Each day our Steelers insiders will provide you with the skinny on the biggest things we are watching in training camp.
The one big thing: What dominated the NFL news cycle more than anything Thursday was the same subject that did so in 2020. That would be the COVID-19 pandemic and the league’s response to it, with the latest development being that any team dealing with an outbreak will be forced to forfeit — as opposed to having its game moved around, rescheduled, postponed or any other machination that was invoked last season. Steelers coach Mike Tomlin was asked about that after practice and gave a very Tomlin-esque answer.
“We just checked that box. We’ve really kind of moved on, to be honest with you,” Tomlin said. “That’s why we worked to be so proactive addressing it, so we’re not spending a whole bunch of time thinking or talking about it. It’s a non-issue for us, thankfully, due to the efforts and willingness of our guys. We’re focused on the football.” Ben Roethlisberger echoed fellow captain Cam Heyward in saying it’s every teammate’s individual choice what to put in their bodies, and that he’s not even aware of who is and isn’t vaccinated in the locker room.
Our take: When Tomlin last spoke on the COVID-19 efforts of his team, and specifically their vaccination rate, he called it a “competitive advantage” to have as many players fall in line as possible. The Steelers might not be at 100%, but they are near the top of the league in that category, so it may indeed be water under the bridge for them. Thursday showed that it’s far from a non-issue for teams such as the Bills and Cardinals.
For Buffalo, slot wide receiver Cole Beasley has been vocal on Twitter about his unwillingness to get the vaccine. Now, another wideout has become the face of that issue in the NFL, and it’s a pass-catcher who’s a much bigger star than Beasley. Arizona’s DeAndre Hopkins sent and later deleted a tweet casting doubt on his status for this season if the league doesn’t relax its restrictions for unvaccinated players. By later that night, Hopkins left up a post that simply read “Freedom?” and eventually assured fans, “I got about 9 more years in me, y’all have a good day.” For the Steelers, who have had their fair share of distractions — social media and otherwise — under Tomlin, any non-news is good news.
What’s next: JuJu Smith-Schuster, Cam Heyward and defensive coordinator Keith Butler are set to meet with reporters following practice Friday, along with Tomlin, who likely won’t be as talkative as he was after Day 1. But we’ll also get to continue evaluating the offensive line situation, the position battles at center and slot cornerback, and the new No. 8 on defense — Melvin Ingram.
Brian Batko: bbatko@post-gazette.com and Twitter @BrianBatko.
First Published: July 23, 2021, 12:14 p.m.
Updated: July 23, 2021, 12:17 p.m.