Pittsburgh’s practice field was absolutely off the chain Thursday, hosting what turned out to be the longest and without a doubt the chippiest training camp session they’ve had so far, with players leaving due to injuries and the defense just straight up dominating the whole day. After a week of pretty calm practices, it was like someone flipped a switch and the aggression came spilling out, making for some intense moments you just gotta see.
The Chippiness Factor Exploded
Seriously, it was a free-for-all out there. After a whole week of clean practices, a bunch of altercations broke out. In one 11-on-11 period, Ben Skowronek and Payton Wilson were jawing, then started throwing open-hand punches. Skowronek kept it real after practice, saying, “He just grabbed me from the back. Grabbed my jersey. I was blocking PQ, we got into it… we’re just competitive. When you’re out here 11-on-11 a bunch of days in a row, we’re all competitive, we all wanna win. Sometimes some extra curriculars happen after the play. But at the end of the day we’re teammates and we’ll be out there in a handful of weeks on Sundays going against the other guys.” You love to see that fire, but man, things got heated!
It wasn’t just them, either. Lew Nichols and D’Shawn Jamison got into it, that one turning a lot more physical. Nichols blocked Jamison, who was coming hard for the quarterback, and the two went to the ground, needing to be pulled apart before they could keep chirping at each other on the sideline. There were even more close calls where guys were *this close* to throwing down. DeShon Elliott laid a shoulder into DK Metcalf as he ran out of bounds, sending Metcalf to the turf, which brought multiple offensive players over to Elliott, though he immediately helped Metcalf up, totally owning the mistake. Asante Samuel Jr. also tripped Pat Freiermuth during the team period and immediately patted himself on the chest to admit fault. For a camp with no live tackling, this Thursday was absolutely wild and physical.
Injuries Bite and Defense Takes Control
While all that intensity was going down, the injury bug finally hit the Steelers hard after a pretty clean week. First-round pick Max Iheanachor had to leave practice with an injury, and cornerback Brandin Echols was also sidelined. We don’t know how serious those are yet, but you never want to see guys go down. Plus, running back/wide receiver Eli Heidenreich and defensive lineman Logan Lee were both held out of practice with undisclosed injuries. That’s a lot of contributors suddenly on the sidelines.
But hey, if there’s a silver lining, it’s that the defense decided it was *their* day. After the offense had a great week, the defense absolutely shut them down on Thursday. Derrick Harmon and T.J. Watt were both batting down passes right at the line, and Sebastian Joseph-Day got enough of one pass to completely mess up a completion to Rico Dowdle. Jaquan Brisker made a seriously great play in coverage, breaking right in on a deep ball from Mason Rudolph intended for DK Metcalf, preventing that completion. They were flying around and making plays!
It’s clear this squad is bringing the heat, both good and bad, as they get ready for the grind of the regular season. If Thursday’s intensity is any indication, Sundays are going to be appointment viewing.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Behind the Steel Curtain.
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