A side of football with your brunch, perhaps? Get ready for midday practice times at Pittsburgh Steelers training camp.
The Steelers announced the schedule for their 59th camp at Saint Vincent College, and a notable feature for the first season under new coach Mike McCarthy is an 11 a.m. start time for on-campus sessions staged at Chuck Noll Field.
Aside from a one-year reprieve in 2024 in which former coach Mike Tomlin opted for 10:30 a.m. practices, the Steelers for decades have operated in mid- to late afternoon for their camp practices.
Twelve of the 14 open practices announced via release Thursday are listed with an 11 a.m. start time. The others are the Saturday, Aug. 15 session (listed as “TBA”) and the annual night practice at Latrobe’s Memorial Stadium. It wil start at 6 p.m.
In a twist, however, this year’s night practice will be on the second Saturday of camp. That’s a departure from its longtime “Friday night lights” unofficial moniker.
The first practice of the 2026 camp is set for Wednesday, July 29, a day after players must report to Saint Vincent in Unity Township. Practice No. 4 on Satuday, Aug. 1 will be held in conjunction with the annual announcement of the Steelers Hall of Honor class.
The much-anticipated first practice in which players don full pads will take place Aug. 3, following the league-mandated acclimation period in which the Steelers will practice four consecutive days in “shells” to open camp.
Another aspect of camp under McCarthy that differs from Tomlin is that the weekly idle days are set for Sundays — the Steelers will be off Aug. 2 and Aug. 9. Tomlin typically preferred giving players off Tuesdays, in a nod to mirroring regular-season routine.
Those two Sundays are the only off days for the Steelers from the time they report until the day prior to their Aug. 13 preseason opener against the Green Bay Packers at Acrisure Stadium — though it should be noted that the Aug. 5 session is closed to the public.
Only three open practices follow that game — Aug. 15-17. The only scheduled open session with no listed start time is for Aug. 15. The team qualified that practice with “further details to come.”
Camp at Saint Vincent breaks with a closed practice Tuesday, Aug. 18. That is three days prior to the Steelers’ second preseason game, Aug. 21 at home against the New York Jets.
Again, that is a slight departure from the Tomlin era, when the Steelers kept practicing at Saint Vincent all the way through until two days before their second preseason game.
Going away for camp to a college campus used to be an annual rite of passage throughout the NFL. The Steelers, however, are among a sharply dwindling number of teams that still do so. Most prefer to remain in the comforts of the team facilities, many of which have grown to be lavish.
Tomlin, though, had a strong affection for the treks to Saint Vincent. The Rooney family has had a long association with Saint Vincent. And McCarthy previously was the coach for 13 seasons of the Green Bay Packers, who were in the latter stages of a six-decade run of holding camps at St. Norbert College.
Aaron Rodgers spent the first 15 seasons of his career playing for the Packers and heading to camp at St. Norbert in De Pere, Wisc. Unsolicited on Wednesday, the 42-year-old Rodgers in part articulated how he was looking forward to his second season with the Steelers by saying: “I’ll tell you one thing I really am excited about is going back to Latrobe; I can’t wait for that.”
“I just love the opportunity for camaraderie,” Rodgers said, “and for that team chemistry. Mike (Tomlin) used to talk a lot about capturing that, and it cannot be quantified. That’s what Latrobe gives you, the opportunity to spend time with each other every night time, on the breaks, and stuff. You’re staying in the dorm, sharing a bathroom and a shower with a teammate. There’s some great team-bonding opportunities for that. I just think it’s invaluable.”
Admission to camp practices is free, though fans must register via Ticketmaster for a mobile ticket to gain entry. That process opens Friday at 10 a.m. for Steelers season ticket holders and 90 minutes later for the general public.
Steelers 2026 training camp schedule
Unless noted, all practices will be held at Chuck Noll Field at Saint Vincent College (weather permitting).
Tuesday July 28 – Reporting day (closed to public)
Wednesday July 29 – 11 a.m.
Thursday July 30 – 11 a.m.
Friday July 31 – 11 a.m.
Saturday Aug. 1 – 11 a.m.
Sunday Aug. 2 – Off day
Monday Aug. 3* – 11 a.m.
Tuesday Aug. 4 – 11 a.m.
Wednesday Aug. 5 – Practice closed
Thursday Aug. 6 – 11 a.m.
Friday Aug. 7 – 11 a.m.
Saturday Aug. 8 – 6 p.m. at Latrobe Memorial Stadium
Sunday Aug. 9 – Off day
Monday Aug. 10 – 11 a.m.
Tuesday Aug. 11 – 11 a.m.
Wednesday Aug. 12 – Off day
Thursday Aug. 13 – Preseason game vs. Green Bay at Acrisure Stadium
Friday Aug. 14 – Off day
Saturday Aug. 15 – Details to be announced
Sunday Aug. 16 – 11 a.m.
Monday Aug. 17 – 11 a.m.
Tuesday Aug. 18 – Practice closed, camp breaks
*-First padded practice