Day seven was the first practice of this camp that actually cost something. The defense won the day, the day got chippy, and two of the players who walked off early were a first-round tackle and a cornerback. Everything else on the beat Thursday was talk, and a fair amount of it was worth listening to.
The first-round tackle went down and nobody has said how badly
Steelers Depot's Alex Kozora reported that rookie tackle Max Iheanachor was examined by trainers after an apparent right shoulder or arm injury. Depot's camp injury report listed an upper-body injury for Iheanachor and an ankle for cornerback Brandin Echols. ProFootballTalk and Behind the Steel Curtain both reported he left early with a trainer, and PennLive's Nick Farabaugh described the injury as undisclosed.
Four outlets, four versions of "we do not know yet," which usually means the team does not know yet either. The tell is what the front office did with its Thursday. Depot, citing the NFL transaction sheet, reported the Steelers worked out Andre Carter II, Xavier Thomas, Israel Mukuamu and Donovan Wilson, and Steelers Now reported Mukuamu was assigned No. 30. Farabaugh also reported the team released safety Ahmari Harvey. That is a defense-side churn day. Nobody went shopping for tackles, which reads as a team that expects its tackle back.
What would change that read: if Iheanachor is not in pads before the Aug. 13 preseason opener, or if the tackle competition that The Depot Dive spent an episode on suddenly acquires a new outside name.
Rodgers is 42 and the offense finally sounds like his
Center Zach Frazier told reporters the operation is "miles ahead of where it was last year" with Aaron Rodgers more comfortable in the scheme, per Depot, and separately praised two young players. Rodgers returned the favor on the receiver room, telling Steelers Now that Roman Wilson has grown from being "kinda like a deer running around" a year ago.
Comfort is the entire bet, and it is a bet on a 42-year-old. That is why the quieter item matters more: ProFootballTalk reported Mike McCarthy raving about Mason Rudolph as the staff evaluates the depth behind Rodgers. Our depth chart reads Rodgers, Rudolph, Will Howard, Drew Allar. With a quarterback that age, QB2 is not a formality, it is an operational plan, and a head coach volunteering praise for the veteran backup in early August is a coach who has already thought about the plan.
What would change it: the snap distribution against Green Bay. If Howard gets the second-team work ahead of Rudolph, the praise was courtesy.
The defense is the loudest room in camp, and the oldest
Behind the Steel Curtain reported the defense dominated a chippy practice with multiple players leaving injured. Payton Wilson told Depot the unit is "really starting to figure out" Patrick Graham's scheme and that his fear of failure is gone entering year three, and Alan Saunders at Steelers Now had him fighting, flying around and having fun. Jamel Dean went further, telling Depot he believes this can be the NFL's number one defense, and Gerry Dulac at the Post-Gazette argued the cornerback group may be the best and deepest in years.
August defenses always win August. Two things temper it. First, Echols turned an ankle on the same day the depth argument got published, and McCarthy had to give a cornerback injury update before practice even started. Depth is a claim you can only cash in November. Second, the spine is old: Cameron Heyward is 37 and Steelers Now reported he took a veteran rest day and coached the line instead, while T.J. Watt and Jalen Ramsey are both 31. The ceiling is legitimate. The margin for attrition is not. McCarthy calling Yahya Black "a lot to work with" is the same coach doing the same math.
What would change it: the corner room reaching the regular season with four healthy bodies. If it does, Dulac is right and Dean is not crazy.
McCarthy has a vocabulary, and Tomlin gave it a blessing
The Post-Gazette detailed McCarthy's use of "Franco moments" to keep players attentive, and Steelers Now relayed a former head coach spotting a Sean McVay similarity in his camp approach. Meanwhile Mike Tomlin made his Football Night in America debut, reviewed by Depot's Alex Kozora here. Depot reported Tomlin fully endorsed the McCarthy hire, a read Steelers Now also carried, and both outlets covered him campaigning for Hines Ward's Hall of Fame case (Steelers Now version).
All of that Tomlin coverage is aggregation of a national broadcast, not independent reporting, so read it as what a man said on television rather than as a signal from inside the building. That said, a predecessor publicly blessing a successor removes the cheapest storyline available to a losing September. And borrowing a franchise touchstone to build a practice ritual is a new coach telling a continuity-obsessed building that he understands what he inherited.
What would change it: the first bad stretch. Blessings hold until they are tested.
The week ahead
The preseason opener against Green Bay is Aug. 13. Three things to watch between now and then: whether Iheanachor and Echols return to full work, who takes the first snaps once Rodgers is done, and whether the corner room stays whole long enough for anyone to prove Dulac right.
