Hey Steelers Fans. Welcome to Tuesday.
The Kickoff
“Officially,” Summer begins around June 20th. We aren’t even to July 20th yet and it already feels like Summer is nearing its end. Why? My theory is that it has to do with football. First you get EA Sports College Football 2026 the first week of the month and then you get Madden a month later. Therefore, the sparks start flying. By this time in July, you’re starting to feel it. College Football talk starts ramping up and you see the increase in traffic all over social media. And then there’s our Pittsburgh Steelers. Cameron Heyward hosted his charity softball game last night which always gives you knowledge that Training Camp is just around the corner. Because it is… The players will report on July 23rd which is a week from tomorrow. Technically, Summer still has a long way to go, but in our terms, Fall is just about here.
Training Camp Previews
I’ve been hammering out our 2025 Training Camp Previews recently and I’m just about done. I have the Specialists left to do and this year I’m actually going to take a look at the staff. What I do is focus on each position and give some thoughts on each player who will be at Camp this year.
Things I Still Think…
I still think the Steelers will add another safety, especially a free safety-type. There are numerous guys out there like Justin Simmons or Julian Blackmon for example. I just can’t see them going with Juan Thornhill or Jalen Ramsey as full-time free safeties… I still think they will look at other receivers. As an example, San Francisco’s Jauan Jennings wants a new contract or to be traded. If this sounds familiar it should. They went through the same thing last year with Brandon Aiyuk. I honestly think the Mike Tomlin likes his receivers but he’s also smart enough to know he needs a more traditional WR2 who can block and draw coverage away from D.K. Metcalf. Jonnu Smith may do some of that but I’m not totally convinced yet.
The Podcast
For those of you that are fans of the SCB Steelers Podcast presented by DEK Roofing Inc… We are most likely OFF this week. Two of the guys have conflicts and to be very honest, with Camp starting next week, we won’t have an off week until probably February. Make sure you stay tuned to our social media (@SCB_Podcast on X, facebook.com/steelcityblitz) for the latest.
77 Years Old…
Trent Jordan Watt
We are still – not surprisingly – in a holding patter with regard to T.J. Watt and the Steelers. What everyone agrees on is that he will be the highest paid defensive player when it is finally done, but… the main areas of contention are guaranteed money and contract length. We’ve been told there are concerns about Watt slowing down at the end of the season and his postseason performances echo that sentiment. This will get done but I think it will go deep into Training Camp. And that may be by design.
18 Games
More discussion of an 18-game regular season happened over the weekend. It isn’t if, it’s when. Mike Florio at profootballtalk.com laid it out pretty well. The players know it’s coming so they’ll ask for a second BYE week which I totally agree with. The problem is that the NFL would like Super Bowl weekend to fall on President’s Day weekend as often as possible. Adding a second BYE week likely eliminates that. The players aren’t naive, they know this is coming and there’s little they will be able to do about it. Me personally? I hate it. I was happy with 16 and would have even argued for a second BYE week back then. The demand on the players is not what it once was in terms of practice time, contact etc but these guys could use the rest. AND it would also help the quality of play too.
Random Reads
Apparently I was on an island in my opinion that the new Superman movie didn’t look that good. It made over $200 million this weekend. That doesn’t necessarily mean it was “good” but that’s a pretty big number… Browns’ rookie Quinshon Judkins was arrested recently after allegedly punching his girlfriend in the face. Not good at all… Aaron Rodgers played in the American Century Celebrity Golf Tournament this past week in Lake Tahoe. He’s a pretty decent player but I also hope his passes are more accurate than his golf shots… I saw recently on social media where someone posted a picture of the late Dwayne Haskins‘ vehicle suggesting that he had died in a car accident. The former Steeler and Ohio State Buckeye was killed while trying to cross the interstate on foot in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. His car was parked alongside the freeway. This is why I hate social media sometimes.
Hot Reads is presented by
