Steelers ready for hitting to begin when pads come out in next stage of training camp

If training camp for the Pittsburgh Steelers were viewed as a menu, the first four days were the appetizer. What takes place next is the main course.

Coach Mike Tomlin likes to say that camp doesn’t truly begin until the pads come out of storage and genuine hitting is permitted. For the Steelers, that transpires Tuesday when the NFL-mandated heat acclimation period officially ends.

The smile on Tomlin’s face Sunday spoke volumes about his anticipation for the intensity being amped up. And he believes his players feel the same way.

“There is no doubt,” he said. “They’re like racehorses. That’s just the next step in this thing, and they are ready.”

After practicing the first four days without pads, Steelers players will be off Monday. When they return to Saint Vincent on Tuesday morning, they will find their pads waiting for them.

Traditionally coinciding with the first day of padded practices is the debut of backs-on-backers, a pass-rush drill in which a running back (or tight end) is tasked with stopping an oncoming linebacker. The offensive and defensive linemen also break off for one-on-one matchups that can get heated.

Fights also occur, although the Steelers didn’t wait until they put on pads to have the first actual skirmish. A day after some players engaged in mild pushing and shoving, center Ryan McCollum and inside linebacker Cole Holcomb wrestled each other to the ground, and Holcomb had his helmet removed.

“It’s camp, so that is the nature of it,” said new linebacker Malik Harrison. “You’ve got to have some fights. You’ve got to have it to get that bond.”

Harrison is among the many new faces in camp this year. He spent the past five seasons with the division-rival Baltimore Ravens and said they have a drill that resembles backs-on-backers.

He offered no predictions on whom he would like to face — or how he might fare — in the drill Tuesday.

“We’re going to see on that,” he said, smiling. “I’m not a guy who is going to talk. We’ll see.”

Running back Jaylen Warren has taken a starring role in pass-blocking matchups with linebackers even though he is 5-foot-8 and weighs 215 pounds.

“I love that drill, when it goes my way,” he said.

The first padded practice also is a date circled on the calendar for players who didn’t play much — or at all — in 2024.

Right tackle Troy Fautanu hasn’t worn pads since September, when he injured his knee for a second time and spent the rest of the season on injured reserve.

“I’m excited now to play real football,” Fautanu said. “As an offensive lineman, the worst thing is to play football in shorts and a T-shirt.”

The chance to practice in pads also will validate the work Fautanu did recovering from his injuries. He has practiced fully with teammates since workouts began in the spring, but NFL rules permit no live contact or padded sessions in the offseason.

“Every single day, I’m trying to get used to this being my new normal and being able to trust it every day,” Fautanu said. “Every rep I take, it gets more comfortable. I feel like this is the last checkpoint until we go out and play for real.”

Teams are permitted to conduct padded practices 16 times until the end of the preseason, and teams cannot hold more than three consecutive padded practices. They also can have only three series of three consecutive padded sessions.

“The more football like it comes, the better it is for each and every one of us,” said defensive lineman Logan Lee, who spent his entire rookie season on injured reserve. “There is a lot more that goes into it once pads come on. You introduce power moves. You introduce different types of techniques. It’s nice to work toward being more football-like.

“We’re not there yet. You have to go live, you have to be in a game to play football but we’re trending in the right direction.”

Lee did not play in the final preseason game last year because of a calf injury that he did not believe was serious. The Steelers, though, used it as a chance to stash Lee on injured reserve for the entire season. He returned to practice in the final week of the regular season but was never activated.

“This will be a good idea of where I am,” Lee said. “It’s been a long time coming.”

For Tomlin, it provides a chance to see how first-round draft pick Derrick Harmon has developed at defensive tackle.

“The big-man game is played in pads,” Tomlin said. “I’m looking forward to seeing him and others under those circumstances. Not to discount what he has done, but that is such a major component of his job.”