After their first preseason game and an off day Saturday, the Pittsburgh Steelers were back at Saint Vincent College Sunday for one of their final training camp practices of 2024. They’ll hold another practice Monday and Wednesday before breaking camp. Let’s talk about what happened on Sunday.
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Camp Notes (Day 14)
– Injury roundup: Not practicing Sunday were NT Keeanu Benton (eye), Roman Wilson (left ankle), OT Troy Fautanu (left knee), CB Donte Jackson (unknown), DL/OLB DeMarvin Leal (unknown), and OLB Alex Highsmith (groin). Benton wore sunglasses and a hat after getting poked in the eye during Friday’s game. I didn’t spot Fautanu on the field but might’ve missed him. Mike Tomlin was optimistic he’ll return within a week or two. Not sure the issue with Leal. He walked down the stairs and hill about 20-30 minutes into practice along with Jackson. Looked okay but something’s bugging him.
Roman Wilson was on the field early and caught passes on the JUGS machine in a helmet. Walked around without issue but hasn’t done much side work to signal he’ll return before camp breaks.
RB/KR Cordarrelle Patterson and DE Dean Lowry went through individual drills but not team, doing conditioning work during those periods. Newly signed DL Marquiss Spencer and LB Luquay Washington practiced in full, including team-period work.
Mid-practice, per Tomlin, WR Tarik Black sustained a hamstring injury while CB Kalon Barnes has a quad issue. I saw Barnes early in practice attempting to push through the injury before bowing out. Unfortunate for him.
– Pad-less practice today for the team.
– Payton Wilson out later than usual for this one-off 2:55 PM/EST start time. But first on the field at 2:13 PM.
– Final weekend practice of camp and the stands were packed. Perfect weather today and all-around great day.
– After their exchange issues during Friday’s game, Nate Herbig and Justin Fields worked on snapping before practice began. They were among the first players to take the field.
– For a solid 10 minutes before the first practice horn, T.J. Watt and Nick Herbig worked on their rush moves 1v1 by themselves. Variety of moves but Herbig concentrated on his cross chop while Watt worked on his swipe and dip.
-DBs coach Grady Brown spent a lot of time with Joey Porter Jr. working on mirroring wide receiver releases in press/tight coverage.
– In warmups, the offensive line groupings.
First Team: Moore-Seumalo-Herbig-Daniels-Jones
Zach Frazier picked up his first 1st-team reps during team period today. Herbig would still start each period, but Frazier came on for a snap or two each time.
Second Team: Cook-McCormick-Frazier-Herbig-Anderson
Mixed into these reps saw Anderson kick back inside to right guard with Broderick Jones stepping in at right tackle. Consequence of Fautanu’s knee injury. Anderson played RG and RT throughout the practice.
Third Team: Hamilton-Beach-McCollum-Fisher-Hardy
– In on-air/offense-only work, Steelers mixed in some Pony looks with RBs Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren on the field together. Warren often motioning out in space as the fast/flat player. They’d incorporate that into team periods. First 2-RB looks of camp. They also ran a Dart RPO with Broderick Jones the backside RT pulling.
– PR line: QB John Rhys Plumlee, WR Calvin Austin III, WR George Pickens, WR Scotty Miller, WR Quez Watkins, S Minkah Fitzpatrick, and CB/S Cam Sutton.
KR line: RB La’Mical Perine, RB Daijun Edwards, RB Jaylen Warren, and RB Cordarrelle Patterson.
– Midway through practice, Plumlee got wide receiver work and caught two passes in team drills. A good athlete, he spent over a year at Ole Miss at receiver before transferring to the University of Central Florida and moving back to quarterback. Now, he might be a receiver again. Didn’t play any quarterback today.
– Wide receivers worked on run-blocking drills today. Later, went through four cones in a square on the ground as they worked on their breaks and cuts.
– Offensive line kept repping combo blocks and reach/cutoff blocks on the backside of zone runs.
