.

"Be prepared to hit and make them not move afterwards," Alexander said.

There is clearly no love lost between Alexander and his former team. The veteran looked like he is in great shape throughout the preseason and 49ers pass catchers may want to think twice about crossing over the middle of the field when he is out there.

The first game of the Steelers 2023 season is bound to be a good one and while it's not a significant rivalry, Alexander clearly is taking this game personally. He wants to hit, and he wants to hit hard, even after being fined $43,709 for a hit he induced on Tampa Bay Buccaneers' Chase Edmonds during a preseason game. It looks like he in unfazed and will be going right at 49ers offensive players on Sunday.

Are you surprised to hear Alexander throw out that serious of a comment ahead of the big Week 1 game?