:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/55961445/usa_today_10184003.0.jpg)
The rain over the weekend in Western Pennsylvania forced the Pittsburgh Steelers away from their usual Saint Vincent College fields, and had them head over to the local Latrobe High School turf field for the second straight day of practice.
While the Steelers were back to doing football-type activities, Mike Tomlin, and everyone who was asked, agreed football doesn’t start until the pads are worn and players are really hitting.
However, that doesn’t mean there wasn’t news coming from the Steelers, and we now dive into all the storylines as camp creeps on.
Justin Hunter turning heads
When the Pittsburgh Steelers acquired Justin Hunter as a free agent from the Buffalo Bills and Tennessee Titans, most remembered him from college, and never really panning out in the NFL.
The book written on him sounded very similar to that of Sammie Coates’. Tall, fast and inconsistent hands.
With the reinstatement of Martavis Bryant, most pushed Hunter to the side thinking he would be nothing more than a potential camp body, unlikely to make the roster. However, with Bryant still not fully reinstated, JuJu Smith-Schuster nursing a minor ankle injury and Sammie Coates out after getting his knee scoped, Hunter has seen more repetitions.
And he is making the most of it after two days.
Check out this nifty touchdown catch during the Steelers’ “7 Shots” drill they do every practice:
And 7 shots is underway #steelers pic.twitter.com/ryyw7AQpFt
— Will Graves (@WillGravesAP) July 29, 2017
Thinking about the quarterbacks Hunter has had to play with, catching passes from Ben Roethlisberger must feel like a pure gift from the gods.
Just ask him...
Justin Hunter hopes make an impact in the red zone (’money zone’) for the Steelers, says playing with Big Ben can help his career. pic.twitter.com/Anj32aUT0v
— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) July 30, 2017
It has only been two days of training camp, and the pads don’t officially come on until Sunday’s practice, but so far so good for the free agent acquisition.
The video below sure does show he has some serious skill:
This is a great catch by, Justin Hunter, Steelers FA signing. He's a big target. #HereWeGo #SteelersTrainingCamp pic.twitter.com/tLMSSsPiPX
— Steel Legends (@Steel_Legends) July 28, 2017
Injuries
JuJu Smith-Schuster sat out of practice today, and Mike Tomlin said he could be out a few days with an ankle injury. Cameron Sutton left practice with a “lower body” injury, and will be evaluated.
In the good news category, Canaan Severin was activated off the Physically Unable to Perform (PUP) list, and participated in practice Friday.
Free Martavis Count Down: 3 Days
Photos/Videos
Snapshots from St. Vincent (actually GLSHS again): Artie Burns in a rare moment when he isn't hounding Antonio Brown. pic.twitter.com/WoPcur6DtI
— Mike Prisuta (@DVEMike) July 29, 2017
WVU's Dana Holgorsen chatting with Mike Tomlin (guessing the conversation wasn't about defense). pic.twitter.com/X81o98kH4h
— Mike Prisuta (@DVEMike) July 29, 2017
Ryan Shazier is sticking with his no-shirt-during-warmup tradition. pic.twitter.com/YjJ0eO6ogH
— Mike Prisuta (@DVEMike) July 29, 2017
Spectacular day today at Greater Latrobe Senior High School. pic.twitter.com/gmuNawzzSp
— Mike Prisuta (@DVEMike) July 29, 2017
Pittsburgh Steelers Ben Roethlisberger gets a hug from his daughter during afternoon practice at Latrobe High School. #steelerscamp pic.twitter.com/dpUEctXcZD
— Peter Diana (@peterdianapghpg) July 29, 2017
Ryan Shazier talks about the state of the defense as #SteelersCamp begins. pic.twitter.com/mDpBBQlExh
— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) July 30, 2017
The pads go on tomorrow. #CampLife pic.twitter.com/BKGebFCfDX
— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) July 30, 2017