[GUEST ACCESS MODE: Data is scrambled or limited to provide examples. Make requests using your API key to unlock full data. Check https://lunarcrush.ai/auth for authentication information.]  Mark Kaboly [@MarkKaboly](/creator/twitter/MarkKaboly) on x 119.2K followers Created: 2025-07-23 12:31:36 UTC The Steelers head to St. Vincent College without many issues that need to be addressed Mark Kaboly / Steelers Correspondent For The @PatMcAfeeShow LATROBE — It’s taken five years, but we just may have found something that promises to be picked apart and scrutinized during training camp more than Ben Roethlisberger’s return from elbow surgery. The only difference is that Aaron Rodgers will be in front of thousands of fans on a daily basis while Roethlisberger’s scrutiny came second hand. Every move, throw, and wince of Roethlisberger’s repaired arm was documented during training camp back in 2020, and it would’ve been even more if that just didn’t happen to be the Covid-19 pandemic year that prevented the Steelers from going away to St. Vincent College for the first time in XX years. Rodgers will be as highly scrutinized when the Steelers hit Chuck Noll Field on Thursday, but just in a different way. The polarizing figure and four-time league MVP already said that this will be his final year of his sure-to-be Hall of Fame career, which makes it intriguing from the jump. Throw in him joining a storied franchise like the Steelers and working with an alpha personality like Mike Tomlin, and you better believe all eyes will be on Latrobe over the next three weeks. The biggest question that everybody wants to figure out on their own is if Rodgers has anything else left, and maybe more importantly, how will he go about his final year? Rodgers flirted with the Steelers for some three months before signing in time for mandatory minicamp last month. Over a short period since he’s been with the team, every preconceived notion about Rodgers has been debunked. Rodgers spent time at Cam Heyward’s house, golfed in Heyward’s charity outing, attended a barbecue at Mike Tomlin’s house, and had his receivers out to his house in Malibu for an impromptu throwing session. The perceived cancer inside the locker room was nothing more than a model citizen since signing with the team, and now all eyes will be on him to see if that continues. During their six weeks between the end of minicamp and the start of training camp, T.J. Watt’s contract extension pushed Rodgers’ story to the back burner. That now comes to an abrupt end with the signing of Watt and the start of camp. Rodgers was brought in to be a part of a winning roster and not necessarily be the main reason the team wins or loses. With the Steelers adding major pieces to both sides of the ball, Rodgers will be relied on to bring it all together. Rodgers signed an incentive-laden contract worth $XXXX million, including a $XX million signing bonus. He’s the 22nd highest-paid quarterback in 2025, slotting right behind Daniel Jones. Not by surprise, all of his incentives include playoff and playoff wins – something the Steelers haven’t done in quite some time. That number could reach close to $X million extra. Since the Steelers last won a playoff game on Jan. 15, 2017, they are XX games over .500 but 0-6 in the postseason. With an overhaul of the roster for 2025 and Rodgers on board, who knows what can happen? “I don’t need it for my ego,” Rodgers said. “I don’t need to keep playing. I want to have fun. I want to enjoy the game. The game has given me a ton. It’s hard to think of anything in my life that was positive that wasn’t impacted directly or indirectly by playing this game.” The odds are stacked against Rodgers to come into Pittsburgh and be successful, but he sure piques everybody’s interest. All we saw of Rodgers at minicamp was a handful of individual throws and a lot of sitting back with his helmet to his ear and a call sheet in his hands, watching Mason Rudolph and Co. run the practice. Plenty of interactions with offensive coordinator Arthur Smith and QB coach Tom Arth happened, but not much more than that. Now, all attention will be squarely put on Rodgers. TOP STORYLINES HEADING INTO CAMP X. Watt on the move: Watt isn’t going anywhere for at least four years, but that’s now what we are talking about here. We’ve heard it many times before, but it sure sounded like the Steelers mean it this time. The Steelers plan to move Watt around the formation more than they have in the past, mostly out of necessity. Watt has played the majority of his career snaps on the left and has had great success doing so. But with Watt pushing XX and his late-season production dropping off the past few years, the Steelers have every intention to free him up more, which dates back to last December when they were “dipping their toes” in the water about him moving around. It never really materialized. Watt feels comfortable on the left, and that’s why he was moved there after his rookie season, but more chips, double teams, and scheme-specific defense designed for him got to the point where Watt concluded at the end of the season that he had to be more open to move around. We’ve heard that before, but will we see it more at camp? The Steelers aren’t going to show their hand during the preseason, so the unveiling might have to wait. X. Now or never: The Steelers' offensive line is going to be the catalyst for everything offensive coordinator Arthur Smith wants to do. Even with youngsters Troy Fauntanu, Zach Frazier, and Mason McCormick all having less than a full year of experience, Broderick Jones is going to be the linchpin of the entire unit. Jones is uber-talented but has yet to live up to his lofty draft position. With him