The Pittsburgh Steelers finished their fifth-straight practice, capping the longest stretch of training camp. Back in pads today, it was a spirited practice with lots to note.
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Camp Notes (Day Ten)
– Injury report. Plenty of players returning from either injury or having yesterday off. Working fully today were QB Aaron Rodgers, TE Jonnu Smith, WR DK Metcalf, C Ryan McCollum, ILB Patrick Queen, SS DeShon Elliott, NT Keeanu Benton, and TE DJ Thomas-Jones.
McCollum, Benton, and Thomas-Jones were dealing with injury so their returns are notable. It’s a big moment for Thomas-Jones, who was carted off early in camp but avoided a serious injury.
DL Cam Heyward and T.J. Watt dressed after getting yesterday off but neither practiced in team periods. They worked off to the side, not needing the reps and giving them to others. Heyward did some sprints, walked over to the blocking sled for a couple reps, and kept himself busy throughout the afternoon.
OT Broderick Jones and Isaac Seumalo were full participants throughout practice. Good to have those two fully back.
Not practicing today were LT Gareth Warren, TE Pat Freiermuth, WR Calvin Austin III, CB Cory Trice Jr., CB Donte Kent, CB Joey Porter Jr., OT Calvin Anderson, and DL Esezi Otomewo.
I spotted Warren late in practice in a gray T-shirt with a sleeve on his left leg. Freiermuth appeared to get the day off. Austin must be dealing with something minor. Trice was in street clothes with a hamstring injury suffered Friday while Kent sported a gray boot on his right foot. Sometimes that doesn’t always indicate a serious injury but it’s not a great sign. Trice and Kent chatted up CB Darius Slay for a few minutes during practice while later, Kent made his way over to watch the kick returners go through drills.
Porter did more spirited work on the side, including a half-speed W-drill, and looks close to returning. Otomewo put on a helmet and wore his No. 72 jersey, working off to the side with a trainer for parts of practice. At one point, he sat next to a cooler in the left corner of the field where the d-line works individually, watching the rest of the team work. He should be close to a return.
It’s academic at this point but I believe it was Dean Lowry’s right knee that was injured. Saw him on the bench throughout practice. Wore black joggers but there was padding of some sort on his right knee so I assume that is the one that caused him to land on season-ending injured reserve.
– SS DeShon Elliott the first player to walk down the stairs at 1:17, hanging out on the bench for a few minutes before getting a solid 10 minutes on the JUGS machine. ILB Payton Wilson and OG Mason McCormick were next.
– Several offensive linemen, Ryan McCollum, Nick Broeker, and Mason McCormick, hanging out on the bench with offensive assistant Mateo Kambui, who was hired last year and followed Arthur Smith from Atlanta.
– Aaron Rodgers and Mason McCormick continue to spend lots of time hanging out pre-practice, talking for several minutes before practice got going.
– DeMarvin Leal knows how to make an entrance. Today included, he likes to slide down the railing on the stairs that lead to the practice field. Dude is an athlete.
– Second-team offensive line in warmups: Cook-S. Anderson-McCollum-Scharping-Jones
– Return line shorter due to injuries to Austin and Kent: WR Ke’Shawn Williams, WR Max Hurleman, WR Robert Woods, and WR Scotty Miller.
– Back in pads, Jack Sawyer wore a heavy right brace on his right arm.
– I’m not great at the weight/size eye test but Keeanu Benton definitely looks bigger than last year. And I know Benton commented that he’s gained weight.
– Vince Williams was the Steelers’ meet ‘n greet player pre-practice and watched practice throughout the day. He’s worked with the team in the past and is a linebackers coach at Pittsburgh-area Pine-Richland High School.
– Rookie UDFA safety Sebastian Castro saw work as the upback during an early special teams period.
– Wide receivers working on blocking during one portion of the individual session today. The tight ends also took reps on the blocking sled.
