LATROBE, Pa. — Aaron Rodgers and the Pittsburgh Steelers’ offense made the most of a mulligan coach Mike Tomlin awarded them during the second day of training camp.
Friday’s practice marked the season debut of Seven Shots, a best-of-seven series between the offense and the defense from the 2-yard-line. On the series’ first play, center Zach Frazier fired a low snap that led to a big loss of yards for the offense. But instead of the defense taking a 1-0 lead, Tomlin decided to start series over.
With a clean slate, Pittsburgh’s offense played well and recorded a 4-3 win over the defense that included a pair of touchdown passes from Rodgers, who looked significantly better on Friday than he did the previous day.
Rodgers’ impressive day started during Seven Shots with his touchdown pass to training camp suite mate DK Metcalf. The duo nearly connected for another score moments later, but Rodgers’ pass was broken up in the end zone by Joey Porter Jr., who has been routinely matched up against Metcalf during the first week of camp.
“That’s what I anticipate,” Tomlin said of the Rodgers-Metcalf touchdown. “I’m not going to throw a pep rally. That’s what I expect. That’s what I envisioned all summer.”
Both first-team units left Seven Shots for the next four plays before coming back on the field for the seventh and deciding play. Rodgers, in a scene that Steelers fans surely hope to see play out numerous times when the 2025 regular season begins, gave his side the win after hitting tight Pat Freiermuth for the score.
Tomlin was asked about the offense’s response after getting a do-over. He used the question to provide some perspective.
“It’s gonna be ebb and flow. I don’t ride the emotional roller coaster on Day 2, and, ahhh (pumps his fist),” Tomlin said. “We’re gonna keep snapping.”
While he’s not throwing a pep rally yet, Tomlin had to like what he saw from Rodgers, who continued to play well for the remainder of practice. While most of his work consisted of short passes to his running backs, Rodgers brought the crowd to its feet when he rifled a pass downfield to receiver Calvin Austin III, who caught it in stride after getting behind the defenders.
As Tomlin stressed during his post practice presser, the Steelers are in the early development stages of training camp, so it’s important not to look too deeply into the day-to-day performances of players and units. That being said, how the offense — and Rodgers more specifically — looked on Friday is a good sign from both a tangible and intangible standpoint.
Here’s a look at what else transpired during and before Friday’s practice.
Eight Seven Shots recap
While it was immediately dubbed “Eight Shots” by the assembled media, Friday’s scrimmage will go down in the books as a typical Seven Shots after Tomlin gave the offense a breakfast ball after Frazier’s low snap.
On the third play, Mason Rudolph found receiver Ke’Shawn Williams open in the back of the end zone, but Williams was unable to make the catch after the pass was tipped. The offense tied the score, though, on the next play as Rudolph hit Scotty Miller on a slant.
After rookie quarterback Will Howard completed his second pass of the scrimmage after firing incomplete on his first, Rodgers came back on the field before delivering the winning strike to Metcalf.
Steelers add veteran safety
Before practice started, the Steelers signed veteran cornerback and former longtime Baltimore Ravens safety Chuck Clark. Clark, who attended practice shortly after signing, is now part of a rebuilt secondary that also includes fellow newcomers Jalen Ramsey (who was acquired in the trade that sent Minkah Fitzpatrick to Miami), fellow perennial Pro Bowler Darius Slay and fellow safety Juan Thornhill.
Tomlin said that what he sees during training camp will determine what role Clark will ultimately fill in the secondary when the regular season begins.
Watt on the move
As expected, TJ Watt is lining up at different spots during camp in an effort to help him continue to wreak havoc on opposing offenses. During consecutive plays during Seven Shots, Watt lined up on the right side of the line as a pseudo defensive end instead of being in his customary spot on the left side.
While Tomlin downplayed it after practice, Watt lining up in different spots is indeed significant. Watt had just two sacks during the final five games last season as offenses made it a point to limit his impact. That stretch of games made it clear that Watt and the Steelers needed to get creative if the former Defensive Player of the Year wants to continue to produce as such moving forward.
Based on Friday’s practice, it’s clear that Watt and the Steelers are exploring their options as far as him lining up at different positions.
Weather cuts practice short
The final moments of practice looked like the final scene of the original “Terminator” when Sarah Connor drove off the screen and under an ominous sky. With storms threatening to engulf the area, fans were instructed to exit Chuck Noll Field roughly 30-40 minutes before practice was expected to end. The players quickly followed suit.
Tomlin initially held out hope that he would be able to finish practice before deciding against it.
“Oftentimes in football, we’re faced with adversity, sudden changes, if you will, particularly as it pertains to weather,” Tomlin said. “We had a big delay last year when we played the Cowboys, for example.
“We don’t run from days like today. We just work to try to deal with it to the best of our ability and get as much work done as we can while keeping the group safe.”
What’s next: Pittsburgh will host two practices over the weekend before getting a day off on Monday. The Steelers will also announce their 2025 Hall of Honor Class prior to the start of practice.
