UNITY TWP., Pa. — Aaron Rodgers is still settling in at Pittsburgh Steelers training camp. Even for a 21-year NFL veteran, an adjustment period is to be expected as he works through the stay at St. Vincent College — second-guessing a read, a handful of incompletions and an interception here and there.
DeShon Elliott and the Steelers' secondary aren't making things any easier on the future Pro Football Hall of Famer. As of right now, that unit is "decent, we're not there yet," Elliott said after Saturday's practice.
That might be a humble report. Rodgers appears to be having a so-so go of it, yet it could very well be that the defense he's tasked with picking apart every afternoon is up to the challenge.
"I think we can be a top-5 defense in this league, maybe even No. 1 if we do the right things consistently," Elliott said after Saturday's practice at St. Vincent College.
That's more like it.
During a team session of the practice, Rodgers left a pass hanging in front of Jonnu Smith , running a corner route, and Jalen Ramsey stepped in front of it for an interception. Earlier in the day, Ramsey closely shadowed DK Metcalf on a post route overthrown by Rodgers. A lurking Elliott made Rodgers think twice before letting it go.
Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Aaron Rodgers at training camp on July 26, 2025. — Ed Thompson / Steelers Now
Elliott praised defensive backs coach Gerald Alexander's intense, but intelligent, approach with the unit. Elliott credited Alexander with elevating his game, adding that he wasn't able to make a play on a post pattern like that before in his career.
Two plays after Ramsey's pick, following what could've been a Payton Wilson sack, safety Juan Thornhill laid out from behind Calvin Austin III to punch a would-be Rodgers completion — on a well-thrown ball — out of his grasp.
Elliott, comparably an elder statesman in the resistance, sounds thrilled to have new guys, such as Thornhill, joining him. Chuck Clark , who he counts among his best friends, arrived on Friday. Elliott played with Ramsey with the Miami Dolphins and lauded the three-time Associated Press All-Pro's versatility.
"He's a potential gold jacket," Elliott said. "Him playing nickel, safety, corner, dime, whatever it is. Whatever you ask (of) him, he can do it. … He had a pick today. He made it look easy."
Communication issues plagued the Steelers down the stretch last season, with plenty of theorizing about who the missing link was. Elliott has his sights set on being a major voice within the new group.
"Over the time, we'll continue to communicate," Elliott said. "We'll get better and better and, eventually, it won't just be me. It'll be all the guys — the corners, nickels and the safety, whoever is out there with me."
Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Will Howard at training camp on July 26, 2025, — Ed Thompson / Steelers Now
By Alan Saunders
The biggest cheer of the day from the massive crowd on hand was a strange one. It didn't happen for a big play, an interception, or anything else you'd expect. No, it was when fourth-string quarterback Will Howard entered the field during the first team period.
Fourth-string isn't exactly fair. Howard and Skylar Thompson have been splitting the third-team duties. But Thompson was ahead of Howard in the rotations on Saturday. Still, the faithful feted the Buckeye backup like he's the team's future star. Howard sheepishly brushed off the attention.
"Was that for me?" He asked. "I thought something was going on on the sideline. I did not know that. That's cool. You can't ask for anything better. … I genuinely did not know that was for me. I thought Joey Porter did something on the sideline or something."
Howard had to admit that he was aware that he had a little to do with the sea of fans wearing red Ohio State gear surrounding Chuck Noll Field. He signed some autographs on scarlet and gray No. 18s in addition to the usual black and gold attire.
"I feel like I've been received really well by the fans," he said. "I'm really thankful to be here, a part of Steelers Nation."
Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Roman Wilson catches a ball at training camp on July 26, 2025. — Ed Thompson / Steelers Now
By Alan Saunders
Second-year wide receiver Roman Wilson had an interesting day. Working with the second team, Wilson took off past James Pierre down the left sideline, and had plenty of room to make a big play, but Mason Rudolph 's deep ball hung up, allowing Pierre and Chuck Clark to break it up.
Later, working with the first team, Wilson ran an out route in front of Joey Porter Jr. He was only just getting his head turned around when Rodgers' pass sailed past him. That earned some talking to from wide receivers coach Zach Azzanni and even Porter had something to say about the route.
Wilson has been working mostly as an outside receiver, starting with the team in three-receiver sets, but he doesn't seem to be resting on his laurels. A half hour after practice ended, he went up to an equipment manager and asked to have the jugs machine turned back on, so he could keep working.
