The Pittsburgh Steelers will report to Saint Vincent College in Latrobe, Pa., on Wednesday for the start of their 2024 training camp. Ahead of this happening, I thought I would note several key Steelers storylines to watch for not only at the beginning of training camp but throughout the team’s stay in Latrobe and beyond.
First Mike Tomlin Camp Press Conference – Steelers HC Mike Tomlin will hold several press conferences once training camp gets underway but his first one, which usually occurs in the late afternoon of reporting day, is often the longest.
While we don’t usually learn anything Earth-shattering from Tomlin during any press conferences, his first one at Latrobe tends to produce some talking points. Tomlin will likely discuss the health of a few players ahead of practices getting underway. He’ll also likely discuss a few rookies and second-year players. Regardless of what Tomlin has to say at the start of training camp, you can bet every answer he gives will be thoroughly parsed.
PUP/NFI Additions? – By Thursday afternoon at the latest, we should know if any players will start the team’s 2024 training camp off on either the Physically Unable To Perform (PUP) or Non-Football Injury (NFI) list.
One player to watch ahead of this is obviously ILB Cole Holcomb, who sustained a serious knee injury roughly eight months ago. While Holcomb does seem to be the main name to watch ahead of the start of training camp, we have seen instances in the past where players surprisingly needed to begin training camp on either list.
Should any players ultimately get added to either list this coming week, they won’t be able to practice until removed from them. If you need a quick refresher, last year the Steelers did not have any players who needed adding to either of those lists ahead of their 2023 training camp.
Najee Harris’ First Media Session – At the start of training camp we usually hear from the real relevant players, either right after they arrive at Saint Vincent College or within the first few days of practices. Harris will hopefully be one of those players to speak to the media as he hasn’t done so for quite some time now. He didn’t speak with the media during the team’s OTA and mandatory minicamp sessions.
Harris is likely not happy about his contract situation and thus probably feels like he is underpaid. That’s likely the main reason why he hasn’t talked to the media formally since last season ended. His first media session, whenever it happens, should be worth listening to.
Hold-in, Contract Extension Watch Begins – When the Steelers hold their first training camp practice on Thursday, there will then be 45 days remaining until the 2024 regular season begins. That basically means that the Steelers will have 45 days left to get any contract extensions completed as they do not like to address those once the regular season gets underway.
TE Pat Freiermuth is likely to get a contract extension done at some point before the 2024 regular season gets underway. DT Cameron Heyward is yet another player who could plausibly sign an extension before the Steelers play the Atlanta Falcons in Week 1. While probably in the less-likely category, it’s not totally out of the question that Harris will ultimately sign an extension in the next 45 days.
With these three particular players, it will be interesting to see if any of them decide to conduct a hold-in once the practices get underway. While not guaranteed to happen, it shouldn’t come as a huge shock if one or two of them indeed go the hold-in route.
Cameron Sutton’s First Media Session – A few weeks ago the NFL handed down an eight-game suspension to Steelers CB Cameron Sutton for violating the NFL’s personal conduct policy, and that was related to his early offseason domestic violence incident. Sutton did not appeal the suspension.
With Sutton still eligible to take part in training camp and preseason games this summer, he will also likely meet the media at least once after reporting on Wednesday. While Sutton did address the media right after he signed with the Steelers, he has not addressed the media since his suspension was handed down. It will be interesting to see if Sutton is asked about his decision to not appeal his eight-game suspension.
Cory Trice Jr. Back Practicing Fully? – After a nice but brief start to his 2023 rookie training camp, CB Cory Trice Jr., the team’s first of two seventh-round selections in the 2023 NFL Draft, went down with a season-ending knee injury. While Trice has been back on the field this summer as part of OTA and mandatory minicamp practices, the start of training camp will be a monumental point in time for him.
While not yet one full year removed from his knee injury, Trice is close to it and thus expectations are that he will be cleared to practice fully beginning Thursday. Should that ultimately be the case, it will be newsworthy.
Rookie Draft Class Beginning Pecking Orders – The Steelers once again have an exciting draft class that we all will be monitoring. It includes OT Troy Fautanu, OC Zach Frazier, WR Roman Wilson, ILB Payton Wilson, OG Mason McCormick, DE Logan Lee, and DB Ryan Watts.
The team’s top four selections this year, Fautanu, Frazier, Roman Wilson, and Payton Wilson, all have shots at being huge contributors as rookies. Of those four, the first three have great shots at being Week 1 starters. Typically, Steelers draft picks don’t usually open training camps as first-team players as they are forced to earn such reps as the days roll on. Will that change this year? If not, how long will it take Fautanu, Frazier and Roman Wilson to begin receiving a good chunk of first-team practice reps? You can bet we’ll be monitoring each of the rookies daily.
Slot Watch 2024 – While there will obviously be several training camp battles at various positions worth paying close attention to once training camp gets underway, the starting slot position on defense battle seems like it will be the most interesting one of them all.
As mentioned above, Sutton will begin serving an eight-game suspension at the start of the 2024 regular season, keeping him sidelined until Week 10 (Pittsburgh has a Week 9 bye). Knowing that ahead of camp, it’ll allow us to watch the other slot-capable options do battle with each other right out of the chute. Can rookie undrafted CB Beanie Bishop Jr. make a legitimate run at the spot? What about veterans like Josiah Scott or Grayland Arnold and the rest of the field?
