Guess what, folks. It’s training camp time. And that means it’s time for training camp questions. For the first time since 2019, the Pittsburgh Steelers are actually back at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe after having been forced to remain in Pittsburgh, where they held their past two training camps inside of the Field Formerly Known as Heinz.
Even though the Steelers are back on very familiar ground, more specifically on that of Chuck Noll Field, this is a training camp that is unusually full of certainty. After all, they haven’t had a genuine quarterback battle in a couple of decades, but they have one now with Mitch Trubisky, Kenny Pickett, and Mason Rudolph.
We’ve got yet another new offensive line, with some incoming veterans in James Daniels and Mason Cole. Myles Jack is in at inside linebacker, replacing Joe Schobert, and we’ll have to see if Devin Bush can return to form after last year’s dismal display.
There’s still so much going on, and training camp will only create more questions as we go along, even as it starts to provide some answers. We’ll be covering them here on a daily basis for the community to “talk amongst yourselves”, as Linda Richman might say on Coffee Talk.
Question: Could Benny Snell Jr. end up being the odd man out at running back?
Given the way that the talent on the 90-man roster leans, it seems rather unlikely the Steelers will manage to carry four halfbacks in addition to three tight ends (potentially including Connor Heyward) as well as fullback Derek Watt.
With the limited number of roster spots available, and it being the case that Najee Harris is the only running back on the roster who is reasonably established, one must begin to wonder how secure Benny Snell Jr.’s roster spot is, or will be a couple of weeks from now.
The fourth-year veteran, to be fair, did not play in the preseason opener, and so did not have the opportunity to showcase himself in the same game in which Anthony McFarland, Jaylen Warren, and Master Teague III all displayed some potential.
McFarland is a player that the Steelers have been waiting on to develop for a couple of years now. Warren is an undrafted rookie who has garnered (mostly) positive attention since the pads came on, and he showed why on Saturday night.
Could McFarland and Warren end up being the two halfbacks who back up Harris this year? Obviously, neither of them have a roster spot locked up by any stretch of the imagination, but the more pertinent question is, how close is Snell to having a roster spot locked up?
Presumably, he will be back on the field this week and ready to continue to prove himself in the Steelers’ next preseason game. It’s easy to look bad and lose ground, at least in the public eye, when you’re out and your peers perform well in your absence.
