DK Metcalf Punched as Aaron Rodgers Loses Only Connection at Steelers Training Camp

Thursday’s practice session at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe got heated for the Steelers. Multiple players got involved in conflicts; For instance, tight end Jonnu Smith and safety Juan Thornhill had to be separated after the former made a leaping catch over Thornhill and then proceeded to throw the ball at his feet… Both started wrestling on the field, and Smith almost ripped Thornhill’s helmet off. Further, in a rematch, Thornhill got physical with Smith at the line of scrimmage, and soon, another episode of fighting started.

“It’s extremely fun,” Smith said later. “It gets kinda quiet, we got to wake the stands up a little bit. It’s training camp, we are out here competing and having fun.” But they weren’t the only pair that clashed. Thursday also witnessed DK Metcalf and Chuck Clark’s squabble. As per reports available, both players exchanged plenty of words.

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Brian Batko shared that Clark even threw punches in Metcalf’s direction! Batko wrote on X: “Now we have Chuck Clark throwing punches at DK Metcalf for … some reason. Very chippy day.”

“DK Metcalf heated. Couple dust ups after making a catch. Not sure what happened but Metcalf is mad,” Alex Kozora of Steelers Depot reported on X. However, the situation didn’t reach the same level as Smith and Thornhill’s fight.

On Thursday, the Steelers’ offense got the better of their defense. Those roles were reversed for almost the entirety of the camp, and so, competition between them has risen. DK Metcalf, too, feels that. “It’s always fun when you’ve got a competitive group on the other side lining up across from you,” he said. “Both sides are talking and backing it up. I just think it brings out the best competition in people. As you saw today, the offense really kicked their [expletive] today.” But if you thought that camp witnessed just two fights, you’d be wrong.

CB Jalen Ramsey, who played peacemaker during the Smith and Thornhill fight, got into a scuffle of his own. The player got into a spat with WR Roc Taylor after wideout Calvin Austin lost a one-on-one rep with Ramsey. So sophomore wideout Roman Wilson had to intervene and break them apart.

However, none of this is new for the Steelers. Let us go back to last season’s training camp. A shoving match had broken out between members of the offense and defense last year. Elandon Roberts, Troy Fautanu, and several others were a part of it, and the whole situation had happened because Fautanu disliked the way Roberts shoved QB Justin Fields to the ground. But the confrontation also had a larger purpose: You are always supposed to protect your QB.

Back then, coach Mike Tomlin had opined that though fights were common in camps, athletes needed to be more professional. They were not there to put an “MMA team” together.

But the Steelers also have other things to deal with. With injuries starting to mount, including a scary scene where defensive end Esezi Otomewo had to be carted off with a knee injury, the Steelers’ depth is already being tested—hard. Whatever chemistry Pittsburgh hoped would come easily with their loaded veteran core—Aaron Rodgers, Darius Slay, Jalen Ramsey, Cam Heyward, and T.J. Watt—it’s now being met with real resistance, both from within and across the line of scrimmage.

Plus, Rodgers’ transition hasn’t been smooth. On Day 1, he threw a pick-six to Patrick Queen. Two days later? Another INT, this time lobbed carelessly toward Jonnu Smith and taken away by Jalen Ramsey. His rhythm is off. His passes lack that usual zip. The confidence looks shaky, and if that trust with Metcalf isn’t rock solid, Pittsburgh’s high-risk gamble might start looking like a slow, public unraveling.

Aaron Rodgers’ connection with DK Metcalf needs to evolve…

A day after Aaron Rodgers and DK Metcalf lit up the red zone with a clean back-corner strike, the Steelers tried to replicate the magic. But Darius Slay read it cold and broke it up.

It looks like Rodgers and Metcalf’s connection has not evolved the way one would have expected:
1. Rodgers missed Metcalf a few times during practice.
2. There were times when Metcalf appeared to run the wrong route or get confused during a team period drill.

Ultimately, Rodgers’ chemistry with Metcalf still needs fine-tuning; The line still needs stabilizing, and the offense as a whole needs to gel. While fans witnessed flashes of brilliance from Rodgers and Metcalf, for an offense still stitching itself together, those glimpses could mean everything come fall. What do you think?