Welcome back to Pittsburgh Steelers training camp, 2024 edition. We’re so glad you’re with us. After a transformative offseason, the team hit Chuck Noll Field at Saint Vincent College on Thursday. A different feel for practice with a 10:30 AM start time, a change from the afternoon starts every year I’ve attended camp. The good news is our reports and daily podcasts will be posted earlier in the day.
Despite the time change, our notes remain the same. Below is the first installment of our daily notes of what happened during the Steelers’ practice at training camp. Hopefully you enjoy our daily coverage.
If you’re new to our notes, our goal is to make you feel like you’re sitting 50-yard line in the bleachers at camp. I’d rather you have “too much” information than not enough. I know it can be a long read so near the bottom of the post will be a Cliff’s Notes version of the day’s highlights.
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Camp Notes (Day One)
– Quick injury/availability roundup, which is how we’ll start each day’s notes. QB Russell Wilson didn’t practice due to calf tightness, per Mike Tomlin. He looked fine on the field and moved around without issue, so it seems to be awfully minor and the team – understandably – is being cautious with its starting QB. The most exercise he got was signing a bunch of autographs before practice. With Wilson out, Justin Fields ran with the 1s while Kyle Allen was second-string and rookie John Rhys Plumlee third-string.
Three players on “injured lists, PUP and NFI, of course, didn’t work. That’s LB Cole Holcomb and DL Dean Lowry on PUP and RB/KR Cordarrelle Patterson on NFI.
No pads today as the team is in its four-day, NFL mandated “ramp-up” period before the hitting begins Tuesday. So the workout was relatively light and OTA-esque. TE/FB Connor Heyward cramped up in 7v7 at the end of a nice snag. He got stretched out, chugged plenty of Gatorade, and returned to finish the day.
One guy who didn’t work in individual sessions or team (as far as I saw, at least) was DL Willington Previlon. He ran some sprints on the middle field while the d-line went through its drills on the far field. We’ll check his status tomorrow.
Good news on CB Cory Trice Jr. Full participant and no knee brace that he wore during OTAs. Great start to the summer for him. He’s good to go.
Despite all three pending free agents possibly receiving an extension, TE Pat Freiermuth, DL Cam Heyward, and RB Najee Harris were full participants today. No hold-ins. Heyward seemed to get the last team period off but that’s just managing his workload and letting younger guys get much-needed reps behind him.
– A different feel for this year with the morning start time. Bleachers a little less packed than usual for the first day and a little less of an atmosphere walking in. Still, the crowd filled up throughout the day and Steeler Nation was well-represented. While I can’t confirm, it seemed like some fans didn’t realize the time change. As I was leaving, some fans were just sitting down with food or setting up their chairs. Reminder – 10:30 AM/EST start time for weekday practices. Weekends are still in the afternoon. Here is the full training camp schedule.
– First player down the stairs? You know we love to note it. It’s third-round rookie LB Payton Wilson, who came down the stairs at 10:01. He signed a few autographs and high-fived the line coming down the hill to the field. He made his way to the third field where LBs Coach Aaron Curry was stationed. The two chatted for a few minutes while Wilson milled around before going over some bag drills well before practice began.
– In past years, not many players would sign autographs before practice, most choosing to sign after. But probably because it’s the first day, several players took many minutes to sign for fans. CB Joey Porter Jr. signed for quite a bit before hitting the field. Ditto with S Damontae Kazee. Both guys got on the JUGS machine for a few minutes with DBs Coach Grady Brown watching them work. DB Grayland Arnold later hopped on, too.
– Looked like Zach Frazier had some friends/family make the drive up from West Virginia today. Frazier dapped up some buddies along the end zone fence line for a few minutes after getting down on the grass.
– Penn State representing the field today with Porter and Freiermuth. One fan yelled out “We Are!” to Freiermuth and later called the same to Porter, who put his arm in the air to acknowledge it. Freiermuth is a real fan favorite who got a “Muuuth” call as he walked along the sideline closest to fans as practice got started.
– Nate Herbig, Zach Frazier, Ryan McCollum, and Spencer Anderson all snapped to the quarterbacks in warmups before the first practice horn sounded. Herbig, Frazier, and McCollum snapped in practice during team period.
– Here’s how the o-line lines worked today, first, second, and third team.
First Team
LT: Dan Moore Jr.