– Elsewhere, tight ends and offensive tackles worked together on combination blocks. Assistant o-line coach Isaac Williams and TEs coach Alfredo Roberts led the group. Head o-line coach Pat Meyer and Kambui worked with the interior line nearby. They had an interesting drill that at first blush, looks like a tackling drill the defensive backs would do. But this looked like a backside cutoff drill on zone schemes. Quick clip.
– Some quick notes in the competition period, which were 2 on 2 that I don’t chart the way I do 1 on 1. But couple notables:
DeShon Elliott had a downfield breakup against Roman Wilson. Later, Scotty Miller beat Chuck Clark on a deep post. Lance McCutcheon worked well in a scramble drill to get open and catch a short score as Aaron Rodgers rolled left. Juan Thornhill had a good man-match, letting Roman Wilson go on a slant and carrying Brandon Johnson on a slant to break it up. Brandin Echols got flagged for holding/PI against Scotty Miller.
During this period, Mike Tomlin watched the tight ends work on run blocking on the EDGE rushers. DJ Thomas-Jones displaced Eku Leota one rep before getting beat badly by DeMarvin Leal later in the session, Leal shedding him with ease. TEs coach Alfredo Roberts going over points to him after every rep, catching up after Thomas-Jones missed a week with injury.
Elsewhere, the inside linebackers worked on their angles, playing inside/out versus tosses. Carson Bruener took one bad angle and got beat inside by RB Lew Nichols and received coaching from ILBs coach Scott McCurley.
– Kick returners during one special teams period: Scotty Miller, Max Hurleman, D’Shawn Jamison, Ke’Shawn Williams, Kenneth Gainwell, and Trey Sermon.
– During the kick-return period, here are the two return lines. No actual kicking or returners and the group is split because there’s a coverage team, too, but here are the return front lines.
First Team:
Pierre-Miller-Killebrew-Holcomb-Robinson-Clark
Heyward—–Wilson—-Skowronek
Second Team:
Q. Johnson-McCutcheon-Foelsch-Sawyer-Bruener-Echols
Thomas-Jones—–Galbreath—–Leota
First Team Period (11 on 11)
Seven Shots. Ball on the 2-yard line. Live-tackling period.
1. D-line of Harmon-Benton-Loudermilk. O-line of Jones-Seumalo-Frazier-McCormick-Fautanu. Nick Herbig and Alex Highsmith the outside linebackers, DeShon Elliott and Juan Thornhill at safety, Jalen Ramsey and Darius Slay at cornerback. Jonnu Smith and Darnell Washington the tight ends.
Aaron Rodgers under center. Play-action to RB Jaylen Warren. Rodgers rolls right, not much there, and throws the ball short near the feet of TE Jonnu Smith. Jalen Ramsey covering.
2. Benton and Harmon (who is celebrating his 22nd birthday today, by the way) the d-tackles. WR Ben Skowronek slot left. Rodgers wants to hit him on an out route to the left but it’s incomplete, Darius Slay covering.
3. Robert Woods and Scotty Miller the receivers, Kaleb Johnson the running back. Rodgers looks left, looks right, and scrambles around. Throw is out of the end zone and incomplete, the defense not giving the offense an inch.
4. Mason Rudolph checks in and gets under center. Toss right to RB Trey Sermon. Cuts back and up left but he can’t get over the goal line, CB James Pierre and EDGE DeMarvin Leal among those combining on the stop. Hard collision just ahead of the goal line as the defense wins again.
5. O-line of Cook-S. Anderson-McCollum-Scharping-Jones. Kenneth Gainwell slot right. Rudolph slant left gets tipped at the line and flutters to intended target Jonnu Smith. Incomplete.
6. O-line of Cook-Nester-Broeker-Williams-Jones. Will Howard in at quarterback. Handoff to RB Evan Hull, who drives ahead up the middle for the offense’s first score.
