The Steelers have been at training camp for a couple of weeks now. The team’s first preseason game will be played Friday, August 9th against the Buccaneers.
The Steelers have been hard at work preparing for the upcoming 2019 NFL season in Latrobe. The camp has seen some players make names for themselves and others fall behind in the race for the 53-man roster.
Training camp started off on the wrong foot for T.J. Watt as he found himself on the PUP list for the first couple weeks. He has now been removed from that list and is a go in practice.
T.J. Watt’s injury was never believed to be serious and the trip on the PUP list was precautionary more than anything. The Steelers will need Watt this season to help supply pressure to the QB and help this defense keep improving.
So far at camp one of the biggest stars has been Ben Roethlisberger. Yes, he is one of the best players in the league, but all reports indicate he is having one of the best camps of his career.
Ben is enjoying camp and getting to know his new guys like Donte Moncrief and rookie Diontae Johnson. It will be crucial for Ben to be locked in after losing such valuable offensive pieces this offseason.
Moncrief is quickly developing a trust and confidence from his teammates and coaches this camp. He is in the running to take over the number two spot now that JuJu has moved to the number one guy in the Steel City.
On the defensive side of the ball, Devin Bush has gotten a lot of praise. He has been able to step in from OTAs into camp and show he is ready to be a key addition to the Steelers defense and offer a better foundation at inside linebacker to build upon and anchor the defense.
Another defender getting some words of praise is Artie Burns. He has shown signs of willingness to work hard to improve. This is not to say Burns will earn his starting job back as that is almost assuredly not going to happen, but he could show improvement and earn the trust from the staff to be able to see the field.
Ola Adeniyi is also having a great camp. This should come as no surprise as those who paid attention in 2018 saw his trajectory was making the 53-man roster before a hamstring injury that led to his stay on injured reserve.
With players that are killing camp, there are also always guys who struggle. Jerald Hawkins is one of the most standout players to struggle. Hawkins has had an injury riddled career landing on IR in 2016 and 2018. He played in five games in 2017, starting one.
He has said to have not looked healthy this camp either and that is not hard to believe. Hawkins has big competition as Chukwuma Okorafor looks to overtake him as the backup swing tackle.
Joshua Dobbs has also looked like he would be the third QB this season if current camp trajectory holds. Mason Rudolph stumbled some out of the gates but has since started to separate himself from Dobbs as the backup QB for 2019.
The Steelers have plenty of camp left as they have all their preseason games to go. This camp could get interesting with a clogged receiver room, young pass rushers itching to unseat Bud Dupree, the QB battle for backup and the battle for the backup offensive line spots.