LG: Isaac Seumalo
C: Nate Herbig
RG: James Daniels
RT: Broderick Jones
Second Team
LT: Dylan Cook
LG: Mason McCormick
C: Zach Frazier
RG: Spencer Anderson
RT: Troy Fautanu
Third Team
LT: Devery Hamilton
LG: Tyler Beach
C: Ryan McCollum
RG: Joey Fisher
RT: Anderson Hardy
– For the first on-air/warmup snap, not the 11v11 team session, Justin Fields ran first-team QB behind the above first-team offensive line. Najee Harris was the deep man in the backfield with Pat Freiermuth at TE. They opened in 11 personnel with George Pickens, Van Jefferson, and Calvin Austin III in the slot as the three receivers.
– In warmup, and later in practice, the team called some RB screens, RB La’Mical Perine with McCormick and Frazier pulling and out in front. Lots of pistol formations, too.
– Variety of players returning kicks and punts along with some gunner reps very early in practice. All skeleton work, just fielding and making an initial move upfield. Returning punts were WRs Scotty Miller, Calvin Austin III, and Quez Watkins, and QB John Rhys Plumlee. Plumlee was a multi-sport athlete in college, an accomplished baseball player, and was moved to WR for a season by Ole Miss in college.
– Jaylen Warren returned kicks on the other end of the field. There was someone else fielding them too, maybe Roman Wilson, but I’m not 100 percent sure. I’ll look tomorrow.
– Gunner working through included CB Darius Rush, CB Kalon Barnes, WR Duece Watts, WR Van Jefferson, and CB Thomas Graham Jr.
Miles Killebrew worked as the starting upback, the role he held last year. TE Rodney Williams and SS DeShon Elliott were the wings surrounding him.
– Danny Smith in midseason form, his voice still the loudest on the field. Lots of praise, lots of coaching, lots of swearing.
“Last rep! Concentrate on this shit!” he called out to the gunner. He preached getting off the line without any false steps.
– Former Steelers LB Ryan Shazier was on hand throughout practice and got a good round of applause from the crowd at one point. He seems to be coaching in some capacity, serving as the “long snapper” during one punt drill (though there was no snap and no actual punt). Ike Taylor was also on hand and the two chatted for a bit during the team’s stretch line.
– I think this is new, though it’s a very minor point. During the skeleton/on-air drills where the QBs are handing off to the backs, the team rolled out a skinny tarp marked with “T-G-C-G-T” on it. Helps give a visual reference point to the quarterback for where the “center” is since the o-lines were working through their individual sessions in the end zone.
– During a separate special team session later in the day, the groups splitting off into specific sections (the “core” of the punt team with snapper and blockers simulating snaps on one end, gunners working on their releases on the other), here are all the players going through the gunner drills. Tons of names but this is the starting point of the many players getting looks.
Offensive Players Receiving Gunner Reps: WR Dez Fitzpatrick, RB Jonathan Ward, WR Scotty Miller, WR Marquez Callaway, WR Van Jefferson, WR Jaray Jenkins, WR Jacob Copeland, WR Roman Wilson, WR Duece Watts.
Defensive Players Receiving Gunner Reps: CB Cam Sutton, CB Kalon Barnes, CB Darius Rush, CB Cory Trice Jr., CB Josiah Scott, CB Anthony Averett, CB Grayland Arnold, S Ryan Watts, CB Beanie Bishop Jr.
That’s 19 names in total. Clearly, you can’t get 19 guys gunner reps though this can also be applicable for some kick coverage work, too. We’ll keep an eye on this underrated battle with two starting gunner spots up for grabs.
– No “punt return challenge” today of trying to catch as many footballs as possible, an event Miles Killebrew won in the Pro Bowl early this year. But on the side, Quez Watkins simulated it with an assistant coach. Watkins held 2-3 footballs as a coach tossed another up in the air for him to grab.
– During one special team period, Russell Wilson hung out on the middle field to chat up Minkah Fitzpatrick.
– Some 7v7 notes.
– Justin Fields had the throw of the day, a dime deep down the left sideline to WR Van Jefferson for a 46-yard gain. Jefferson beat the cornerback who fell and lost his balance three-quarters of the way downfield (not sure who the DB was).
– The defense got it back the next rep. Donte Jackson drove and broke up a slant from Fields intended for Marquez Callaway.
– Kyle Allen hit Pat Freiermuth on a corner/7-route for a nice gain, Freiermuth making a nifty snag over his head with S Nate Meadors on top of him.
– Sounded/looked like DeShon Elliott doing some coaching to the defense, sitting with Minkah Fitzpatrick 25 yards behind everyone. “Hurry up! Get lined up, let’s go!” he yelled out to the backups taking the field for one rep.
