Steelers notes: Strong attendance at OTAs among defense no coincidence

Chris Adamski
Wednesday, June 7, 2023 4:28 p.m. | Wednesday, June 7, 2023 4:28 p.m.

Chaz Palla | Tribune-Review

Pittsburgh Steelers outside linebacker T.J. Watt (No. 90) leads a group of players going through drills during an organized team activities session at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex. According to Minkah Fitzpatrick, “all” of the Steelers defensive players have participated in at least some of the voluntary OTAs.

Up and down the defense, from the line to the linebackers to the secondary, starters and backups and third-teamers, veterans and young players alike, by all accounts have shown out at Pittsburgh Steelers organized team activities.

With rare exception of a day or so here and there by the isolated player, all indications and reports and confirmed sightings have conveyed near-perfect attendance for defensive players throughout the first eight of the nine scheduled OTAs.

OTAs, which end Thursday, are voluntary under the terms of the NFL/NFLPA collective bargaining agreement.

“We all communicated, and we all decided that we wanted to be in on a set date,” All-Pro safety Minkah Fitzpatrick said Thursday. “We are all here together, there’s no missing pieces to the puzzle. You have guys who have family obligations and things like that, but for the most part, everybody has been here.”

Fitzpatrick noted all the new faces on the unit, which added as many as five new starters in free agency and drafted as many as 3-4 rookies who could play significant roles in 2023.

Mandatory minicamp is next week, the final formal gatherings teams can hold until training camp begins in late July.

Minkah Fitzpatrick on te Steelers revamped secondary, which added 3 free agent signings and two draft picks this spring pic.twitter.com/E7LUP6We8H

— Chris Adamski (@C_AdamskiTrib) June 7, 2023

No dice

In the wake of yet another NFL investigation likely to result in a significant penalty for a player accused of improper gambling, Steelers longtime co-captain Cameron Heyward said Wednesday that coach Mike Tomlin has addressed his players on the importance of being smart to avoid a similar fate.

“It’s pretty straightforward,” Heyward said. “Don’t bet on games.”

The Indianapolis Colts this week said they are aware the NFL has opened a gambling investigation into one of the team’s players, and defensive back Isaiah Rodgers later apologized on social media.

The NFL in April suspended five players for gambling infractions, and then-Atlanta Falcons receiver Calvin Ridley was suspended for the 2022 season for betting on games in 2021.

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Chris Adamski is a TribLive reporter who has covered primarily the Pittsburgh Steelers since 2014 following two seasons on the Penn State football beat. A Western Pennsylvania native, he joined the Trib in 2012 after spending a decade covering Pittsburgh sports for other outlets. He can be reached at cadamski@triblive.com.