Steelers Starting Offense Remains the Same at First Training Camp Practice
UNITY TWP., Pa. — The first look at the Pittsburgh Steelers offense at training camp is the same as it was during the offseason spring sessions. Dan Moore is at left tackle, while Broderick Jones is at right tackle. Nate Herbig is at center over rookie Zach Frazier.
To no surprise, Russell Wilson is the starting quarterback. Van Jefferson is the No. 2 wide receiver, while Calvin Austin III is the No. 3 wideout. It’s only Day 1, so the starting lineup could obviously change in the coming weeks.
Wilson isn’t practicing on Thursday, but he was the starting quarterback during walk-throughs.
Moore and Herbig are probably getting the starting nods since they’re veterans. The Steelers don’t want to just hand starting spots to Frazier and first-round pick Troy Fautanu.
First look at the #Steelers offense is the same as it was during minicamp:
Moore at LT, Jones at RT, Herbig at C
Jefferson and Austin WRs 2/3
Wilson at QBDon’t read too much into the first rep.
— Alan Saunders (@ASaunders_PGH) July 25, 2024
Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin made it clear throughout the offseason that Wilson is in “pole position” to be the team’s starting quarterback, and nothing has changed on that front.
“You think I’m actually going to back myself into a corner so you guys are gonna ask me daily about the rep allocations? No way. I’ve been on the job too long for that,” Tomlin said on the first day of training camp when asked question about how the first-team reps would be divvied up between the two quarterbacks.
When asked about the Steelers WR corps on Wednesday, the second name that Russell Wilson mentioned (after George Pickens) was Calvin Austin III. After an impressive offseason, Austin is a player that could emerge in Year 3.
Wilson even sees shades of Tyler Lockett in Austin. Talk about high praise.
In their seven seasons in Seattle, Lockett caught 433 passes from Wilson for 5,878 yards and 45 touchdowns. Lockett was named first-team All-Pro in 2015 and second-team All-Pro in 2016 and 2017. He also made the Pro Bowl in 2015.
“He was just saying how I kind of reminded him of [Tyler Lockett] in some ways,” Austin said during a recent appearance on 92.9 ESPN in Memphis. “He was like, ‘You’re extremely fast.’ He was like, ‘Man, I didn’t know you were that fast.’”
Alan Saunders contributed reporting from Unity Twp.
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