The Pittsburgh Steelers officially kicked off their training camp in Latrobe, Pennsylvania, with players reporting to Saint Vincent according to the Post Gazette. The opening practice offered the first look at the team under head coach Mike McCarthy, with team reporter Brooke Pryor providing updates from the field as noted by ESPN. The initial session featured an acclimation period of practices without pads, giving coaching staffs an early glimpse into unit depth charts and roster battles ahead of the upcoming schedule.
Steelers Open Training Camp at Saint Vincent College
Aaron Rodgers and the First-Team Offense
Aaron Rodgers quickly demonstrated his comfort running a Mike McCarthy offense during Wednesday morning’s opening session. Following initial warmups, Rodgers led the first-team offense in a light 11-on-11 period against the defense, completing four straight passes to set the tone. Behind Rodgers, the quarterback pecking order featured Mason Rudolph taking the second-team reps, followed by Will Howard and rookie Drew Allar. Rodgers handled the majority of the first-team snaps, while Rudolph closed out the group’s final reps.
Defensive Standouts and Pass Protection
The Steelers defense put together a strong showing during the first day of camp, highlighted by Patrick Queen’s tipped passes. Queen and Cole Holcomb each recorded multiple pass breakups, with one of Holcomb’s deflections leading directly to an interception by Payton Wilson. We’re confident,
Queen said according to the Post Gazette after practice. Everything we went over from OTAs to now is about detail. We feel like we’re on one page. There’s a lot of communication going on. Still a lot of room to grow, but it was a good Day 1.
The defensive unit performed well against the pass despite missing top defensive backs Jalen Ramsey, who was on the PUP list, and Porter. Echols filled in as the main slot cornerback in Ramsey’s absence. Meanwhile, 2023 first-round pick Broderick Jones returned from injury as a full participant but took all of his reps with the second-team offense at left tackle.
Offensive Line and Rookie Quarterback Debut
The first-team offensive line maintained the same configuration used throughout OTAs and minicamp, featuring Troy Fautanu at left tackle, Mason McCormick at left guard, Zach Frazier at center, Spencer Anderson at right guard, and Dylan Cook at right tackle. Rookie linemen Max Iheanachor and Gennings Dunker rotated through the second- and third-team units. Coaches will get their first true evaluation of the offensive linemen once the team holds its first padded practice.
Penn State rookie Drew Allar experienced a roller-coaster debut following his recent signing of a four-year rookie contract as reported by TribLIVE. Drafted 76th overall in the third round of the 2026 NFL Draft as detailed by AOL, Allar mixed multiple interceptions with touchdowns during third-team drills. He finished the session strongly by throwing a 15-yard touchdown pass to Robert Tonyan on the final play of practice.
Worth a look
