A true fight didn’t break out on the first day the Pittsburgh Steelers wore pads in training camp. Cooler heads prevailed on a day when the heat registered 91 degrees and little cloud relief was provided.
The heat index measured 101 degrees.
Some pushing and shoving commenced in an early team period when cornerback Joey Porter Jr. and wide receiver Robert Woods had a brief exchange, which Porter referred to as “play-fighting.”
That was as close to fisticuffs as anyone came during a day when running backs and tight ends squared off against linebackers in a blocking drill and the offensive and defensive lines had solo matchups.
“Everybody was a little tense being the first day in pads,” Porter said. “Everybody is just trying to get after it. We’re still teammates at the end of the day.”
Players were anticipating the pads coming out Tuesday, the first day tackling was permitted under the collective bargaining agreement. It followed four days of heat acclimation and a day off. Instead, rain forced the Steelers to practice indoors, postponing the tackling for 24 hours.
“We were upset yesterday we didn’t get to spin,” Porter said. “Today, everybody was anticipating it.”
Porter made his presence felt in the team run period, which isn’t supposed to be his forte. Drafted to provide blanket coverage on wide receivers, Porter had tackles in the backfield that sent Jaylen Warren and then Kaleb Johnson for a loss.
“I was frustrated earlier, and I wanted to prove to people that I could do that,” Porter said.
Coach Mike Tomlin cautioned against reading too much into Porter’s tackling prowess, calling it a small sample size that needs to be repeated. Inside linebacker Patrick Queen also wants to see more consistency from his teammate.
“We knew Joey had it,” Queen said. “It’s a point of being consistent about it. Today, he came through. We’ll see if he can do it again. I know he can. I know he knows he can. Whenever we come out here again in pads, we just have to see it.”
Getting the best
Right tackle Troy Fautanu was matched up against outside linebacker T.J. Watt in an individual pass-rushing drill. It was an important test for Fautanu, who didn’t play after Week 2 last season because of a knee injury.
“I thought he represented himself well today,” Tomlin said. “He really gets an opportunity to improve and improve fast because of who he gets to work with every day.”
Fautanu’s take was that he did “all right” in the two pairings against Watt.
“You really don’t know what to expect with him,” Fautanu said. “For me, I just have to make sure I’m taking the correct set and not beating myself because he’s going to take anything you can give him. I’ve got to continue to get better, and going against him is going to help me out. I’m looking for reps like that: good on good.”
For Fautanu, it was the first time he tested his knee in a padded practice since September. He was mindful of his injury at the outset.
“As practice went on, I started getting more comfortable,” he said. “For sure, that first period was a little shaky, but we’re getting there.”
Injury update
Defensive tackle Esezi Otomewo, a third-year vet who was signed in free agency, sustained the only injury noted by Tomlin during practice. Otomewo went down in an early team session with a knee injury and had to be helped from the field.
Left tackle Broderick Jones was limited to individual work and was replaced at left tackle on the first team by veteran swing tackle Calvin Anderson. Tomlin said Jones remains day-to-day.
