Pittsburgh Steelers’ Fifth-Year Player Calls Padded Practice ‘Most Tame, Uneventful’ One He’s Seen

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Pittsburgh Steelers’ Fifth-Year Player Calls Padded Practice ‘Most Tame, Uneventful’ One He’s Seen

Pittsburgh Steelers’ Fifth-Year Player Calls Padded Practice ‘Most Tame, Uneventful’ One He’s Seen

Andrew Buller-Russ

Tue, Aug 4, 2026 ·

3 min read

Pittsburgh Steelers' Jaylen Warren Not Impressed by First Padded Practice Under McCarthy

Aug 03, 2026; Latrobe, PA, USA; Pittsburgh Steelers running back Jaylen Warren (30) participates in a practice session at Training camp at Saint Vincent College. Mandatory Credit: Barry Reeger-Imagn ImagesCredit: IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Coach Tomlin was one of the most intense leaders in the NFL. McCarthy, while he's been successful, isn't quite the intimidator that Tomlin is. That's fine; each coach has a different way of reaching their leaders.

Yet, one of their veterans, fifth-year running back Jaylen Warren, may wish Tomlin was still on the sidelines rather than McCarthy.

After the Steelers busted out the pads for the first time in training camp, Warren admitted to the Pittsburgh media that it was the " most tame " one he's been involved in since arriving in the NFL as an undrafted free agent in 2022.

"That was the most tame, uneventful first day in pads I've seen in all my years at training camp."

That's an interesting message, one that just might get the Steelers to have a more intense training camp from here on out. Warren also added that it was "not what we're used to." Another fascinating aspect is that the Steelers don't have a defined starting running back.

Warren is competing with free agent signee Rico Dowdle, who's coming off back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons, plus 2025 third-round rookie Kaleb Johnson. Comments like this likely won't earn him any favors from the coaching staff.

Then again, maybe it will. Perhaps the coaching staff will look at Warren and realize this is one tough son of a gun who doesn't shy away from anything. Isn't that what the Steelers want in a running back?

Yet, offensive lineman Spencer Anderson, a seventh-round pick in 2023, agreed with Warren's take that Tomlin used to run the team harder during training camp than McCarthy has.

"It's a little bit [of an adjustment] because we're used to 100 miles an hour nonstop. [Before] we were kind of dead tired by the end of practice, but now we kind of temper it down, where we still have maybe 10% left in the tank."

It does sound like a bit of an adjustment. The question is, will it be a good one? As noted, McCarthy has been an NFL head coach for 18 seasons; he's won a Super Bowl. Maybe by pulling the reins back a little bit, the Steelers can be better prepared for the long haul. Or maybe it will leave them unprepared for the real competition, once the games start to count. Time will tell.