7. Breiden Fehoko and Kyler Baugh the d-tackles. Jack Sawyer and DeMarvin Leal the EDGE players. Lew Nichols at RB with TE JJ Galbreath split out wide, the offense in 12 personnel. Roc Taylor slot left. Howard looks for Taylor in the back left corner of the end zone, but CB Cameron McCutcheon covers it well and Howard’s throw is well off-line and incomplete, though I don’t know if the ball was bad or if Taylor’s route wasn’t crisp.
Defense dominates Seven Shots, winning 6-1. Quarterbacks were incomplete on all five pass attempts.
Second Team Period (11 on 11)
Live-tackling session.
1. Ball on the +40 (defense’s side). Jones-Seumalo-Frazier-McCormick-Fautanu the starting o-line. Juan Thornhill and DeShon Elliott at safety. Aaron Rodgers under center. Roman Wilson and DK Metcalf the receivers.
Jaylen Warren carry left side. Daylight with the line washing down the left side, gaining 7 yards before Elliott trips him up.
2. Benton and Harmon the d-tackles. Rodgers in shotgun. Hits Metcalf downfield working left to right for a 40-yard touchdown. Big play. On the line, Nick Herbig beat Darnell Washington around the edge.
3. Rodgers under center. Toss to Warren left side with Jonnu Smith motioning right to left as a lead man. Good leg drive by Warren for a gain of 5 yards.
4. O-line of Cook-S. Anderson-Frazier-McCormick-Fautanu, Jones and Seumalo getting a bit of a breather here, but these were virtually their only limited reps of the day. Rodgers under center. Kenneth Gainwell carry right side. No gain as Cole Holcomb and Payton Wilson converge on the stop.
5. D-line of Fehoko-Ekuale-Black. Mason Rudolph in at quarterback, Kaleb Johnson the running back. Johnson gets the carry, but Sawyer is free from his LOLB spot and grabs Johnson down for a gain of 1, the rest of the defense swarming in to finish the rep.
6. Brandin Echols and James Pierre the cornerbacks. WR Max Hurleman slot left. Gainwell run left side. CB Beanie Bishop Jr. flies in and grabs Gainwell in the backfield. Gainwell is able to spin and step out of it but the play is slowed up enough that he gets dropped for a loss of 3 yards.
7. Rudolph under center. Play-action. Has Hurleman open over the middle. Throw is a little low but catchable. Hurleman goes to the ground to try to squeeze it but can’t, the ball hitting the ground and Hurleman a little frustrated he couldn’t make the play.
8. Rudolph back under center. Connor Heyward the fullback. Trey Sermon carry right side. ILB Devin Harper first man in but Sermon churns ahead for a couple yards. Call it 4 yards.
9. O-line of Cook-Nester-Scharping-Williams-Jones. Will Howard under center, Hull the running back. Hull nice cut upfield to make Eku Leota miss. Gain of 5 yards before being stopped. Good push by the o-line, too.
10. Domenique Davis and Logan Lee the d-tackles. Eku Leota and Julius Weslchof the EDGE players. Howard play-action. Hits WR Roc Taylor on a 15-yard dig down to the 10-yard-line. He’s immediately dropped by S Quindell Johnson with a nice form and wrap tackle but holds on to the ball.
11. DJ Thomas-Jones goes in motion, Nichols in the backfield. Stretch run right. Bad handoff between Howard and Nichols. Don’t know who is to blame but the ball hits the ground. Nichols doubles back and lands on top of it. The ball squirted back out at some point and new DL Kyler Baugh fell on it, but the referee ruled Nichols had recovered and the play was over there. Still, this is a loss and wasted play.
12. Skylar Thompson in at quarterback, working out of shotgun. Johnson carry over left guard. Leota and Davis the first guys, limiting Johnson to a 1-yard gain.
