The Pittsburgh Steelers held a competitive practice session on Saturday in Latrobe, focusing on drills that tested both offensive and defensive players. After previous sessions where linebackers had the upper hand in pass-rushing drills, Saturday’s activities emphasized coverage skills.
Running back Kenneth Gainwell demonstrated his receiving abilities, showing why he caught 102 passes for 371 yards and contributed to 37 first downs over four seasons with Philadelphia. During one drill, inside linebacker Payton Wilson was flagged for pass interference while covering Gainwell. Coach Mike Tomlin commented on Gainwell’s performance: “He’s good,” said Tomlin. “He’s good in the backfield, he’s good coming out of the backfield. He’s a good route runner. He’s a good outside-zone runner. He’s got a well-rounded game, and that’s one of the reasons why we were excited about acquiring him.”
Rookie Kaleb Johnson managed to outperform ILB Malik Harrison in two reps during receiving drills after losing three straight in earlier blocking matchups.
On defense, safety Quindell Johnson stood out by breaking up a pass to tight end Connor Heyward and intercepting another intended for tight end Kevin Foelsch.
Tight end Darnell Washington continued his strong training camp showing with notable catches, including getting away from Quindell Johnson for a catch before being flagged for offensive pass interference.
Coach Tomlin reflected on the day’s work: “We had a lot of spirited competitive work (Friday) night. It’s good to challenge them in this way, to come back out (on Saturday afternoon) and have to perform on a short turnaround,” said Tomlin. “It kind of mirrors some of the things that happen during our journey during the season. Sometimes there are short weeks and so forth, and so we just wanted to challenge the group to bring the energy today to compete.
“We rested some veteran guys, but it’s a component of team development to rest the veterans while clearing the runway for some guys who could utilize additional reps. And so I was really pleased with some of the additional reps distributed to some of the younger guys, and then what the younger guys were able to do with them. It’s important that they were in really good shape to position themselves to do that, and we’re seeing signs of some of those things. It’s a daily process, and it’s fragile this time of year.”
During the team’s 7-Shots drill—an exercise designed for red zone scenarios—quarterback Mason Rudolph led the first-team offense due to Aaron Rodgers having a rest day along with other key veterans like Cam Heyward, T.J. Watt, Darius Slay, and DK Metcalf.
Rudolph completed one touchdown pass—a fingertip catch by Washington—but finished with two incomplete attempts as inside linebacker Cole Holcomb provided coverage on one play intended for Pat Freiermuth.
Quarterback Will Howard followed with one touchdown throw among his attempts before Skylar Thompson closed out with two incompletions as well; overall, defense prevailed 5-2 in this segment.
Additional observations from practice included cornerback James Pierre intercepting two passes during WR/DB drills and breaking up another under pressure later in practice.
Looking ahead, Coach Tomlin confirmed that Sunday’s session would be conducted in full pads as part of Family Day at training camp—a tradition marked by highly competitive drills since players are often motivated by family members watching from nearby sidelines.
On injuries within the squad, Tomlin provided updates: “Got a lot of bumps and bruises associated with this process, but we’ve also got some guys who could be working their way back. DT Esezi Otomewo could work his way back to us very soon, maybe tomorrow. TE DJ Thomas-Jones, same thing. C Ryan McCollum, same thing. CB Joey Porter, same thing. We’ve got some guys with some soft tissue injuries who could be more than a few days like CB Corey Trice and OT Calvin Anderson; we’ll just march it day by day… DT Keeanu Benton and WR Calvin Austin can be characterized as day-to-day.”
