Training camp takes a while before many different assumptions become reality. It is not about when a player has a poor practice, but it’s when they continue a poor practice into a string of bad situations. If they make poor performances into a habit, then it will become even more difficult for those players to make the final 53-man roster.
The Steelers have been practicing up at Saint Vincent College for a little over a week now. There have been some positive performances and some others that have struggled on the field to start things off. There is still a lot of time between now and when final cuts need to be announced, so most of these players still have time to turn things around.
Steelers rookie shockingly retires just days into training camp
One of the more shocking stories to develop during the first week of camp was the retirement of Monte Pottebaum. He was an undrafted free agent signing out of Iowa this past offseason that could have pushed for a roster spot. He would have needed to show quality snaps at fullback and most of his plays would have had to be on special teams.
It was shocking news because rookies do not normally retire right after their first training camp starts. For one reason or another Pottebaum decided that this opportunity was not right for him, and he decided to call it a career. Many were infatuated by his mullet, and it would have been interesting to see how he would have tried to make this roster.
Most of the inside linebackers have not started off on the right foot
Most would like to see someone emerge as the top dog in the inside linebacker room for this team. Cole Holcomb seems like he could be that guy for the Steelers this year, and he will get every chance to prove that. He started off camp with some questionable plays in coverage but has been able to bounce back heading into the start of padded practices.
Elandon Roberts is a thumper and will likely be just that. He will have a role on defense, but it cannot be on coverage downs. Mark Robinson is someone that many fans would love to have a productive season that comes out of nowhere. He could be that, but he needs to show more in coverage instead of just laying the wood on run downs.
Tanner Muse has made some plays in coverage and could be used in that aspect. Nick Kwiatkoski could be a reliable depth piece but has not stood out among his teammates. It seems like the Steelers will roll with a quantitative approach to this group and rotate guys in certain situations. None of them are great, but perhaps together they will get you by.
Kwon Alexander was just signed recently, and he will have a lot of catching up to do this camp and into the pre-season games. It is going to take him a while to catch up to speed, but do not expect him to be a saving grace. Alexander provides a lot of the same things that many on this roster currently do. He could etch himself out a bigger role on defense.
An experienced starting tackle could be seeing his starting spot go away
Don't go writing out the starting five for the offensive line just yet as there is still plenty of competition to play out. Broderick Jones is still sitting behind Dan Moore Jr. for the starting left tackle spot in the trenches. That battle seems like an uphill climb for Jones to win coming out of the preseason, but it is not impossible to overcome.
There are plenty of factors that could land Jones as a starter and Moore either on the bench or on the opposite side of the line. Moore has been working this past offseason to have the flexibility to play either on the left or right side of the line. That opens the door for him to potentially gain a chance at becoming a right tackle going forward.
Chuks Okorafor currently holds the starting spot at right tackle and has been alright thus far in camp. He has never improved to a point that you would like a well-paid tackle to be in the NFL. It is possible that if Jones somehow unseats Moore this pre-season that Okorafor could run into a few roadblocks going forward.
Okorafor recently missed a practice and the Steelers decided to try Moore at right tackle and Jones on the left side with first team reps. It was a small sample size, but it is something that could get more of an in-depth look if Jones plays well the rest of the way. It seems unlikely that Okorafor will lose his starting spot, but never say never this early in training camp.
A returning receiver for Pittsburgh continues to try and shake off some rust
Missing out on a rookie year is hard and trying to live up to the hype only adds to that pressure. Calvin Austin III was enjoying a strong start to camp last year before an injury knocked him out of his entire rookie campaign around this time last year. He finally returns to the football field with hopes of bringing that same juice back this time around.
Being out of football for a year will bring rust around, and that is a natural thing that occurs. Austin has seen this struggle to start off camp and it has some wondering if he was just a flash in the pan last camp before his injury occurred. Don't write off Austin yet as he still has a lot of time to not only prove the doubters wrong but to increase his role on offense.
Speed kills in the game of football and that is what Austin consistently relies on to make plays as a receiver. He can play at different spots on offense and fill a couple of different roles. Another added aspect to his game that many are interested in will be him as a returner on special teams. He has a lot of work to do before many start seeing improvement this pre-season.
It seems like once the rust is shaken off by Austin there will be a lot of explosive plays made in practices. He is too talented of a player to not make significant chunk plays on offense for the Steelers this year. He might be dropping passes in his direction to start things off, but time should be able to turn things around for him.
A hyped up rookie for the Steelers has not been playing well to start off
One of the bigger disappointments heading into padded practices has been Darnell Washington. There has been a ton of media coverage on the rookie out of Georgia as many thought he could have gone anywhere from later in the first round to the early part of the second round. The Steelers decided to gamble and took him toward the end of the third round.
Ever since Washington was selected. many have thought he would plug right behind Pat Freiermuth as the second tight end option. That has not been the case as Zach Gentry will likely retain that spot to start the season. That could always change if Washington finds different courses of action to turn around some of his poor performances in practice.
With a loaded tight end room and Connor Heyward finding different snaps at different positions, it will take a lot for Washington to gain snaps on offense. He is known as a good blocker coming out of college and has shown ability in the passing game too, He has struggled as a receiver to start off training camp, but that's only one piece to the puzzle.
Padded practices are where football players are made, and it will be interesting if Washington can turn into a different player with pads on. He is a giant of a human and should be able to use that size to his advantage against some of these Pittsburgh defenders. He was able to have some solid blocking sessions against T.J. Watt and will need to continue that trend going forward.
The longest tenured quarterback on this club is struggling in practices
What should you expect from a veteran in the NFL that has been nothing more than a backup throughout his career? That is something that fans need to try and figure out as their longest tenured quarterback on the roster is struggling to start training camp. Mason Rudolph is back with the club and has normally been consistent with his play.
You are not going to get anything exciting from him, but he will keep you in games if he needs to play. Rudolph wanted to try and sign elsewhere this past offseason during free agency, but the Steelers were the only teams interested apparently. He re-signed on another short-term contract that will have him as the third string quarterback.
Sometimes it is ok to struggle in practices even if that means a veteran player has some issues, especially a third string guy. Rudolph is not playing well right now and that could be somewhat concerning as there is no competition on the roster for him. The Steelers are comfortable with him around, but he cannot keep up this string of bad practices.
Almost every day results in a new report of Rudolph turning over the ball or being a part of a poor play. Kenny Pickett and Mitch Trubisky are the top guys at the position, but it's not uncommon for third string signal callers to play in the past with this team. Rudolph needs to get back to his boring play of football and get back to the steady portion of his game.