In already its final week of training camp, the Pittsburgh Steelers returned to Chuck Noll Field Monday afternoon. Practice will run through Thursday before camp breaks and players get to leave dorms and sleep in their own beds. Let’s discuss what happened today.
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Camp Notes (Day 13)
– Not practicing today included: FB Derek Watt (shoulder), EDGE Alex Highsmith (ribs), RB Benny Snell (knee), OL Chaz Green (undisclosed), WR Calvin Austin III (foot), WR Miles Boykin (ribs), WR Anthony Miller (shoulder), S Karl Joseph (ankle), ILB Marcus Allen (hamstring), and NT Montravius Adams (ankle). I didn’t see Austin, Miller, nor Joseph on the field today. Joseph is obviously dealing with what looks like a serious ankle injury suffered early in Saturday’s game while Austin and Miller missed it entirely. I did see Adams on the field with no boot/cast/anything on his ankle so that’s a good sign. Snell came down at 2:01, six minutes after practice started (likely getting treatment) but went through stretch line and moved around fine. So his injury seems minor.
Returning to practice included TE Zach Gentry, WR Chase Claypool, RB Najee Harris, OG Kevin Dotson and OLB Genard Avery. Harris was not tackled but worked in most team sessions, except seven shots, for the first time since the first day pads came on. CB Ahkello Witherspoon and DB Damontae Kazee, both hurt in Saturday’s game, practiced in full today. So good news there. NT Tyson Alualu worked full while SS Miles Killebrew was limited.
OG Kendrick Green suffered a left hand/wrist injury on the first play of 7 shots. He was checked on by trainers, walked up the stairs to the facility and then surprisingly returned to practice about ten minutes later and finished out the day. Can’t recall a time where a player left the field and then came back, much less practiced.
– Just two days after a game, the Steelers were in pads today. By comparison, the team wasn’t in pads coming off their first preseason game last year. Today’s practice wasn’t as intense as others in pads but Tomlin putting the team to work today.
– Newly signed OLB James Vaughters, replacing the injured Tuzar Skipper, will wear #96. He worked in full today.
– With Joseph out, WR Tyler Vaughns first one down the stairs at 1:23 with Arthur Maulet and Chris Owens not far behind.
– Four of the five starting offensive linemen walked down the stairs together: Dan Moore Jr, Kevin Dotson, James Daniels, and Chukwuma Okorafor. Only Mason Cole was the exception, walking about ahead of them by a little bit.
– Kendrick Green worked as first-team LG in warmups though ultimately, he and Dotson rotated starter reps throughout the day as they did before Dotson got hurt.
– Steelers break out and work on WR pop passes and jet runs at the start of every practice. Pop passes today with a very short forward pass to the receiver coming across. “Completion!” Mike Tomlin harped, emphasizing the need for a forward pass and not a handoff. If there’s a bad exchange, it’s an incompletion, not a fumble.
– Frisman Jackson working on curl routes with the receivers in positional drills, Jackson working as the CB as he coached up each rep. “Get me running, get me running, get me running!” he called out to each player, wanting the player to sell vertically to get the CB to open up before breaking down. Tyler Vaughns…
Read More: Steelers Training Camp Diary: Day 13