Hines Ward joined the Pittsburgh Steelers at an interesting time. In the spring of 1998 the Steelers had had Jerome Bettis for two seasons, Kordell Stewart had just finished his first year as a starter in the Steelers offense, and the Steelers were on a 6-year streak of winning seasons going back to 1992 when Bill Cowher took over the team.
But it was also a time of change on the defense. Greg Lloyd had played his last game as a Steeler, Carnell Lake and Darren Perry would leave after his rookie season, long-time nose tackle Joel Steed would be gone after the 1999 season, and LeVon Kirkland after 2000.