First Team Period (11 v 11)
1. No seven shots today, which is common for the first (and often the last) practice. Didn’t do it the first day of 2023 either. They probably will tomorrow. Ball on the offense’s 34 yard-line. O-line left to right of Moore-Seumalo-Herbig-Daniels-Jones. Fields at QB. 11 personnel. Harris the back.
Fields looks right, nothing there, and comes back to the middle/left hash to find TE Pat Freiermuth for about a 5-yard gain. Nice job going through his progression.
2. 12 personnel. T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith the outside linebackers. Larry Ogunjobi and Cam Heyward the nickel pairing. Lots of moving parts here as the offense is using window dressing via motion. Najee Harris motions out late but there’s a penalty, a false start I believe, and the play is dead.
“Russ, we need you!” someone – I believe a defensive player – jokingly bellowed out from the sideline.
3. 12 personnel. Fields looks for Freiermuth deep down the left sideline. SS DeShon Elliott blankets him and would’ve been called for an easy pass interference if the refs were on hand or if it was a game. Incomplete ultimately.
4. Joey Porter Jr. and Donte Jackson the outside cornerbacks. Three-safety look with Minkah Fitzpatrick, Damontae Kazee, and DeShon Elliott with Elliott playing over slot. Elliott blitzes and has a would-be sack on Fields. But quarterbacks can’t be hit so Fields spins away, looks to his left, and hits RB Jaylen Warren on an attempted screen. I’ll call it a gain of 5 but the defense timed the blitz well here.
5. 11 personnel. QB Kyle Allen checks in and throws incomplete to WR Dez Fitzpatrick. Nice coverage by CB Darius Rush.
6. 11 personnel. DeMarvin Leal-Montravius Adams-Isaiahh Loudermilk the second-team defensive line. Nick Herbig at LOLB while Jeremiah Moon has his hand down as the RDE/ROLB. Zach Frazier’s snap is low to Allen and the play is a bust. Sloppy start for the offense.
7. 11 personnel. Pistol formation. Nothing there for Allen, who is flushed and scrambles to his right, Leal in tow chasing him. Call it a scramble for 3.
8. Second-team line of Cook-McCormick-Frazier-Anderson-Fautanu. Rookie Logan Lee the LDE with Breiden Fehoko the NT. David Perales in at LOLB. Rookie John Rhys Plumlee checks in. His pass for WR Jaray Jenkins is incomplete right side.
9. Plumlee out of the pistol, 12 personnel. Connor Heyward split out. Plumlee finds him for a short gain, Heyward making a nice step back move to the inside. But the ball got punched out late and Perales recovered for the turnover. Gain of about 5 before the fumble.
10. 11 personnel. Payton Wilson in at ILB. Justin Fields checks back in. Nice deep ball left sideline for WR George Pickens but he can’t bring it in, the ball hitting off his hands with good coverage from Donte Jackson. Incomplete.
11. Fields again looks for Pickens over the middle. But the pass is low and dies about 3 yards in front, Pickens sliding to the ground but with no chance to make the play.
12. 11 personnel. Outside linebacker pairing of rookie Julius Welschof and Kyron Johnson, left and right respectively. Kalon Barnes and Darius Rush the cornerback pairing. Kyle Allen out of the pistol. Johnson gets pressure off the left edge but Allen delivers to an open WR Quez Watkins over the middle for a 21-yard pickup.
13. 12 personnel. Miles Killebrew and Nate Meadors the safety pairing. Empty set out of heavy personnel. Allen looks for rookie RB Daijun Edwards on the right side. Barnes closes and tries to punch the ball out right as Edwards brings it in but can’t dislodge it, Edwards doing well to hold on. Give it a gain of 9.
Second Team Period (11 v 11)
1. Ball on the offense’s 39-yard line. 13 personnel. Defensively, Watt and Highsmith at OLB. Ogunjobi-Benton-Heyward along the d-line. Elandon Roberts and Patrick Queen the ILBs with Porter and Jackson the corners. Fitzpatrick and Elliott the safeties. George Pickens the lone wide receiver.
Zone run to the right side, RB Najee Harris cutting back to his left for roughly 5 yards.
2. 21 personnel. Fields under center. FB Jack Colletto split out. Highsmith gets pressure, causing Fields to check down to Colletto for a gain of 8.
3. 11 personnel. George Pickens and Scotty Miller the outside receivers with Calvin Austin III in the slot. Jaylen Warren the RB. Fields is under center. Nice lead block by LG Isaac Seumalo to clear a path for a gain of at least 10.