Third Team Session (11 on 11)
1. Ball on the offense’s 12. Benton and Harmon the d-tackles. Wilson and Queen the inside ‘backers. Herbig and Highsmith the EDGE guys, Ramsey and Slay the cornerbacks. Jones at left tackle, Seumalo at left guard. Rodgers working out of shotgun. Rodgers complete to WR Robert Woods on a left-to-right crosser for a solid 18-yard gain, DeShon Elliott first man stepping in to tag him in this non-contact drill.
2. Rodgers checkdown to Warren over the middle for about 5 yards.
3. Pierre and Echols on the outside with Bishop in the slot. Rodgers’ hard count can get the defense to jump but it cuts both ways. Hard count had RB Kaleb Johnson false start, lifting his left foot off the ground. Play continues and Rodgers throws a running back screen against a blitz, but Johnson dropped the pass. Bad rep all-around for the rookie.
4. Black and Loudermilk the d-tackles. Leal and Sawyer at outside linebacker. Rodgers complete to Metcalf for 6 yards, Bishop on the tag left side. Elliott blitzed from the defense’s left here.
5. Ryan McCollum at center, Max Scharping at right guard. Rudolph hits Darnell Washington on a 7-route left side, gaining a step on the defender (Holcomb, I think) for a 26-yard gain.
6. Rudolph stacks good throws, hitting Scotty Miller over the middle for a pickup of 25 on a dig route.
7. Lee and Baugh the d-tackles. Harrison and Holcomb the inside linebackers, McCutcheon and McMichael the outside corners with Jamison in the slot. Clark and Killebrew the safety duo. Rudolph hits Connor Heyward for a 10-yard gain right side, Harrison on the tag.
8. O-line of Cook-S Anderson-Scharping-Nester-Jones. Leota and Welschof the EDGE pairing. Rudolph checks down and hits Sermon right side, spinning but not getting away from anyone and tagged up for a gain of 4 yards.
9. Will Howard enters. Complete short right to Roc Taylor for just a 2-yard gain. Nice catch along the sideline.
10. Fehoko and Davis the d-tackle pairing. Mark Robinson and Devin Harper at inside linebacker, Castro and Johnson the safeties. Howard under center. Boot right. First read is DJ Thomas-Jones but he sat down and wasn’t really open. Howard tries to hit the second-read crosser working left to right but forces the throw. Picked off by rookie Sebastian Castro, who made a sweet one-handed snag, leaping up and pulling the ball down. Short return before he gets caught and spins down on his own. Really nice play from Castro.
11. Howard bounces back and hits McCutcheon on a curl for 8 yards.
12. Brandon Johnson the X receiver. Skylar Thompson under center. Completion to Ke’Shawn Williams for a 13-yard pickup. McMichael on the coverage.
Fourth Team Period (11 on 11)
Live-tackling session.
1. Jones at left tackle and Seumalo at left guard. Rodgers under center. Warren carry but nothing doing. Herbig and others in on the stop for no gain.
2. Slay and Ramsey at cornerback. Metcalf, Skowronek, and Wilson the three receivers. Johnson at running back. Carry right side. Patrick Queen fills the lane well and pops him good, trying to rip the ball out but Johnson secures it. Gain of maybe 1 yard.
3. Seumalo comes out as Anderson subs in, Seumalo jogging and running gassers, which are common for the offensive linemen this year. Rodgers under center. Rodgers scrambles left and finally fires the football. But Yahya Black does a nice job getting his hand up to bat it, the ball bouncing forward and hitting the ground. Black stumbled and fell down, nearly crashing into Rodgers, but Rodgers scooted away to avoid the hit.
4. Mason Rudolph in at QB. Open-hand fake and boot right side to Rudolph (interesting Rodgers came out for this rep because he normally would take it, suggesting his lesser mobility was a factor) and hits an open Gainwell in the right flat. A 20-yard gain as Chuck Clark throws a shoulder into him. No full tackling on the pass plays here.
