Pittsburgh Steelers training camp at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe is roughly a month away, and teams around the NFL are beginning to finalize their summer schedules. Report dates have been announced across the league, and several teams have already locked in joint practices ahead of the preseason.
The Steelers are set to report to Saint Vincent College on July 28, but one thing that won't be on the schedule this year is a joint practice. Pittsburgh participated in joint practices during each of the last two training camps, using them as an extra opportunity to get competitive work against another team before the regular season.
This summer, however, the Steelers will stick to their own practices in Latrobe as they prepare for the 2026 season
The Pittsburgh Steelers will not hold a joint practice for their 2026 training camp
The decision makes sense for the Steelers this year. With a new head coach, a new coaching staff, and several new players expected to take on key roles, there’s already going to be plenty to sort through once training camp opens in Latrobe. The focus will naturally be on installing systems and schemes, and getting everyone comfortable and adjusted for the season.
While joint practices can be useful, they’re not needed. Players get a chance to face a different opponent, and fans usually enjoy seeing their favorite team go against another NFL team. But there’s a flip side too. Teams have to be careful about what they put out there, and every summer, it feels like at least every joint practice turns into a scuffle of some sort.
Mike McCarthy chose not to schedule a joint practice in his first training camp as Steelers head coach, which isn’t all that surprising given the situation. There’s already a lot on his plate, and camp alone will be more than enough to evaluate the roster and start building the foundation of what this team is going to look like in 2026.
The Steelers did hold joint practices with the Buffalo Bills in 2024 and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in 2025, but before that, they had gone several years without doing them. So this isn’t really a brand-new shift so much as it is a return to keeping things in-house for the summer.
Pittsburgh isn’t alone either. The Denver Broncos, Kansas City Chiefs, and Detroit Lions are among the teams opting out of joint practices this year as well.
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