First Team Period (11 on 11)
1. Seven Shots, ball on the 2. Moore-Seumalo-Herbig-Daniels-Jones the o-line. T.J. Watt and Nick Herbig the outside linebackers. Montravius Adams and Cam Heyward the defensive tackles. Grayland Arnold over slot. Minkah Fitzpatrick in at free safety.
11. personnel. Justin Fields in at QB. Throw left corner for WR Van Jefferson is incomplete, Cory Trice Jr. (getting first-team work with Donte Jackson out) covering. Pass never touched Jefferson’s hand and hit the ground.
2. Russell Wilson in at QB. Porter and Trice the corners with Fitzpatrick and Damontae Kazee at safety. Nick Herbig jumps offsides but resets himself. Wilson wants a fade to WR George Pickens right corner, but Pickens broke his route off. Was frustrated after this rep for the miscommunication.
3. 12 personnel. Wilson still in at QB, Darnell Washington and Connor Heyward standing up slot left. Wilson hits Jaylen Warren in the left flat and he makes the catch for what should’ve been a touchdown. But Warren slipped and fell as he tried to turn upfield. No score.
4. Wilson still in. Throw in the end zone, I think for Dez Fitzpatrick, is incomplete.
5. Trice and Anthony Averett the cornerbacks. Fields back in at QB. 12 personnel. Fields hits RB Jonathan Ward in the right flat. No tackling but I don’t believe this was a touchdown.
6. 11 personnel. Fields pass intended for WR Tarik Black left side but incomplete, second-team slot Beanie Bishop Jr. providing good coverage.
7. Jacob Slade and Willington Previlon the defensive tackles. Julius Welschof and Kyron Johnson the outside linebackers. Fields hits WR Scotty Miller on a speed out right side against CB Darius Rush for the score. Defense still wins 5-2.
Competition Period
No 1v1s today so just a couple notes of some big-picture things I saw.
– CB Beanie Bishop Jr. ripped the ball out of Van Jefferson’s hands on a dig cut for the breakup/incompletion. Bishop was hyped, yelling and pointing to the crowd while getting a high-five from Tomlin.
– Calvin Austin III beat Darius Rush on a post and kept his feet inbounds before going out of the end zone, underneath the crossbar and up the hill trying to avoid one of the Ford promotional signs.
Second Team Period (11 on 11)
1. Ball on the offense’s 25. Russell Wilson under center with Nate Herbig at the pivot. Patrick Queen and Elandon Roberts the inside linebackers. Najee Harris carry left side for 3 yards, Roberts on the tag.
2. D-line of Ogunjobi-Adams-Heyward. Porter and Trice as the outside corners with Arnold in the slot. Payton Wilson now in at ILB next to Queen. Jaylen Warren carry up the middle for 5. Again, no tackling.
3. Damontae Kazee screams “nickel” as he runs in from the sideline. Adams and Heyward the DTs. Pony look with Harris and Warren on the field, Fields in at quarterback. Warren fast to the right side. Harris on the carry for a gain of about 4 while Roberts again applies the tag.
4. 12 personnel. Zach Frazier kicking in at center. George Pickens and Van Jefferson the lone wideouts. Fields in pistol. Not sure who had the carry right side. T.J. Watt fell to the ground and looked up while still down as if to want a holding call (no refs attended camp today). Run went for just a couple yards.
5. Second-team offensive line comes in. 11 personnel. Wilson under center. Complete to Calvin Austin III for 5 yards along the left side.
6. 12 personnel. Fields under center. End around to WR Quez Watkins for a good gain. I’ll give it about 13 yards, give or take.
7. 21 personnel, Jack Colletto at fullback. Fields under center. Throw for Dez Fitzpatrick left side but SS Miles Killebrew made a nice play to close on the ball and knock it away. Throw felt a little late.
