Before the Pittsburgh Steelers hold their first joint practice in eight years, they had business to conclude Wednesday at Saint Vincent College.
The practice was the final one held in front of fans who gathered on the hillside and bleachers adjacent to Chuck Noll Field.
Since making Saint Vincent their permanent training camp destination in 1967, the Steelers have come to the Unity Township campus annually except for the two years during the pandemic when all workouts were held at Acrisure Stadium.
“This is always a great place for us,” coach Mike Tomlin said. “We’re just really so appreciative of the relationship that we have up here, the long-standing relationships. Can’t say enough about the people up here that have made this a great stay for us.”
For the final workout, Tomlin had his players leave their pads in storage. They will put them back on when they practice against the Buffalo Bills on Thursday afternoon at Acrisure.
Several of the teams top players were held out of practice Wednesday or limited to individual work. The list included Cameron Heyward, T.J. Watt, Patrick Queen, Elandon Roberts, Alex Highsmith, Donte Jackson, DeMarvin Leal and Isaac Seumalo.
The only injuries sustained in the workout were to slot cornerback candidate Grayland Arnold (calf) and running back hopeful Jonathan Ward (hamstring).
“We finished with an exclamation point,” Tomlin said. “I liked the energy and enthusiasm. It’s important that we don’t ooze to a finish in anything that we do whether it’s a play or drive, a half, a game, training camp. We just try to make a point of everything that we do is with an exclamation point.”
Tomlin anticipates all his healthy players taking part in the joint practice and also when the two teams meet Saturday night in the second preseason game.
“Obviously, we’ll make appropriate decisions at the 11th hour, but I just think as the sand goes through the hourglass, we need to have that mentality. There are only so many opportunities, and they are getting scarce, so we’ve got some urgency.”
The Steelers haven’t held a joint practice since 2016 when they hosted the Detroit Lions. In 2014, the Steelers had joint practices with the Bills.
Upcoming Local Events
Tomlin and Bills head coach Sean McDermott are longtime friends and were college teammates at William & Mary. Tomlin said he and McDermott talked Tuesday night to discuss the parameters of the joint practice.
“He’s a great dance partner from that perspective,” Tomlin said. “I know his values. Excited about good, clean work in preparation for our season.”
Not all joint practices have gone so cleanly. The NFL fined the New York Giants and Detroit Lions $200,000 for multiple fights that took place when they practiced against each other. That led to the NFL sending out a memo to teams warning that fighting won’t be tolerated.
First-year New England Patriots coach Jerod Mayo warned his players against fighting in his team’s joint session with the Philadelphia Eagles.
“If you get in a fight out here, if you’re a starter, you’re playing the whole preseason game,” Mayo told his players. “If you’re a non-starter, you won’t play at all.”
Tomlin likely won’t deliver a similar threat to the Steelers.
“I’m not concerned about it at all,” he said.
Joe Rutter is a TribLive reporter who has covered the Pittsburgh Steelers since the 2016 season. A graduate of Greensburg Salem High School and Point Park, he is in his fifth decade covering sports for the Trib. He can be reached at jrutter@triblive.com.