Steelers Inside the Ropes: Annual night practice at Latrobe draws more than 13,000

The annual Friday Night Lights practice at Latrobe Memorial Stadium attracted an overflow crowd of 13,653 on Friday.

Fans were treated to the second padded workout of training camp for the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Some highlights:

• Mason Rudolph and rookie Will Howard led the offense back from a 0-3 deficit to win the final four reps of “seven shots.”

Darius Slay batted away Aaron Rodgers’ first attempt after DK Metcalf slipped. Kaleb Johnson was stopped short on a run up the middle. Rodgers came back with a fade to Pat Freiermuth, but Slay was there to knock the ball out of the tight end’s hands for an incompletion.

The comeback started with Rudolph throwing a fade to Scotty Miller in the right corner. Jaylen Ramsey was in coverage.

Johnson then scored on a pitch to the left side, stiff-arming Cory Trice out of the way. Howard tied it for the offense when he found Kenny Gainwell on a slant. Howard gave the offense the win with a completion to running back Max Hurleman, who beat James Pierre in coverage.

• The first special teams period was dedicated to punt returns, with Calvin Austin III and Robert Woods handling primary return duties. The second special teams period was devoted to punt blocking. On the other side of the field, players took aim at throwing a ball into a garbage can about 20 yards away. Hitting the target were Metcalf, Freiermuth, Skylar Thompson, Howard and Rudolph.

• Perhaps he was feeling picked on during backs-on-backers, so rookie running back Johnson took out his frustrations on linebacker Mark Robinson. The two fought after one matchup, with the scrum spilling over to the boundaries. Johnson continued to talk trash after the next rep. When the drill was over, Johnson sought out Robinson, and the two hugged.

Darnell Washington might be the king of the backs-on-backers drill. He held off T.J. Watt, Alex Highsmith, DeMarvin Leal and Jack Sawyer, wagging his finger after each stop.

• Rudolph threaded a nice pass to Jonnu Smith during one team period. Lance McCutcheon made a sliding grab for a long gain on a pass from Howard.

• A star of the 1-on-1 pass-rush drill was outside linebacker Highsmith, who beat Broderick Jones on all three attempts.

• Practice ended with a 2-minute offense period. The offense was tasked with going 53 yards and 1 minute, 39 seconds on the clock. Rodgers couldn’t generate a first down. Highsmith and Nick Herbig batted down passes. Jaylen Warren had a drop on second down, and Metcalf couldn’t gather in a pass on the sideline on fourth down.

The second team got a big gain from Rudolph to Miller that put the ball on the 10. A completion to Woods to the 5 was wiped out by a 10-yard penalty. Rudolph got that yardage back when he found Smith at the 11.

That brought up what was supposed to be fourth down with 19 seconds left. It was changed to first down, however. Pierre ended the session with an interception in the end zone in front of McCutcheon.

• On the offensive line, Isaac Seumalo was in full uniform a day after being activated from the non-football injury list. He did not do any work in team periods.

Jones worked with the first team offensive line in warmups. He also took part in “seven shots.” Dylan Cook then rotated in at left tackle. Spencer Anderson got more work at left guard.

• Cornerback Joey Porter Jr. did not dress for the practice. Cameron Heyward dressed and signed autographs but did not take part in team drills during the padded practice. He was replaced by Isaiahh Loudermilk.

Backup center Ryan McCollum did not practice. He had a sleeve on his right leg.

• Injuries detailed by coach Mike Tomlin after the practice concluded: Tackle Calvin Anderson left with an injury after slipping on the grass. Trice did not finish because of a hamstring injury.

• SiriusXM NFL Radio conducted its annual broadcast on site at Latrobe Memorial Stadium. Hosts Pat Kirwan and Jim Miller, a former Steelers quarterback, held the broadcast from 7-9 p.m.

Roster moves

With a spate of injuries hitting the defensive line early in training camp, the Pittsburgh Steelers signed former UFL player Kyler Baugh to a contract.

Baugh, 23, played nose tackle for the St. Louis Battlehawks this past spring season.

To make room for Baugh on the training camp roster, the Steelers cut defensive tackle Jacob Slade with a waived/injured designation. Slade was one of three players that was injured in the initial padded practice Thursday. Also hurt were Esezi Otomewo and Dean Lowry. All three players sustained knee injuries.

Baugh will wear No. 65. He played college football at Minnesota where he had 77 tackles and four sacks in 26 career games. He also had four pass breakups and a forced fumble.

Baugh signed with the New Orleans Saints after going undrafted in 2024, and he also spent time with the New York Giants and Atlanta Falcons.