While the preseason still has a couple of games left to go, the Pittsburgh Steelers' training camp is officially over for the 2025 season. There’s no such thing as an uneventful Steelers training camp in Latrobe, but with the faces and storylines leading the headlines every day for the past month, it was certainly among the most eventful in the history of the team.
Thankfully, the Steelers have stayed relatively healthy and, outside of a couple of contract disputes, team morale appears to be comfortably high as the regular season nears. Soon, it will be time for the Steelers to back up those all-in moves they made this offseason to make a deep playoff run.
But before the black and gold take the field for real in those pursuits, let’s look back on some of the more notable stories, for better or worse, that made the Steelers' 2025 training camp one to remember.
Pittsburgh Steelers camp storylines that stood out — The good and the bad
Welcome Surprise: Roman Wilson Begins to Shine
Steelers fans watched Calvin Austin III lose his rookie season due to injury, only to see it happen just a couple of years later with Roman Wilson. Wilson wasn’t the only rookie to miss practically the entire 2024 season, but the concerns for him in his return were much greater than tackle Troy Fautanu.
The fanbase was pleasantly surprised when Wilson showed up to camp and instantly started to make plays as he battled with Austin for the No. 2 receiver position on the depth chart. Once Austin went down with an injury, Wilson stepped up even more, with more highlight reel catches in practice and a solid performance in his 2025 preseason debut.
Wilson still might not win the job this season, but at the very least, Steelers fans are confident that Wilson isn’t a mid-round bust anymore. It seems like if he gets targets this season, he’s going to be productive with them.
Biggest Surprise: The Trade
Technically, it happened right before training camp, but it was plenty close enough. At least with Aaron Rodgers, everyone saw that news coming. The trade that gave the Steelers two star talents on each side of the ball came out of absolutely nowhere.
Sure, there had been rumors and rumblings about the Steelers' interest in Jonnu Smith and Jalen Ramsey, but they quickly dissolved. Besides, Pittsburgh was hoarding picks for the 2026 NFL Draft happening in their own backyard, so how could they get a deal done for either of those two without giving up something substantial in return?
The way the news trickled in, with the last component being that the Steelers had given up Minkah Fitzpatrick to acquire Smith and Ramsey, was the biggest shock the fanbase had faced since, well, Pittsburgh traded for him in 2019.
READ MORE: Fearless boom-or-bust predictions for every Steelers 2025 draft pick
No Surprise, Still Disappointing: Broderick Jones struggles early at left tackle
It’s not that Broderick Jones is bad. I’m not totally convinced he’s as close to bust status as the most cynical of Yinzers, but we all saw his early camp struggles coming a mile away.
He was a raw prospect out of Georgia with few starts, all at left tackle. Then he bounced back and forth for two seasons between left and right. He struggled early last season in his first full-time opportunity at right tackle as the unquestioned starter. So it was no surprise when the same thing happened at left tackle during training camp.
The good news is, Jones has strung together a few solid practices to close camp and was serviceable in the preseason opener in Jacksonville. He’s sure to take some lumps once the season gets started, but if he can get everything back under control like he did last year on the right side, he should be just fine.
Biggest Disappointment: Cam Heyward’s Late Contract Disruption
Whether you support Cam Heyward’s contract stance or you’re backing the organization, everyone agrees it’s just poor timing all around. We are less than a month from starting the NFL regular season, and now is when he wants to bring this up?
Sure, the front office was busy making the trades for the new superstar talent and locking down T.J. Watt’s contract, but at no point since the end of the Steelers season in Baltimore on January 11 has this situation even been hinted at.
It’s fair to say that no matter which side of the fence you’re on in this situation, everyone in Steelers Nation just wants this resolved so that the defense is at full strength to start the season.