8. O-line of Cook-McCormick-Frazier-McCollum-Anderson. Fields out of the gun, 11 personnel. Calvin Austin III goes in motion on jet action. Fields read option, pulling the ball away from RB Aaron Shampklin and bursting down the right side past Austin.
9. Wilson under center. 21 personnel. Good cut and burst from Shampklin for about 7 yards, Graham on the tag.
10. Kyler McMichael and Thomas Graham Jr. the cornerbacks. 11 personnel. Wilson under center (lots of work there today to address snap issues from Friday night). Wilson fires down the left sideline for WR Duece Watts but Graham has tight coverage and tips the ball away. Incomplete.
11. 12 personnel. Tyler Matakevich and Ludvay Washington the inside linebackers. Fields quick screen, throwing hot left side to Quez Watkins with the corner playing off. Gain of about 5.
12. Kyle Allen comes in at QB. Bad under center exchange between him and C Ryan McCollum. RT Anderson Hardy falls on the ball. No laps as the period comes to an end.
– Just pieced together special teams periods today. Working on punts and kickoffs. Calvin Austin III, Scotty Miller, and Quez Watkins were the “returners,” though there were no actual runbacks. Later, La’Mical Perine and Plumlee were the kick returners along with a Jonathan Ward/Daijun Edwards pairing.
– On kickoffs, Danny Smith instructing and repeating to his guys to “get off the block” on the coverage team. Good advice.
– During one ST period, TE Pat Freiermuth ran routes to catch from the quarterbacks.
– In 7 on 7, Darius Rush jumped a Justin Fields throw underneath and housed it the other way.
Third Team Period (11 on 11)
1. Ball on the offense’s 17. Trice first-team corner, Porter opposite, and Arnold in the slot. Kazee and DeShon Elliott at safety. Adams and Heyward the d-tackles. 11 personnel, Wilson, Austin, and Pickens the wideouts. Wilson Y-screen to an open TE MyCole Pruitt, who darts down the left side for about 13 yards.
2. Herbig at center. Fields under center. Warren the back. 12 personnel, Heyward and Freiermuth the tight ends. Fields under pressure from Watt, who got the edge on Jones and needed help from the back. A back-foot throw but Fields has the arm talent to fit it to Watkins for a gain of 23 over the middle, Trice covering.
3. Wilson in at QB. 11 personnel, Pickens in the slot. Empty formation. Wilson wants Pickens but the throw is low and behind and incomplete.
4. Frazier in at center, Herbig shifting over to RG. Wilson at QB. Pass complete to Pat Freiermuth left side for about 5 yards. Elliott blitzed.
“I see you, T.J.” someone called out. Not sure what Watt did but assume it was something good. That’s a pretty safe bet.
5. Fields in at quarterback. 12 personnel, Jefferson and Pickens the receivers. Fields throw over the middle is batted. Another one, losing track this camp, and LB Jacoby Windmon picks it off from the bounce. Spencer Anderson grabs the back of his jersey and yanks him down.
6. 21 personnel. Fields in at QB. Pony again with Shampklin and Perine. Each sidecar Fields and each run to the opposite flat on the snap. Fields hits Shampklin left side, S Ryan Watts on the tag for a gain of about 3.
7. 13 personnel. Fields hits Freiermuth left side for 10 against Rush. Empty set and OLB Julius Welschof walked over to try and cover Scotty Miller in the slot. Miller shook him on his release, foot firing before breaking on his route. DC Teryl Austin wasn’t happy with someone not being aligned over the receiver. Might’ve been Welschof but I’m not sure.
8. Frazier in at center, McCollum at right guard, Anderson at right tackle. 11 personnel. Fields under center. Fires a beautiful pass deep down the left sideline as Watkins makes a diving catch. About a 50-yard gain. Monster play, great throw and catch.