flipping over to his more natural left side for the departed Dan Moore Jr., Jones has started XX of XX games, including the playoffs, with XX coming at right tackle. Jones played left tackle at Georgia, which made him the 14th overall pick. How Jones adjusts back to the left side, and if he plays better than last year when he got benched two games in, might be the main thing to watch for as the Steelers go through camp. With a 41-year-old quarterback, poor play from your left tackle can undo even the most perfect offseason plan. X. Who is the 2?: Nobody downplays the title of wide receiver X more than the Steelers. They don’t believe in labeling their receivers, but I’ll do it for him. DK Metcalf is the clear top dog, but after that, it is anybody’s guess. It could be Calvin Austin. It could be Roman Wilson, it could be Robert Woods, or it could be Amari Cooper, Keenan Allen, or Gabe Davis. It could also be somebody acquired at cut-down day. Even though the late acquisition of tight end Jonnu Smith has taken some pressure off the immediacy of acquiring a WR2 as he will be paired with Pat Freiermuth, an improved Darnell Washington, and low-key weapon Kenny Gainwell, there could be a glaring hole at WR2. Camp will reveal that. Austin has to be the front-runner, even with only XX catches since being a fourth-round pick in 2022. Roman Wilson missed all but one game last year, and Woods is another version of Allen Robinson and Van Jefferson. Austin has the best chance of grabbing that No. X spot, but until he does, it’s an issue. X. Benefit of the doubt: If you watch the Steelers’ offense from last year and you can quickly deduce that offensive coordinator Arthur Smith did what he had to do and not what he wanted to do. With more of his people in place, Smith is set up to have a better successful second year than his first. Smith wants to run the ball with the outside zone, and Jaylen Warren and Kaleb Johnson can do that. He likes to feature tight ends and has Smith, Freiermuth, and Washington. If he can’t succeed with this group, then he will never succeed. Scheme is something that you can see in training camp, and we should get a feel for it early. X. Thorn in their side: The Steelers love Juan Thornhill, but who are they kidding? Thornhill is penciled in at free safety after the team jettisoned Minkah Fitzpatrick back to Miami. Thornhill is a versatile cog, but to label him as a Week X starter is premature. Maybe I’m wrong? Maybe there is a different plan in place? But you have to believe that Thornhill is the start for now, but with $XX million cap space and a couple of veteran free safeties still left in free agency, there could be an addition to the position before you know it. Graphic by @DerekMurphy32 (D-Bone)  XXXXXX engagements  **Related Topics** [training camp](/topic/training-camp) [pittsburgh steelers](/topic/pittsburgh-steelers) [Post Link](https://x.com/MarkKaboly/status/1947998025915289731)
[GUEST ACCESS MODE: Data is scrambled or limited to provide examples. Make requests using your API key to unlock full data. Check https://lunarcrush.ai/auth for authentication information.]
Mark Kaboly @MarkKaboly on x 119.2K followers
Created: 2025-07-23 12:31:36 UTC
The Steelers head to St. Vincent College without many issues that need to be addressed
Mark Kaboly / Steelers Correspondent For The @PatMcAfeeShow
LATROBE — It’s taken five years, but we just may have found something that promises to be picked apart and scrutinized during training camp more than Ben Roethlisberger’s return from elbow surgery.
The only difference is that Aaron Rodgers will be in front of thousands of fans on a daily basis while Roethlisberger’s scrutiny came second hand.
Every move, throw, and wince of Roethlisberger’s repaired arm was documented during training camp back in 2020, and it would’ve been even more if that just didn’t happen to be the Covid-19 pandemic year that prevented the Steelers from going away to St. Vincent College for the first time in XX years.
Rodgers will be as highly scrutinized when the Steelers hit Chuck Noll Field on Thursday, but just in a different way.
The polarizing figure and four-time league MVP already said that this will be his final year of his sure-to-be Hall of Fame career, which makes it intriguing from the jump.
Throw in him joining a storied franchise like the Steelers and working with an alpha personality like Mike Tomlin, and you better believe all eyes will be on Latrobe over the next three weeks.
The biggest question that everybody wants to figure out on their own is if Rodgers has anything else left, and maybe more importantly, how will he go about his final year?
Rodgers flirted with the Steelers for some three months before signing in time for mandatory minicamp last month.
Over a short period since he’s been with the team, every preconceived notion about Rodgers has been debunked. Rodgers spent time at Cam Heyward’s house, golfed in Heyward’s charity outing, attended a barbecue at Mike Tomlin’s house, and had his receivers out to his house in Malibu for an impromptu throwing session.
The perceived cancer inside the locker room was nothing more than a model citizen since signing with the team, and now all eyes will be on him to see if that continues.
During their six weeks between the end of minicamp and the start of training camp, T.J. Watt’s contract extension pushed Rodgers’ story to the back burner.
That now comes to an abrupt end with the signing of Watt and the start of camp.
Rodgers was brought in to be a part of a winning roster and not necessarily be the main reason the team wins or loses.
With the Steelers adding major pieces to both sides of the ball, Rodgers will be relied on to bring it all together.