5. Rudolph under center. Johnson toss left. Nice shed by Leal, who grabs Johnson and basically picks him up and throws him down for a nice stop. Maybe a gain of 2 yards.
6. Howard in the game. Thomas-Jones at tight end. Hull up the middle, gain of 3 yards.
7. Lew Nichols carry right side. Good edge/run support by Kyler McMichael with another defender, I think the safety, joining him on the stop for a gain of 3 or 4 yards.
One on Ones
O-line vs. d-line.
1. Nick Herbig dips past Troy Fautanu.
2. Better from Fautanu, Seals Herbig, who did dip late but I’ll give the win to Fautanu.
3. Nice bull/swim from Harmon against McCormick.
4. Harmon with an even more successful rep, powering through McCormick.
5. Frazier anchors on Benton’s bull/rip, but this was a good battle.
6. Frazier with an aggressive set and punches early on Benton, who tries to stab him back (potentially trying his club/over move). Frazier won the rep.
7. Loudermilk’s hump move against Spencer Anderson fails.
8. Loudermilk better here, chopping down Anderson’s hands and cornering past.
9. Nice rep from Broderick Jones here, sealing Alex Highsmith.
10. This must’ve been when Highsmith tweaked his groin (which he battled last summer/year, too) because Herbig jumped into the rep. Nice job by Jones to ride/seal Herbig upfield.
11. Herbig dipped Jones late but fell to the ground at the end of the rep.
12. Steven Jones seals Jack Sawyer.
13. Sawyer grabs the front of Jones’ jersey as he rushes wide. Unsure of the rest of the rep but wasn’t a clean win for Sawyer or anything.
14. Jones pulled down Sawyer here on another edge rush.
15. Nester logs up Lee’s club/over attempt.
16. Slow-burn bull rush by Lee is effective against Nester.
17. Bull from Ekuale that knocks Scharping back.
18. Scharping better job anchoring on Ekuale here.
19. Hop step from Broeker is relatively effective, slowing down Black’s bull rush.
20. Dylan Cook wins against DeMarvin Leal.
21. Leal beats Cook to the inside.
22. Tiebreaker. Cook wins it, sealing Leal upfield.
23. Swipe/rip from Sawyer versus Jones here.
24. Nice inside rush by Sawyer to beat Jones, ripping through as he gained the interior edge.
25. Great hump/club move by Breiden Fehoko to easily win on rookie Aiden Williams.
26. Little better from Williams here, sliding to mirror Fehoko, who still had a good rep.
27. Good bull/rip combo by Davis to get past Scharping.
28. Rip/corner by Davis late on Scharping.
29. Good power by Baugh to overwhelm Broeker.
30. Nice energy and good push by Baugh against Broeker.
31. Swim by Baugh beats Broeker cleanly. Good rep.
32. Leal able to shed Cook at the top of the arc, Cook lunging and losing his base.
33. Cook forces Leal wide but Leal is able to dip under near the end.
34. Bull/swim by Harmon versus Jones, shedding late.
35. Quick set by Jones, Harmon gets a step as he rips inside but Jones slides with him upfield.
36. Davis slips by Williams wide.
Fifth Team Period (11 on 11)
Goal-line drill. Ball on the defense’s 2-yard-line. Live tackling.
1. O-line of Jones-Seumalo-Frazier-McCormick-Fautanu. Spencer Anderson in as a 6th OL. But my attention turned to Mark Robinson. Usually a linebacker, he donned a white (offensive) No. 93 jersey and aligned at fullback.
Rodgers in at quarterback. Warren carry, but he’s stuffed short of the goal line.
After Robinson’s offensive reps, he put back on his yellow defensive jersey. I assume he got some reps there, too, but didn’t actually spot him.
2. Kaleb Johnson run left side. Sawyer crashes off the edge to grab Johnson by the legs as the rest of the defense stands him up short of the goal line.
