‘Christmas Morning’: Steelers Rookies Set to Hit Field for Minicamp

The Pittsburgh Steelers general manager Omar Khan and assistant general manager Andy Weidl could hardly contain the excitement after completing their first draft in their new position, and for good reason.

The Steelers announced that the team will hold their annual rookie minicamp this weekend. 

“A lot of times they say it’s like Christmas morning. You get the new players, the new Steelers. We’ll see them on the field together and see them run around. It’s exciting.” said Weidl. “We’ll see them [this] week on the field for the first time, and they’ll begin their journey.”

Steelers rookie minicamp is set to run from May 12 to May 14 at the Steelers’ South Side facility and it will feature all seven of the Steelers draft picks along with all seven undrafted free agent signings, multiple first-year players who did not play a game during their rookie season, plus a bumper crop of players on a tryout.

At the Steelers’ rookie minicamp, the players will receive the playbook for the first time and go through different walk-throughs to install the playbook. This is the first, and maybe only chance, that the late round and undrafted players will be able to showcase their talent to the coaches. 

Last year, Pittsburgh signed four players from the tryout phase to the team’s 90-man roster. The most notable was kicker Nick Sciba, who played in one regular season game in place of an injured Chris Boswell. 

The Steelers have four open roster spots for such signings this season. 

The most popular faces of the weekend will be first-round pick Broderick Jones and the round two guys such as cornerback Joey Porter Jr. and defensive tackle Keeanu Benton but that does not mean the weekend is all about them. 

In addition to Jones, Porter, and Benton, the other four Steelers’ draftees that will be in attendance include tight end Darnell Washington, linebacker Nick Herbig, cornerback Cory Trice Jr., and offensive lineman Spencer Anderson. 

The Steelers signed seven undrafted free agents after the draft who will all be at the minicamp. Those players include Tanner Morgan, Jordan Byrd, Monte Pottebaum, David Perales, James Nyamwaya, Trevor Downing and B.T. Potter. 

Additionally, the Steelers invited multiple players from across different levels of football for a tryout, which most notably includes the XFL touchdown receiving leader Hakeem Butler. 

Lastly, the group of first-year players that are invited include 2022 preseason standout Master Teague, Bill Dunkle, Rodney Williams, Scott Nelson, and Chris Wilcox.

This is the first step in the Steelers’ summer program with OTAs, minicamp and training camp to follow afterwards.