9. Fields with a screen of five to….someone. Can’t read my notes here. Maybe Pruitt or Freiermuth but I’m not sure.
10. John Rhys Plumlee splits out as a receiver. Wilson in at QB. Logan Lee and Isaiahh Loudermilk the d-tackles. Graham and McMichael the outside corners. 11 personnel. Wilson hits Duece Watts for a 5 yards against S Jalen Elliott.
11. Screen from Wilson to Shampklin right side. Tons of space and the o-line is leading the way, RG Joey Fisher hustling out in front to lead the convoy. I’ll give it a gain of about 20 yards, Shampklin finishing this one in the end zone as Graham chases him the rest of the way there.
12. Kyle Allen in at QB. Daijun Edwards at RB. Jacoby Windmon and Kyron Johnson the OLBs, Jalen Elliott and Cam Sutton at S. 11 personnel. Plumlee in the slot. Allen hits Edwards on a checkdown for a couple, 3 or 4. Windmon got pressure off the edge here.
Fourth Team Period (11 on 11)
1. Ball on the offense’s 29. Herbig at center. DeShon Elliott on the blitz. Fields flushed right side. Considered firing deep for WR Van Jefferson, looking and contemplating and pump faking. He eventually decides against it and chucks the ball out of bounds.
2. 11 personnel. Patrick Queen and Payton Wilson the inside linebackers. Fields wants Pruitt on a quick curl, but CB Joey Porter Jr. uses his length to punch the ball away. Najee Harris nearly hauled it in off the tip, but the ball hit the ground.
3. Pocket collapses on Russell Wilson, LG Isaac Seumalo hitting the ground and a little slow to get up. Wilson complete to TE Connor Heyward for 10 yards over the middle.
4. Frazier comes in at center. 11 personnel. Wilson looks for Scotty Miller left side. Makes the sliding catch but he’s out of bounds as he does so, and the pass is incomplete. No refs but that’s the official Alex Kozora ruling.
5. Fields in at QB. Pony look. Read option, Fields keeping instead of handing off to Harris. Mark Robinson with a good angle to chase Fields as Fields runs to his left.
6. Jacob Slade and Willington Previlon the defensive tackles. Julius Welschof and Jeremiah Moon the outside linebackers. Wilson at QB, 11 personnel. Plumlee a WR slot right. Wilson scans and hits Watts for about 5-6 yards, Robinson on the tag.
7. Darius Rush and Thomas Graham Jr. the corners. 11 personnel, Wilson the quarterback. Zips the ball in a tight window to Miller over the middle to fit it in past Rush.
“There ya go, Scotty!” Tomlin calls out to Miller after the rep.
8. 11 personnel. Third-down period, Ryan Watts dropping down as the dime backer. Fields complete to Plumlee for a couple of yards, 4 or 5. Moon had a nasty spin move to beat Dylan Cook to the inside from his ROLB spot.
9. Fields in at QB. Shampklin on the carry for about 5.
10. 12 personnel. Plumlee slot left. 3×1 look with TE Rodney Williams the backside X-receiver. Fields hits Plumlee for about 6 yards, Plumlee making a leaping catch. Fields pointing at him after the catch as if to say, “Nice play.”
11. O-line of Hamilton-Beach-McCollum-Fisher-Hardy. Jalen Elliott and Cam Sutton the safeties. Washington and Matakevich the inside linebackers, Windmon and Johnson the outside linebackers. Fields complete to Rodney Williams left side, McMichael pushing him down at the end of the rep.
12. Kyle Allen comes in. Marquiss Spencer along the d-line pairing for this rep next to Logan Lee. 11 personnel. Connor Heyward goes in motion. Beanie Bishop Jr. the slot corner. Allen complete to Edwards on a checkdown.
“Yeah, Toby!” someone yelled on the field. No idea who that was referring to.
Fifth Team Period (11 on 11)
1. Two-minute drill. Ball on the offense’s 40. O-line of Moore-Seumalo-Herbig-Daniels-Jones. Watt and Herbig the outside linebackers. Fields quick hitter to Pickens left side for 4 yards.
