Chris Adamski stories, Page 138

Trevon Mathis was volunteering to help coach kids on the same Homewood field where he learned to play. Little did he know Thursday he would quickly go from the Homewood Community Sports Bulldogs to the Pittsburgh Steelers. “It still hasn’t hit me all the way,” Mathis said late Friday night...

It was not uncommon for Eli Rogers to be spotted in a construction hard hat around UPMC Rooney Sports Complex last fall, and he showed up to training camp last month in the cab of a big rig. Rogers clearly wants to advance he is all about business, and he’s...

It was billed as the lone winner-take-all starting position battle during this Pittsburgh Steelers training camp. But has Matt Feiler’s strong play on the practice fields of Saint Vincent already rendered the Steelers’ starting right tackle verdict moot? The man with perhaps the most input into that decision smiled when...

For each of the past five seasons, the Steelers have had a better ranking in total offense than in total defense. How rare is that for a franchise far more identified for its defense? The Steelers’ ‘D’ ranked higher than its offense 58 of the previous 74 seasons, according to...

By official NFL accounting, Jerald Hawkins is in his fourth season. Only four of his fellow Pittsburgh Steelers offensive linemen have more tenure. Then again, Hawkins has only five games and 47 snaps of professional regular-season experience. That makes the offensive tackle a unique player to watch in Friday’s preseason...

As Devlin Hodges spoke to reporters after practice Wednesday at Saint Vincent, a pair of rookie teammates laughed and made loud quacking noises as they walked past. Hodges didn’t miss a beat, remaining undeterred, similar to a quarterback patiently staying on his reads while pass-rushers approach. It takes a lot...

Another practice at Saint Vincent, another large group of Pittsburgh Steelers players who were not in pads and watching from the sidelines. Other than the scare caused by Joe Haden leaving the field on a cart, the list of those who sat out practice Wednesday on Chuck Noll Field mostly...

The Pittsburgh Steelers are giving equal time to each of the candidates in their kicking and punting competitions. Embattled incumbent kicker Chris Boswell will alternate kicks with rookie Matthew Wright during Friday’s preseason opener, coach Mike Tomlin said Wednesday. And Tomlin said fifth-year punter Jordan Berry will handle every other...

“Let’s go, ‘Duck Dynasty,’ ” coach Mike Tomlin yelled toward his offense on the sidelines before the final drill of Tuesday’s Pittsburgh Steelers practice. So Devlin Hodges ran into the huddle and took over the hurry-up, late-game simulation between second-teamers. Earlier in practice and for the second time in recent...

It was a display of, as Mike Tomlin puts it, “the bumps and bruises associated with this point in the journey.” Tuesday’s Pittsburgh Steelers practice at Saint Vincent was the most attrition-rattling of training camp. Eight players left the session early because of injuries of varying severity and to different...

For the second time in six days, the Pittsburgh Steelers swapped out cornerbacks. On Tuesday, they announced the signing of former St. Francis (Pa.) defensive back Jermaine Ponder and waived/injured Derrek Thomas. Thomas was signed Thursday but lasted only three practices before suffering an undisclosed injury. Thomas had replaced Herb...

Fred Johnson might be the tallest guard who’s ever attended a Pittsburgh Steelers training camp. And in what might have been a sign of just how much Johnson intrigues the Steelers, they even threw him into the proverbial fire at tackle, too. For the 2-minute drill simulation at the end...

Maurkice Pouncey, Artie Burns and Dionate Johnson were among Pittsburgh Steelers who left Sunday’s practice at Heinz Field because of injuries that are not expected to be serious. Veteran cornerback Burns and rookie receiver Johnson had previously been dealing with groin injuries, but each had taken part of some drills...

Though Tevin Jones began Pittsburgh Steelers training camp toward the bottom of the wide receivers depth chart and getting scant reps, in recent days the big and athletic receiver has been opening eyes. At 26 and his fourth NFL training camp, Jones has been with the Steelers for 19 months....

Big Dan is no longer just the big man taking up space in the middle of the defense. In his sixth Pittsburgh Steelers training camp, Dan McCullers is being used more often and getting more reps than he typically did in his previous five. While his time at nose tackle...

No shoulder pads. No Big Ben, nor almost half of the other offensive and defensive starters. Half-speed drills, lots of special teams. In short, it was largely a dud of a practice from an entertainment perspective for the big Saturday crowd on hand at Saint Vincent. Until, that is, the...

Getting reps at free safety during this training camp? That’s nothing to Mike Hilton. The Pittsburgh Steelers’ slot cornerback the past two seasons, Hilton was highly recruited to SEC colleges as a running back. “I got (to Ole Miss) and kinda realized in looking at the other college backs,” the...

Thursday’s Pittsburgh Steelers practice proved rookies Ian Berryman and Matthew Wright are pushing five-year incumbent punter Jordan Berry and kicker Chris Boswell, respectively. Berryman and Wright were signed as priority undrafted free agents after the draft in April, and both have shown they possess NFL-worthy potential. Berry and Berryman each...

For Cameron Heyward, it was a little girl who approached him to autograph a program. To Alejandro Villanueva, what stands out about the Pittsburgh Steelers’ annual Friday Night Lights practice is the ride on the caravan of buses weaving through Latrobe. “It’s cool to sort of drive around in the...

A day after the first on-field scuffle between teammates at this year’s Pittsburgh Steelers training camp, the two affable veteran players involved in it were able to laugh it off. Alejandro Villanueva’s tongue-in-cheek explanation for the punch he threw toward Cameron Heyward after Heyward had lunged at him? It was...

The first practice of Pittsburgh Steelers training camp was Friday, and the first that included pads was Sunday. Wednesday is when the intensity ramped up a notch. Perhaps it was the off day Tuesday that recharged the competitive juices, maybe it was the 98-degree heat index or now that camp...

Two years ago, Antonio Brown vs. Artie Burns was the must-see individual battle of Pittsburgh Steelers training camp. Things change quickly in the NFL, but the 2019 version of No. 1 WR and shutdown cornerback features, arguably, an even better matchup: JuJu Smith-Schuster against Joe Haden. Though Haden’s reps are...

In agreement with his union brethren, Ramon Foster again said Monday he was against the NFL’s reported proposal of an 18-game regular season in which players appear in only 16 of those games. But, surprisingly, Foster isn’t against ALL additional games. “I’m all for expanding the playoffs,” the Pittsburgh Steelers...