Steelers OTAs Recap, Day 4: Najee Harris’ weight a hot-button topic, for some reason

The Pittsburgh Steelers were back on the field for Organized Team Activities (OTAs) Tuesday, and for those who haven’t been paying attention, this isn’t breaking news. The Steelers have been participating in OTAs for the last few months, but Phase 3, which started last week, gets the most news.

In case you don’t know, Phase 1 of OTAs is essentially just workouts with the strength and conditioning staff, Phase 2 is more position specific training/drills and Phase 3 is the most football-like of all OTAs. It is Phase 3 which is where teams can do 7-on-7, 9-on-7 and 11-on-11 drills. No contact, no pads, but plenty of news to go around. Before going any further, it is important to note these workouts are 100% voluntary.

There was plenty of news on Day 4, and in this article I will dive into those, as well as share some video fans might enjoy checking out!

Let’s get to the news...

DJ Returns!

In case you didn’t see the article written about Diontae Johnson’s triumphant return to Steelers OTAs, you can check it out below:

Johnson said he won’t be speaking to the media anytime this week, but will next week. Expect some more information from the talented wide receiver then about why he missed last week, a potential contract struggle and more.

In the meantime, here is visual proof Johnson was in attendance via Brian Batko of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette:

Najee Harris’ weight

Ever wonder if the numbers you see in the team’s program/media guide is accurate? Well, for some reason this offseason everyone has been gawking at Najee Harris since OTAs began. Tuesday Harris reportedly told reporters he weighs 244 lbs.

For some reason, this story picked up steam on social media, and people like Dov Kleiman started comparing the 244 report to his listed weight of 232. That’s obviously quite the difference in one year, but Harris responded to said tweet saying he weighed 240 last year.

The moral of the story? Don’t believe everything you read...whether it’s in a program or on the internet. But Najee does look pretty jacked at OTAs...

Myles Jack

I don’t have locker room access to the Steelers facility, but if I did I would ask every player new to the Steelers organization which played elsewhere at some point in their careers what the difference is between their old home, and their new home.

Chris Adamski of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review was there filming Myles Jack when he was asked just that when comparing Pittsburgh to his former team, the Jacksonville Jaguars.

For more on this story, check out the article below:

Here is the video below:

Quarterback News

Did you really think there would be an OTA recap without any talk of quarterbacks? If you did, shame on you! Kenny Pickett had cameras in front of his face Tuesday, and he talked about everything from how it’s been going learning the playbook to learning his teammates’ names.

Brooke Pryor of ESPN filmed Pickett talking about learning his teammates’ names, and there was a special guest cameo from his stallmate...one Cameron Heyward.

For those who love to see footage of the Steelers quarterback rotation, here is your daily fix courtesy of Jeff Hathhorn:

Terrell Edmunds outlines his free agency journey

Since the Steelers brought back Terrell Edmunds on a team-friendly one-year contract, there hasn’t been much talk about him. While speaking to media Tuesday he was asked about this stint as a free agent, and what happened.

According to Dale Lolley of DKPittsburghSports, Edmunds told him he had multiple teams interested during the free agent process. This would coincide with the reports of the Miami Dolphins and Cincinnati Bengals also being interested in bringing in Edmunds. Edmunds told reporters he was hoping for a multiple year deal, but when that dropped he wanted to stay with the Steelers rather than started over elsewhere.

Jet Sweeps

Thinking the Jet Sweeps were gone? Think again! For the second straight week these have been a staple in the Steelers OTA practice plans.

Videos