Veterans Day — the federal holiday — isn’t until November. The first “veterans day” of the Pittsburgh Steelers training camp was Sunday.
Dubbed so when coach Mike Tomlin gives several of his more veteran, established players an off day, the Steelers chose Sunday — the fourth practice of camp — to spell some of their older and more valuable players.
Outside linebacker T.J. Watt, defensive lineman Cameron Heyward, cornerback Patrick Peterson and guard Isaac Seumalo were among those who did not even don a helmet for individual drills on the Saint Vincent College fields. Others, such as right tackle Chuks Okorafor and backup quarterback Mitch Trubisky, were held out of team drills.
Tomlin said the rationale is to give extra reps to younger players and those who might be fighting for jobs.
“Oftentimes, these guys are going through the learning process but they don’t get as many opportunities as they would like to display that learning,” Tomlin said. “Some days we thoughtfully shorten the lines and increase their reps to get them exposure. They get an opportunity to put up or shut up and then we plan next week accordingly. Guys who make good use of those reps, we’ll continue to look at them and continue on with this developmental process.”
The Steelers have a scheduled off day Monday and are scheduled to have their first padded practice of camp Tuesday on Chuck Noll Field.
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