A fire was burning in the eyes of the Steelers’ players on Tuesday morning. After all, they would be putting on their pads for the first time in training camp. “That’s when the real football starts,” said linebacker Nick Herbig. The excitement was electrifying as the players got ready to get physical. Just a little. “Once the pads come on, the energy goes way up. People are flying around having fun. I know everyone’s pumped up,” veteran cornerback Darius Slay, who is in his 13th year in the league, also felt the passion.

But as per weather reports, the temperature would be hot in Latrobe; Think mid-90s during the afternoon with the heat index almost near 100. However, as the team geared up for their training, they noticed lightning strikes in the area, and soon it began pouring. So they were under a weather delay, and the field and bleachers were evacuated. It was disappointing for fans who waited for a long time to get into the facility.

The Steelers posted a message on X that read, “Tuesday’s practice at @MySaintVincent has been moved indoors due to inclement weather in the area. The campus is now closed to all fans. The team will resume its normal practice schedule on Wednesday.” As per the National Weather Service, the chance of a storm was low. The storm was thought to miss Latrobe, but the situation was also unpredictable because of the intense heat and moisture in the air.

The Steelers had no other option but to move the practice into the gym at Saint Vincent, which was closed to the public. There, they ran an abridged version of their practice but without pads. But despite three of their five sessions getting interrupted by the rain, HC Mike Tomlin doesn’t intend to adjust practice timings. In fact, he had initially changed their timings from 10:30 a.m. to 1:55 p.m. so that the players would get to play in more heat-related situations. Talking about their practice getting interrupted, the coach shared, “I didn’t get what we were looking for today, but such is life in football and life in general. At this stage of team development, you can always extract some positives out of all circumstances.

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“It gave us an opportunity to take it to the gym and work through our walkthrough format and things that we get done in those scenarios. It’s almost always an opportunity to get better, a rep at something, at some level of adjustment, whether it’s individually or collectively. We went through our script in the gym and got some productive work done.”

However, after an hour, it had stopped pouring, but the HC still didn’t take his players outside. He was worried about player safety as the field gets slick after rain. “I don’t want to start like that, to be honest with you. We’ll have ample enough time to develop in the ways that we need to develop. We want to work hard, but we also want to work smart. The safety concerns are always a component of decision making from my perspective.”

So the team will return on Wednesday, hoping they can train with pads on. Think about back-on-back and one-on-one drills for WRs and CBs. While they focus on that, there is some good news for the Steelers as old rifts are in the process of being mended.

DeShon Elliott apologizes to Aaron Rodgers

When the Steelers made their bid for Aaron Rodgers, Elliott couldn’t hold his tongue and said he would send Rodgers to a retirement home. However, the safety has since come out and apologized for his candour. “Honestly, when he got here, we communicated, we talked. He’s a great person and a great ballplayer. Whatever the media put out there is BS. I respect him a lot,” Elliott said earlier this week.

“I told him that I respect him, and I apologized to him for the things I was saying about him because, honestly, he’s a great man. He has a great heart, so I appreciate him, and he’s funny as hell.” The awkward comments have been cleared off. That will be a huge sigh of relief for the Steeler Nation as both players will play crucial roles in the Steelers’ offense and defense.

And the veteran QB is doing his best to develop a rapport with his new team. Earlier this summer, Rodgers even hosted many of his new teammates for a workout session in Malibu. WR Calvin Austin III not only graciously accepted it but was also intrigued by Rodgers’ mindset and how he tried to think ahead. So now, Steelers fans will have to wait and watch what the team does ahead.