Rodgers signed an incentive-laden contract worth $XXXX million, including a $XX million signing bonus. He’s the 22nd highest-paid quarterback in 2025, slotting right behind Daniel Jones.
Not by surprise, all of his incentives include playoff and playoff wins – something the Steelers haven’t done in quite some time. That number could reach close to $X million extra.
Since the Steelers last won a playoff game on Jan. 15, 2017, they are XX games over .500 but 0-6 in the postseason. With an overhaul of the roster for 2025 and Rodgers on board, who knows what can happen?
“I don’t need it for my ego,” Rodgers said. “I don’t need to keep playing. I want to have fun. I want to enjoy the game. The game has given me a ton. It’s hard to think of anything in my life that was positive that wasn’t impacted directly or indirectly by playing this game.”
The odds are stacked against Rodgers to come into Pittsburgh and be successful, but he sure piques everybody’s interest.
All we saw of Rodgers at minicamp was a handful of individual throws and a lot of sitting back with his helmet to his ear and a call sheet in his hands, watching Mason Rudolph and Co. run the practice.
Plenty of interactions with offensive coordinator Arthur Smith and QB coach Tom Arth happened, but not much more than that.
Now, all attention will be squarely put on Rodgers.
TOP STORYLINES HEADING INTO CAMP
X. Watt on the move: Watt isn’t going anywhere for at least four years, but that’s now what we are talking about here. We’ve heard it many times before, but it sure sounded like the Steelers mean it this time. The Steelers plan to move Watt around the formation more than they have in the past, mostly out of necessity. Watt has played the majority of his career snaps on the left and has had great success doing so. But with Watt pushing XX and his late-season production dropping off the past few years, the Steelers have every intention to free him up more, which dates back to last December when they were “dipping their toes” in the water about him moving around. It never really materialized. Watt feels comfortable on the left, and that’s why he was moved there after his rookie season, but more chips, double teams, and scheme-specific defense designed for him got to the point where Watt concluded at the end of the season that he had to be more open to move around. We’ve heard that before, but will we see it more at camp? The Steelers aren’t going to show their hand during the preseason, so the unveiling might have to wait.
X. Now or never: The Steelers' offensive line is going to be the catalyst for everything offensive coordinator Arthur Smith wants to do. Even with youngsters Troy Fauntanu, Zach Frazier, and Mason McCormick all having less than a full year of experience, Broderick Jones is going to be the linchpin of the entire unit. Jones is uber-talented but has yet to live up to his lofty draft position. With him flipping over to his more natural left side for the departed Dan Moore Jr., Jones has started XX of XX games, including the playoffs, with XX coming at right tackle. Jones played left tackle at Georgia, which made him the 14th overall pick. How Jones adjusts back to the left side, and if he plays better than last year when he got benched two games in, might be the main thing to watch for as the Steelers go through camp. With a 41-year-old quarterback, poor play from your left tackle can undo even the most perfect offseason plan.
X. Who is the 2?: Nobody downplays the title of wide receiver X more than the Steelers. They don’t believe in labeling their receivers, but I’ll do it for him. DK Metcalf is the clear top dog, but after that, it is anybody’s guess. It could be Calvin Austin. It could be Roman Wilson, it could be Robert Woods, or it could be Amari Cooper, Keenan Allen, or Gabe Davis. It could also be somebody acquired at cut-down day. Even though the late acquisition of tight end Jonnu Smith has taken some pressure off the immediacy of acquiring a WR2 as he will be paired with Pat Freiermuth, an improved Darnell Washington, and low-key weapon Kenny Gainwell, there could be a glaring hole at WR2. Camp will reveal that. Austin has to be the front-runner, even with only XX catches since being a fourth-round pick in 2022. Roman Wilson missed all but one game last year, and Woods is another version of Allen Robinson and Van Jefferson. Austin has the best chance of grabbing that No. X spot, but until he does, it’s an issue.
X. Benefit of the doubt: If you watch the Steelers’ offense from last year and you can quickly deduce that offensive coordinator Arthur Smith did what he had to do and not what he wanted to do. With more of his people in place, Smith is set up to have a better successful second year than his first. Smith wants to run the ball with the outside zone, and Jaylen Warren and Kaleb Johnson can do that. He likes to feature tight ends and has Smith, Freiermuth, and Washington. If he can’t succeed with this group, then he will never succeed. Scheme is something that you can see in training camp, and we should get a feel for it early.
X. Thorn in their side: The Steelers love Juan Thornhill, but who are they kidding? Thornhill is penciled in at free safety after the team jettisoned Minkah Fitzpatrick back to Miami. Thornhill is a versatile cog, but to label him as a Week X starter is premature. Maybe I’m wrong? Maybe there is a different plan in place? But you have to believe that Thornhill is the start for now, but with $XX million cap space and a couple of veteran free safeties still left in free agency, there could be an addition to the position before you know it.
Graphic by @DerekMurphy32 (D-Bone)
XXXXXX engagements
Related Topics training camp pittsburgh steelers