Joe Rutter stories, Page 97

Each day of Steelers training camp, the Trib rounds up some things to pay attention to during practice at Saint Vincent: WHAT TO WATCH Back on campus: After enjoying a day off following the Family Fest practice at Heinz Field, the Steelers return to the familiar confines of Saint Vincent...

When asked Saturday whether any of his tight ends has stood out in training camp, Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin offered a blunt assessment. “I like Vance McDonald,” he said, “but you guys know that.” Tomlin wasn’t denigrating any of the other five tight ends on the roster. It’s just...

The Pittsburgh Steelers had a full 91-man roster available to practice after they activated outside linebacker T.J. Watt from the physically unable to perform list Sunday. The move cleared Watt to practice at the team’s third annual Family Fest practice at Heinz Field. Watt was on PUP with a hamstring...

Each day of Steelers training camp, the Trib rounds up some things to pay attention to during practice: WHAT TO WATCH All in the family: The second weekend of training camp concludes with the third annual trip to Heinz Field for Family Fest. Gates open at 5:30 p.m., an hour...

Coach Mike Tomlin promised to find high-pressured situations for kicker Chris Boswell at training camp, and a significant test for the fifth-year veteran will come Sunday night. Boswell and his training-camp competition, undrafted free agent Matthew Wright, will attempt field goals at Heinz Field when the Pittsburgh Steelers conduct their...

Ben Roethlisberger’s training camp regimen in recent seasons has been to sit out every third day of practice. He does a full workout one day, a partial practice the next and then he takes a day off. So it seemed to be noteworthy Saturday when Roethlisberger did not practice for...

Each day of Steelers training camp, the Trib rounds up some things to pay attention to during practice at Saint Vincent: WHAT TO WATCH Return to normalcy: The pomp and circumstance of the Friday Night Lights practice is over, and FanFest at Heinz Field isn’t until Sunday, giving the Steelers...

In the first backs-on-‘backers drill held five days earlier, Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin withheld several of his starters. For the second go-round Friday night, Tomlin matched up two of those veterans: inside linebacker Vince Williams against fullback Roosevelt Nix. On the first snap, Williams bowled over Nix, but ended...

NFL officials, led by second-year referee Shawn Smith, made their annual visit Friday to Saint Vincent to brief the Pittsburgh Steelers on the newest rules changes and points of emphasis. Officials have been charged with cracking down on blind-side blocks, enforcing holds that occur on the backside of running plays...

Wide receivers catching balls fired from a JUGS machine is a common sight at any NFL training camp practice. It’s no different for Pittsburgh Steelers pass catchers, who get their daily share of the work on the JUGS at Saint Vincent. It’s just that this summer the wide receivers have...

Each day of Steelers training camp, the Trib rounds up some things to pay attention to during practice: WHAT TO WATCH Friday night lights: The first departure from the norm at training camp comes in the form of the annual trip to Latrobe Memorial Stadium. Players will file onto school...

The Steelers added another tall cornerback to their secondary Thursday when they signed Derrek Thomas, formerly of the Seattle Seahawks. To make room for Thomas on the 91-man roster, the Steelers waived injured cornerback Herb Waters. Thomas is 6-foot-3, 189 pounds and ran a 4.44 40-yard dash at the NFL...

As a wide receiver, Brandon Reilly is used to making quick adjustments at the line of scrimmage. Off the field, he’s become adept at making unexpected changes, too. Waived by the Detroit Lions on Tuesday, the 25-year-old former Nebraska receiver was out of work for less than 24 hours. The...

The latest injury at training camp for the Pittsburgh Steelers involved one of their least recognizable players. Long snapper Kam Canaday, who is in his third camp with the team, left practice early Thursday because of a groin injury. He was taken for an MRI to determine the severity of...

Want to bring a smile to Ben Roethlisberger’s face? Ask him about his offensive line. The Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback loves to talk about his linemen. He credits much of his success to the five men assigned to protect him on a weekly basis. He can recite their accomplishments, preach their...

Each day of Steelers training camp, the Trib rounds up some things to pay attention to during practice at Saint Vincent: WHAT TO WATCH Ola-mania: One player that has emerged as an early darling has been outside linebacker Ola Adeniyi. He starred in the “Backs-on-‘Backers” drill that highlighted the first...

As an aerospace engineering major who has done an externship at NASA, Joshua Dobbs was hoping the highlight of his summer break would be watching a scheduled rocket launch from Cape Canaveral. Unfortunately, the launch was postponed during his stay. Dobbs only can hope his chance of remaining the Pittsburgh...

On a day when the heat index reached 98 degrees on the grass surface of Chuck Noll Field, the Pittsburgh Steelers saw an uptick on the number of players on coach Mike Tomlin’s injury report. Offensive lineman Derwin Gray, the team’s seventh-round draft pick, was a casualty of the heat,...

Each day of Steelers training camp, the Trib rounds up some things to pay attention to during practice at Saint Vincent: WHAT TO WATCH Back to work: The Steelers return to practice after getting their first day off during training camp. The rest came at a good time for some...

For the second time in three months, the Pittsburgh Steelers have turned to little-known Kameron Kelly with starting free safety Sean Davis unavailable to practice. When Davis missed some OTA workouts in May, the Steelers turned to Kelly, whom they signed shortly after the Alliance of American Football folded in...

When Artie Burns collected his $800,000 roster bonus Sunday, it wasn’t based on how trim he looked when he reported to training camp for the Pittsburgh Steelers or how he performed on the first few days of practice. Rather, the former first-round draft pick earned the bonus and remains in...

On a day when most starters didn’t participate or were limited to a few reps, backup linebacker Ola Adeniyi emerged as the star of the “Backs on Backers” drill that annually highlights the first practice in pads at Pittsburgh Steelers training camp. Adeniyi got the most work among the linebackers,...

Each day of Steelers training camp, the Trib rounds up some things to pay attention to during practice at Saint Vincent: WHAT TO WATCH No beating around the Bush: The practice will be the first time that the team’s rookie class, led by first-round pick Devin Bush, will don pads...

His career with the Pittsburgh Steelers — and perhaps in the NFL — was over. “That was a thought of mine,” guard Ramon Foster said. One year ago Sunday, on the first padded practice of training camp, Foster crumpled to the ground clutching his right knee. Three plays into the...