4. 13 personnel. Herbig and Moon the outside linebackers. Rush and Barnes the corners. Kyle Allen under center. Payton Wilson gives chase as Allen boots out but Allen hits WR Marquez Callaway for a gain of 13 yards.
5. 11 personnel. Payton Wilson and Mark Robinson the second-team inside linebackers. Cook-McCormick-Frazier-Anderson-Fautanu the second-team offensive line. Pistol again with Allen the QB. Zone run, RB Aaron Shampklin taking the handoff. Herbig gives chase from the backside while NT Montravius Adams works off a block to tag Shampklin after a gain of 4.
6. 11 personnel. Damontae Kazee and Nate Meadors the safety pairing. Shampklin gets another carry right side. Great run defense by Nick Herbig to build a fence and stretch the play wide, the back with nowhere to go. Loss of 1.
7. 12 personnel. Rookie Ryan Watts in at safety alongside Miles Killebrew. Cory Trice Jr. and Anthony Averett the third-team outside corners. Kyron Johnson and David Perales the outside linebackers. John Rhys Plumlee in under center. Screen attempt to La’Mical Perine left side. But NT Breiden Fehoko figures it out and disrupts the track of the throw. Doesn’t bat it but the pass is low and behind and incomplete.
8. 11 personnel. Plumlee out of pistol. RB Jonathan Ward carry up the middle. Hard to definitively say what “down” is without pads and tackling but I’ll give him 3.
9. Fields back in at QB. 12 personnel. Darnell Washington staying in to block at TE. Good coverage by the defense, nothing open, and Fields throws out of bounds downfield in the general vicinity of Quez Watkins. Minkah Fitzpatrick on the coverage.
10. 13 personnel. Fields under center. Darnell Washington, Pat Freiermuth, and MyCole Pruitt the trio of tight ends on the field. Perine on the carry but it goes nowhere, DL DeMarvin Leal making a nice play to knife in for a short loss. Good play by Leal.
11. 21 personnel. Daijun Edwards a carry left side for 5 yards. Kyle Allen in at QB.
12. 11 personnel. Julius Welschof in at outside linebacker. Tyler Matakevich and Jacoby Windmon the inside linebacker pairing. Scotty Miller, Calvin Austin III, and Dez Fitzpatrick the three-receiver set. Allen rolls to right right with his throw behind Fitzpatrick in a lot of traffic.
Third Team Session (11 v 11)
1. Ball on the offense’s 27. 11 personnel. Fitzpatrick and Elliott the safety pairing. Beanie Bishop Jr. working first-team slot corner here. Fields out of the pistol, Harris the back behind him. Harris run to the left, LG Isaac Seumalo controlling NT Keeanu Benton to clear out the first level. Harris cuts back behind and gets upfield before Patrick Queen grabs Harris up high around the neck and tosses him down.
2. 13 personnel. Ogunjobi-Benton-Loudermilk the d-line pairing, Heyward getting a bit of rest and allowing Loudermilk to play up a group. Roberts and Queen the ILB duo, Fitzpatrick and Elliott at safety, Porter and Jackson at corner. Fields boots to the left and hits WR Scotty Miller making a sliding catch for about a 5-yard gain.
3. Still in 13 personnel. MyCole Pruitt goes in motion, but Darnell Washington is flagged for the false start as the offense is forced to huddle up again.
4. Jaylen Warren run up the middle. Not much there, Leal again in the mix to make the stop.
5. 11 personnel. Herbig and Moon the outside linebackers. Mark Robinson and Payton Wilson at inside linebacker, Darius Rush and Kalon Barnes the cornerbacks. Pruitt at tight end Y-off. Kyle Allen under center. Warren zone run, cutting back to his right. Adams tags him after a pickup of 3 with a collision in front, bodies tangled together and going to the ground. Everyone was ok.
6. 13 personnel. Leal-Adams-Loudermilk along the line against the backup o-line unit. Darnell Washington aligns at fullback directly in front of the back before shifting to his right shortly before the snap. Kyle Allen play-action, hitting Pat Freiermuth open over the middle for a gain of 18. Washington stayed in to pass protect.
7. 11 personnel. Dez Fitzpatrick, Roman Wilson, and Quez Watkins the three receivers. RB Aaron Shampklin on the carry, Jermiah Moon setting the edge well. Give Shampklin a gain of 5.
8. 12 personnel. D-line of: Logan Lee-Breiden Fehoko-Jacob Slade. Kyron Johnson and David Perales in at OLB. QB John Rhys Plumlee in at pistol. RB La’Mical Perine getting carry right side. Good blocking, including by TE Rodney Williams, and it’s a gain of about 6.
