One day after a fight happened following a late hit on quarterback Justin Fields from linebacker Elandon Roberts, the Pittsburgh Steelers engaged in another fight Thursday.
According to Steelers Depot’s Alex Kozora, a fight broke out Thursday at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe at the end of a run session. Kozora believes that second-year offensive lineman Tyler Beach and rookie sixth-round defensive tackle Logan Lee were involved initially.
The Athletic’s Mike DeFabo tweeted that third-year defensive lineman DeMarvin Leal, who has gotten off to a strong start in training camp, escalated the situation and came up from the bottom of the pile without his helmet on.
Based on fan footage from training camp, Leal threw a lineman to the ground and then started throwing punches as the situation escalated quickly.
Safe to say, Leal certainly escalated the skirmish and turned it into a full-on fight.
It’s the second fight in two days, though this one appears a bit less intense than Wednesday’s. In that fight, rookie Guard Mason McCormick went after Roberts and fellow inside linebacker Patrick Queen after the late hit on Fields, leading to the melee that drew the ire of head coach Mike Tomlin following practice.
“We got a little bit less than professional and chippy today,” Tomlin said to reporters, according to video via Steelers.com. “It’s an opportunity to teach and learn as part of this process. As much as we hate it, we’ll learn and grow from that.”
The Steelers aren’t in full pads today, which was expected to lighten the intensity some ahead of Friday’s much-anticipated Friday Night Lights practice at Latrobe Memorial Stadium.
But that wasn’t the case, as the fight broke out for the second straight day.
These types of incidents during training camp, especially in competitive, intense environments, are normal. However, the Steelers didn’t have a single fight during training camp last season, so it’s a bit more notable this season, especially with the Steelers aiming to play a certain brand of football.
