Steelers simulate pregame conditions before night practice at Heinz Field

No fans were seated inside Heinz Field on Saturday for a night practice held by the Pittsburgh Steelers. No Terrible Towels twirled. Nobody played “Renegade” before a crucial defensive stand.

Yet, in several ways, the Steelers treated the workout like it was a Sunday afternoon home game in October.

The Steelers had player introductions announced over the public address system, and the offensive “starters” emerged from the tunnel single file as if they were preparing to face the Baltimore Ravens. And every player was suited in an actual game uniform, the offense wearing black and the defense sporting white.

The pomp and circumstance was by design. Without the benefit of preseason games this season, coach Mike Tomlin had his players simulate a pregame ritual.

“Another step to ready the group for the regular season,” Tomlin said. “I don’t want it to be when we’re in New York (on Sept. 14) and it’s the first time they are finding their rhythms prior to kickoff. We were doing some things we normally do in preseason settings. We were just attaching it to the front end of a practice.”

The Steelers planned a two-hour workout, and the lights at Heinz Field were turned on at 7:30 p.m. But lightning strikes in the distance about 10 minutes later resulted in the players returning to the locker room. A heavy thunderstorm soon followed, wiping out the final period and a half of practice.

“You can’t win the Mother Nature battle,” Tomlin said. “We don’t combat lightning.”

For the team portions of practice, the Steelers had what a team spokesman called “curated ambient in-stadium” crowd noise pumped in. The NFL is considering such “low-level background” sound for any games played without fans in attendance.

“I don’t care. I really don’t,” Tomlin said. “Regarding 2020, it’s important we have a hard-core plan but remain light on our feet. We cannot let some of the changing variables be a significant component of our performances. Crowds, no crowds, artificial noise, quality of (the noise), music – all of those things are subject to change based on venue and circumstances. That’s just something we’ve got to learn to deal with.”

Injury report

Guard David DeCastro missed his fifth day of practice, and he was joined on the sideline by wide receiver Diontae Johnson and safety Terrell Edmunds, who each missed their second consecutive practice. Rookie Kevin Dotson (knee) also did not practice.

Veterans who were healthy but did not practice were running back James Conner, defensive end Stephon Tuitt and center Maurkice Pouncey. Conner and Tuitt were in attendance. Pouncey was not.

Without specifying anyone, Tomlin said some players were withheld because they were “caught up in covid procedures.”

“There’s no one to mention being on the (reserve) covid list, but they are in the procedure and we’re going to exercise all precaution like we always do,” Tomlin said.

Four players suffered injuries in practice: inside linebacker/special teams player Rob Spillane (finger), running back Wendell Smallwood (shoulder), defensive end Chris Wormley (shoulder) and long snapper Kam Canaday (knee).

Tomlin didn’t categorize any of the injuries as significant.

Snap decision

Canaday’s injury was problematic. The only other long snapper on the camp-opening roster, former Duquesne player Christian Kuntz, was released two weeks ago when the roster was trimmed to 80 players.

Tight end Vance McDonald has served as the emergency long snapper in recent years. Tomlin said Pouncey and guard/center Stefen Wisniewski are other options.

“We’re determining who that is at this juncture,” Tomlin said. “I don’t know if anyone has a lock on that position. This process will reveal that to us.”