By Brendan Howe
🏈 The session began with a low snap from center Zach Frazier , the second in as many days to get things going. Rodgers wound up floating the ball to nobody in the left side of the end zone.
🏈 Almost instantly, Aaron Rodgers took a shotgun snap and fired the ball to DK Metcalf, running a slant route after shoving Joey Porter Jr.
🏈 Rodgers feathered a corner route to the left to an unmissable target in Darnell Washington , who pulled it in despite the defense's cries that he was out of bounds.
🏈 After what would've been a sack, Mason Rudolph abandoned the pocket to the right and zipped a pass too hot for Roman Wilson near the front pylon.
🏈 Rudolph looked Connor Heyward 's way on the left side. The stocky tight end squeezed it, but couldn't stay in bounds.
🏈 Will Howard fit a slant into JJ Galbreath's arms. The rookie tight end held onto it as he hit the deck with Sebastian Castro draped around him.
🏈 Rookie first-round pick Derrick Harmon got to Rodgers for what would've been a sack.
The defense evened the camp-long score at 1-1 with Saturday's win.
Pittsburgh Steelers center Zach Frazier at training camp on July 26, 2025. — Ed Thompson / Steelers Now
Frazier had a botched snap on the first snap of seven shots for the second day in a row. The second-team centers have also had a couple hit the grass. Is that enough to be a concern at this point in the calendar?
"I had a low snap again," Frazier said. "You just can't do it. I think the rest of them were fine, but two days in a row, I had a low snap. That can't happen, obviously. It's not something I normally have a problem with. To be quite frank, I don't really know what happened. It'll be fixed."
Tomlin seems less worried.
"It's about this time of year," he said. "It's always the case. We'll never like it. We'll get through it. It'll become something in our rear-view mirror. It's not that really significant right now.'
By Alan Saunders
🏈 OLB Jeremiah Moon left practice on a cart after the seven shots period. Tomlin said he is being evaluated for a calf injury.
🏈 S Quindell Johnson was also carted away. Tomlin said all of the injuries other than Moon were heat-related.
🏈 LG Isaac Seumalo missed his third consecutive practice while on the non-football injury list with an undisclosed soft tissue injury. He was in attendance for the practice session. Spencer Anderson again moved up to the first team at left guard.
🏈 TE Jonnu Smith was a mostly full participant in practice after being very limited in the first two sessions. He only took stretching and some light side work on Thursday and Friday, but did individual and team periods on Saturday.
🏈 RB/KR Cordarrelle Patterson did not practice for the third straight day and is also day to day.
🏈 C Ryan McCollum has been limited in action with an unknown ailment.
🏈 Tomlin said it's possible that the team could get another injured player back in the lineup on Sunday.
🏈 OLB T.J. Watt , DT Cam Heyward and CB Darius Slay were all given the day off.
Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Donte Kent at training camp on July 25, 2025. — Ed Thompson / Steelers Now
By Alan Saunders
🏈 Rodgers heaved a rare deep ball down the right sideline, looking for DK Metcalf. Joey Porter Jr. had good coverage and the ball carried Metcalf out of bounds. But in a live rep, Rodgers probably would've never gotten the ball off. Jack Sawyer , in with the first team with Watt off, got a smooth move around Troy Fautanu , and held up instead of closing in on Rodgers. That's the first time Sawyer has gotten work with the starters, and he popped a nice rush early.
🏈 Rookie cornerback Donte Kent had an interception, breaking early on a ball from Skylar Thompson that ended up aimed right as his chest. Probably more of a poor decision by Thompson than a great play by Kent, but they all count.
🏈 Somehow, Pat Freiermuth was out there with most of the third-team offense for one rep. Thompson called an audible and hit Freiermuth over reserve linebacker Devin Harper on a corner route. At least he correctly identified the mismatch.
🏈 In a 7-on-7 period, everyone was covered. Even though there's no pass rush, Rodgers took it upon himself to create a scramble drill. He took off to his left, flipped his hips and found Calvin Austin III coming back to the ball on the left sideline, but the high throw went through Austin's hands. It was interesting that Rodgers tried to create something useful out of a dead rep like that.
🏈 Though pads won't come on until next week, the Steelers ran the ball more on Saturday than they had in the past. Patrick Queen was ready. The linebacker met Jaylen Warren in the hole multiple times, with a closing speed that might've made the ground shake if it was live football. I can't wait to see those two battle for real.
This article originally appeared on Steelers Now : Steelers Camp Takeaways: Slow Start for Rodgers or Dominant Defense?
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