UNITY TWP., Pa. — The third week of Pittsburgh Steelers training camp is in the books, and unlike the first two, the third week of camp is not about new. The first week is all about getting the team together for the first time since the summer and seeing how the pieces fit together, who is in shape and who is not, and who looks like they’ve been working on their skills. The second week is all about competition, as the pads go on, the hitting starts and the tempers start to flare.
The third week is all about consistency. It’s one thing to do something over a short span, but who has taken their early camp gains and kept them up? Who has rebounded from a slow start? The way you finish is way important than the way you start.
So who were the winners and losers from the third week of Steelers training camp 2024?
WINNER: RUSSELL WILSON
There was much consternation when Russell Wilson missed the first week and a half of Steelers training camp with a calf injury suffered pushing a sled during the team’s camp-opening run test. Since then, Wilson has proved that to be much ado about nothing. He looks healthy, he’s decisive in the pocket, he’s been the more accurate of the team’s two quarterbacks. Simply put, his “pole position” means he’s going to have to lose the job, and he’s done nothing of the sort so far.
LOSER: TROY FAUTANU
What awful timing. Troy Fautanu had been trending toward being the team’s starting right tackle before his injury in the preseason opener on Friday night. Now, that’s way up in the air. It doesn’t seem like he’ll miss regular-season playing time with his MCL sprain, but it is hard to win a job from the trainer’s table. The fact that Fautanu winning the right tackle job means that Broderick Jones would have to move to left also complicates things. Would they want to move Jones in the middle of the season if that’s when Fautanu gets ready?
WINNER: ZACH FRAZIER
Coming off a solid preseason debut against the Texans, Zach Frazier has been working with the first team this week, and should be expected to get playing time with the top unit against the Buffalo Bills on Saturday. He’s continued to earn additional reps with his strong play, and he’s minimized his mistakes compared to the first week of camp. There is definitely still a competition at center, but you can see Frazier starting to pull even with Nate Herbig.
LOSER: JUSTIN FIELDS
Justin Fields has looked very good during the second and third weeks of training camp, but when your m.o. as a player includes taking too many sacks and turning the ball over, and your preseason debut includes two sacks and two fumbles, that’s going to do a lot to blunt the momentum of solid camp practices.
WINNER: CORY TRICE, JR.
The Steelers let Cory Trice dip his toe into the water before diving in. He wasn’t working in team drills at all until the second week of camp, and played on the third team on Friday night. But since then, he’s held down the No. 3 outside cornerback role he was expected to earn, and has even worked into some Dime reps. With Donte Jackson sidelined this week, Trice worked with the starters and did not look out of place.
LOSER: DARIUS RUSH
Darius Rush has gotten a ton of opportunities at cornerback this training camp, but consistency is the thing that he’s been lacking. When the offense exploded for a bunch of big plays on Sunday, Rush was on the wrong end of too many of them. His special teams prowess likely means that he still has a solid grip on a 53-man roster spot, but playing time at defensive back might be slipping away with Trice and Ryan Watts also both working in the Dime package.
WINNER: JEREMIAH MOON
What a week for Jeremiah Moon. He got hurt, the Steelers signed veteran outside linebacker Markus Golden to take his job, he came back from injury, Golden unexpectedly retired, and now Moon appears to be right back where he was — at the front of the line to be the team’s fourth outside linebacker this season.
LOSER: DEZ FITZPATRICK
With a mixed-up wide receivers room, Dez Fitzpatrick has a path to the 53-man roster, but it depends on him playing a lot of special teams. In his first game as the team’s top punt gunner, Fitzpatrick was called for a penalty and helped give up a couple decent-sized returns. He’s been fine as a wide receiver, but that matters less than his work on Danny Smith’s units.
WINNER: JOHN RHYS PLUMLEE
Last week, John Rhys Plumlee was a kickoff returner, and he did a fine job of fielding and returning the kick during the preseason game — far better than top punt returner Quez Watkins. This week, he’s playing at wide receiver, and seems to be doing just fine at that. Plumlee hasn’t been overwhelmingly great, but the Steelers certainly seem intrigued enough by his athleticism to keep giving him chances.
WEEK 1 STEELERS CAMP WINNERS AND LOSERS
Winners: CB Donte Jackson, SS DeShon Elliott, CB Beanie Bishop, WR Calvin Austin III, WR Roman Wilson, DL DeMarvin Leal, LB Payton Wilson
Losers: CB Cory Trice, CB Kalon Barnes, QB Justin Fields, TE Rodney Williams II, LB Mark Robinson, K Chris Boswell
WEEK 2 STEELERS CAMP WINNERS AND LOSERS
Winners: QB Justin Fields, WR Van Jefferson, FB Jack Colletto, C Nate Herbig, DB Ryan Watts, WR Tarik Black
Losers: QB Kyle Allen, WR Roman Wilson, WR Quez Watkins, CB Kyler McMichael