UNITY TWP., Pa. —As the old saying goes, one man's misfortune is another man's opportunity, and there are few better examples of that than what is currently going on in the Pittsburgh Steelers secondary. With established starter Joey Porter Jr. and backup Cory Trice both dealing with injuries, it opened the door to more playing time for James Pierre . If the last two days are any indication, he's certainly making the most of his chances.
The sixth-year vet finished Friday Night Lights with a bang, staying sticky on the final two reps of practice. He blanketed a drift post, forcing an incompletion in his direction, and then followed that up with a sweet interception off Mason Rudolph as he was trying to squeeze in a back shoulder throw to the sideline.
In order to be a successful cornerback at this level, you have to possess a short memory for better or worse. Saturday's practice was another step in the right direction, with the Florida Atlantic product stacking solid performances just hours apart.
WR/DB one-on-one drills naturally put the defense at a disadvantage, but Pierre did more than just hold his own in the setting regardless of his opponent. Aligned in off-coverage, he was able to undercut an out-breaker intended for Brandon Johnson and secure the pick after an initial bobble. Next time out, he drew Robert Woods in press, perfectly executed a switchback technique, and essentially ran the route for the wideout to register yet another takeaway.
The Steelers have invested a plethora of resources into their secondary in an effort to become more flexible and maintain that takeaway culture. One of the biggest takeaways from the first week of practice has been that the depth of the group is very obviously much stronger than in years past.
Before camp began, you'd be hard-pressed to find many people covering the team that predicted Pierre would end up making the 53-man roster, but don't discount the coaching staff's trust in his ability to contribute when his name is called. Mike Tomlin was complimentary of both him and Scottie Miller for stepping up with so many guys banged up and missing practice today.
"I think that's kind of reflective of who they are, football players first. Whatever we ask you to do, the more you can do, you add to your cause and ours. So I'm excited about those contributions."
Pittsburgh Steelers tackle Troy Fautanu at training camp on July 30, 2025. — Ed Thompson / Steelers Now
By Alan Saunders
The Steelers have been dealing with some missing men on the offensive line, with starting left tackle Broderick Jones dealing with a groin injury and backup Calvin Anderson also out longer-term with a soft-tissue injury.
The Steelers have used Dylan Cook extensively at left tackle this training camp already, and he has filled in well at the spot. They also tried guard/tackle Spencer Anderson at left tackle on Saturday.
One thing they haven't tried is using 2024 first-round draft pick Troy Fautanu at left tackle. Fautanu, who played left tackle at Washington, has played exclusively on the right side with the Steelers, and Tomlin said he expects that continue for a while.
"He doesn't have enough experience to do that," Tomlin said. "If you watched today, we gave Spencer Anderson some work out there. He's more experienced and versatile. And so, others will be called upon, probably before Troy will."
That suggests that even outside of Jones' injury, that the Steelers have no intention of trying Fautanu at left tackle any time soon.
A team source told Steelers Now that the Steelers don't think Fautanu is tall enough to play left tackle in the NFL, which was a reason that some pre-draft evaluators thought he would make a better guard long-term.
Pittsburgh Steelers inside linebacker Cole Holcomb at practice on July 26, 2025. — Ed Thompson / Steelers Now
By Alan Saunders
One of the biggest collisions of training camp so far came in a non-padded practice on Saturday, when Cole Holcomb , Darnell Washington and the football all arrived at the same place at the same time. A diving Holcomb swung a punch at the ball, trying to dislodge it from Washington's arm. He mostly got his bigger teammate's chest, sending the 300-pound tight end down the turf — but he held out.
Holcomb said he apologized for hitting Washington so hard, but that he was impressed by being able to get Washington down with the one-armed shot.
"I still got it," he joked.
By Alan Saunders
The defense won seven shots by a 4-3 margin.
🏈 Aaron Rodgers threw left to the corner of the end zone, but DK Metcalf slipped and Darius Slay swatted the ball away.
🏈 Rodgers handed off up the middle to Kaleb Johnson , where he was stood up by Derrick Harmon and Payton Wilson .
🏈 Rodgers looked to the left corner of the end zone again, this time for Pat Freiermuth , but Slay was again there to wrestle the ball away from, Freiermuth as he came down near the end line.
🏈 Mason Rudolph entered the game and threw to the right corner for Scotty Miller , but Juan Thornhill forced him out of bounds.
🏈 Rudolph handed to Johnson, who ran around the right end past Trice and Nick Herbig into the end zone.
🏈 Will Howard fired a quick-hitter off to the right for running back Kenneth Gainwell , who had been lined up in the slot.
🏈 Howard rolled right on the final rep, finding Max Hurleman in front of Pierre.
By Alan Saunders
🏈 CB Joey Porter Jr. did not practice and is day-to-day with a hand injury. Jalen Ramsey moved to outside cornerback, Beanie Bishop was the first-team Nickel and Donte Kent was the second-team Nickel.
🏈 CB Cory Trice suffered a hamstring injury and left practice. He was replaced in the second-team defense by James Pierre.
🏈 TE DJ Thomas-Jones (left calf/ankle), DT Dean Lowry (knee) and DT Esezi Otomewo (right knee) all did not practice.
🏈 LG Isaac Seumalo took only individual reps as he works back from his undisclosed injury. Spencer Anderson started.
🏈 LT Broderick Jones took one period of team reps before giving way to Calvin Anderson and Dylan Cook. Anderson was injured late in practice and is being evaluated.
This article originally appeared on Steelers Now : Steelers Camp Takeaways: Unheralded CB Stepping Up, No LT for Fautanu
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