9. 13 personnel. Hole opens up for RB Jonathan Ward. Good lane and I’ll give him 10 yards here.
10. 11 personnel. O-line of: Hamilton-Beach-McCollum-Fisher-Hardy. Justin Fields out of pistol against the first-team defense. Did have his starting three receivers out there in Pickens, Austin, and Jefferson. Screen to the right to Perine for 5 yards.
11. 12 personnel. Perine carry left side. Good run support from Donte Jackson and it’s a gain of 3.
12. 11 personnel. Kyron Johnson and Julius Welschof at OLB. Cory Trice Jr. and Kalon Barnes in at cornerback. Nate Meadors and Damontae Kazee at safety. Kyle Allen under center. WR Duece Watts goes in motion left to right. Run to Daijun Edwards left side. Really good defense from Welschof to control his block and turn the runner back inside to the right for a couple. Nice job by Welschof to keep his pads low and be strong at the POA.
13. 21 personnel. Allen under center. Jacoby Windmon and Tyler Murray in at ILB. Jack Colletto in at FB. Allen boots out, Johnson applies pressure as Allen moves to his right, and Allen chucks it out of bounds to end practice.
– As usual, players stay busy post-practice. OT Devery Hamilton worked on his pass sets. QB Justin Fields threw to WR Calvin Austin III. A shirtless but helmet-wearing WR Roman Wilson ran some routes and caught passes next to TE Pat Freiermuth. OGs Mason McCormick and James Daniels worked by themselves on run blocking. Players hit the JUGS machine. Lots of work before, during, and after practice, and the earlier start time makes it easier for these guys to stay on the field than feel like their day is falling behind when practices ended well after 4 PM like before.
Camp Summary
– Obviously, it’s just the first day. There’s only so much to learn and we’re working on getting the basics down. But some quick thoughts.
– Sloppy overall for the offense, adjusting to the last-second change of the quarterbacks bumping up a line as Wilson sat out. Some bad snaps, false starts, fumbles, though no real drops from the receivers. Group getting adjusted and hopefully they clean things up throughout the week.
– A solid overall practice from Justin Fields. Hung in the pocket, threw a pretty deep ball, went through his reads. Wasn’t a spectacular day or anything but I’d call it a “good” day for him.
– TE Pat Freiermuth got peppered with targets. I’ll tally them later, but you can probably feel it in the notes. Favorite target of the day and he was productive.
– Arthur Smith’s offense is what we saw in Atlanta and Tennessee. Boots, play fakes, wide-zone run scheme, lots of tight ends, some fullback, and horizontal passing game. Obviously, there’s still a level of base offense/install stuff but the offense felt as expected.
– Defensively, a little less to note. LB Payton Wilson looked athletic. CB Donte Jackson was competitive on the ball. Some good run defense from the outside linebackers, especially Nick Herbig and Julius Welschof. But it was DL DeMarvin Leal who popped the most to me in run session. One step but good start for him.
– Looked like DeShon Elliott and Beanie Bishop Jr. got the bulk if not all of the slot snaps today. I’m betting they’ll rotate tomorrow and work their way down the line with guys like Josiah Scott and Grayland Arnold getting involved. Stay tuned.
– Very early on, Darius Rush seems to have the initial leg up over Cory Trice Jr. Offensively, saw more MyCole Pruitt at TE than Rodney Williams. Troy Fautanu exclusively worked at second-team right tackle. Dan Moore Jr. exclusively worked at first-team left tackle. Broderick Jones exclusively worked at first-team right tackle. Van Jefferson, Calvin Austin III, and George Pickens are currently your top three receivers. Emphasis on “currently” but that’s how it’s starting out.
– Jack Colletto received most of the FB reps. Connor Heyward got some too and Darnell Washington received one during the final team period.
Saint Vincent Snapshot
Connor Heyward and Payton Wilson among the players getting work after practice.
Steelers Short Kings
A series on the shortest and smallest players in team history with large stories to tell.
K Tad Weed: 5-5, 140 pounds (1955)
The best name on this list (real first name “Thurlow”), he appears to truly be the smallest player in team history. After attending Ohio State, he made six appearances for the Steelers in 1955. He made half of his field goals but all 12 of his extra points.
He invented the WEED tennis racquet, a large paddle made for senior citizens to make for easier swings. You can still buy them today!
Norm MacDonald’s Best Quotes/Jokes
“Comedy is surprises, so if you’re intending to make somebody laugh and they don’t laugh, that’s funny.”