2. Read-option and Fields keeps it for about 9.
3. Ball on the defense’s 45. Herbig in at center, by the way, for the entire period. Fields finds Austin on a slant for 10 yards between Queen and another defender.
4. Fields hits Van Jefferson right side for 4, Rush on the tag.
5. Fields throw left sideline caught over his head against Porter, getting out of bounds. Gain of 10.
6. Miller, Watkins (in the slot), and Fitzpatrick the receiver trio.
7. Fields down the right seam, a 21-yard touchdown to Watkins, who reaches back behind him and makes the grab as he slides into the end zone. Touchdown. Nice drive by Fields.
Sixth Team Period (11 on 11)
1. Kyle Allen two-minute drill, same circumstances. 11 personnel. Allen complete to Watkins for 5 yards left side, Elandon Roberts on the tag.
2. Allen hits Scotty Miller over the middle for a healthy gain of 21 yards.
3. Ball on the defense’s 34. Short completion to Connor Heyward in the right flat, a designed play with two blockers in front.
4. Ball on the 30. Allen looks for Dez Fitzpatrick right side but incomplete as he tries to reach for the ball while keeping his feet inbounds. Couldn’t make it happen.
5. Empty set. Complete on a curl to Rodney Williams for 6.
6. Empty. Allen floats a deep ball left sideline and Duece Watts makes a nice catch over his left shoulder with Graham covering. Down to the 1, though I thought Watts scored here. Tomlin may have wanted to see a goal-line rep.
7. Allen fakes the handoff to the back. Looks to throw, nothing there, so he tucks and runs himself over the goal line and into the end zone to end the day with a successful 2-minute drive.
Camp Recap (TL;DR)
– My pre-draft scouting report, even before he became a Steeler, suggested that John Rhys Plumlee should move back to WR instead of trying his hand as a quarterback. Looks like Pittsburgh is coming around to the idea.
– Justin Fields has the best arm and deep ball of any QB I’ve seen in camp since regularly attending in 2014. Ben Roethlisberger’s arm was good, but I didn’t catch him in his early days and Fields’ is better.
– Don’t want to assume the team will use Pony during the season but Steelers running some fun concepts off it. Offense is very multiple and flexible post-snap.
– No pads but RB Aaron Shampklin shows good burst and explosiveness, aided by a big lower half to create power and burst.
– Nice day for WR Quez Watkins, and he needed that type of outing.
– Based on my notes, it looks like C Zach Frazier was getting one snap with the first-team offensive line during team period. We’ll see if that increases throughout the final two days of camp.
– Good camp for DL/OLB DeMarvin Leal but he’s been nicked up throughout his Steelers career. And that’s an obstacle.
– CB Thomas Graham Jr. keeps making plays on the football. And while many cemented Beanie Bishop Jr. as the starting slot, this battle isn’t over. Arnold and Graham are in the mix.
– OLB Jeremiah Moon loves his spin move. And it’s pretty good. Highsmith, Herbig, and Moon possess it.
Saint Vincent Snapshot
WRs Coach Zach Azzanni throwing to receivers during drills in the individual period.
Steelers Short Kings
A series on the shortest and smallest players in team history with large stories to tell.
CB Chidi Iwuoma: 5-8, 185 pounds (2002-2006)
I may or may not have made this list just to put Chidi on it. Part of a great Cal secondary in college that included Nnamdi Asomugha, he spent his rookie season in Detroit before being signed by Pittsburgh in 2002. He would become an ace special teamer and coverage man, one of several the Steelers had over that era (WR Sean Morey and LB Clint Kriewaldt are others). Iwuoma would earn a Super Bowl ring with the team in 2005.
He currently serves as a Southwest Area Scout in the Steelers’ front office.
Norm MacDonald Quote/Joke Of The Day
“When I die, I want my body donated to science. But more specifically, a scientist who is working on bringing dead guys back to life.”