3. 14 personnel with four tight ends in the game: Galbreath, Smith, Washington, and Heyward. Empty set with Gainwell slot left. Jump ball to Washington left side, Rodgers lobbing it up and Washington making the leaping grab over Miles Killebrew. Fun play and hard to stop.
4. Johnson with second effort here and he scores, per the official. Connor Heyward at fullback.
5. Boot by Rudolph. Throw in the vicinity for Thomas-Jones doesn’t have much of a chance to be completed and it’s out of the end zone.
6. Will Howard under center. Shift from tight under center to shotgun with the back sidecar. Rolls right and looks for Galbreath but Clark contests it well and breaks up Galbreath’s leaping attempt.
7. O-line of Cook-Nester-Broeker-Williams-Jones. Heyward at fullback. Nichols carry left side. Bounces it wide and is one-on-one with Sebastian Castro. Nichols tries to throw a stiff arm but Castro knocks it down and makes a great open-field tackle to end practice.
DeMarvin Leal went down to a knee after the play. Hard to know if it was just a nick or something else with practice ending. Saw Leal walking around a few minutes later. Maybe a small limp but hard to tell. I’ll check on it Tuesday.
– Post-practice, EDGE Coach Denzel Martin worked with the edge rushers working on hand use/rushes. T.J. Watt, Nick Herbig, Julius Welschof, and others included.
Camp Recap (TL;DR)
– Tougher day for QB Will Howard today. Needs to be cleaner on exchanges from under center and handoffs and his interception was a bad one. Wasn’t a bad day but sure wouldn’t call it a good one, either. But camp ebbs and flows and response is what matters.
– RB Kenneth Gainwell continues flexing his muscle as a receiver. And the Steelers are using it as much as possible.
– WR Ben Skowronek getting the most first-team reps with Calvin Austin III out. He’s firmly ahead of Robert Woods, Scotty Miller, and the rest right now, and has a really good chance to make the 53.
– Pittsburgh’s 04 personnel (4 tight ends) could be a lot of fun. Expect to see it to some degree, assuming health allows it. TE Darnell Washington has made a lot of plays in the passing game the past few days. He has strong and dependable hands, a forgotten part of his game given the attention on his size and blocking.
– Nice to see OT Broderick Jones have strong reps during the 1v1. Take as much good news there as possible. Also positive the front five is healthy and finally able to work as a unit.
– Nice camp for EDGE DeMarvin Leal. He’s rushing with a better and more effective plan and his size is a problem for tight ends. Probably why the team wanted to keep him at outside linebacker. He’s really athletic and versatile. The fit has always been an issue but it’s a good summer, judging it without roster construction consideration. Still a tough path to stick but not impossible.
– EDGEs Jack Sawyer and Nick Herbig active in run defense during the team periods. I like Sawyer’s rush plan and he’s going to get some pressure with those inside moves this preseason against tackles who set wide and are worried about getting beat around the edge.
– By my count, two fullback reps for ILB Mark Robinson, who played running back before switching to linebacker as a college senior.
– Big day for S Sebastian Castro. An interception and goal line stop. That’ll play well for a rookie.
– I don’t have a ton of notes on the quality of play but the time Joey Porter Jr. and Cory Trice Jr. have missed is good for a guy like Kyler McMichael. Fighting for reps as odd-man-out before, he’s not getting regular playing time.
Saint Vincent Snapshot
Wide receivers working on blocking during individual periods.
15 Longest Steelers Touchdowns
Clips of the longest scores in Steelers’ history.
97 yards – Bob Gage (1949)
Bob Gage’s 97-yard rushing score came with a loss to the Chicago Cardinals but at the time, it was the longest offensive score in team history. In fact, it remains the Steelers’ longest rushing score in history and is still tied for the longest offensive touchdown in history, tied with JuJu Smith-Schuster’s scores we’ve shown the past two days.
Jim Gaffigan Quote Of The Day
“I struggle with my laziness. I mean, should I sit down and do nothing, or should I lie down and do nothing?”
