6 Steelers who had their stock rise over this weekend
It’s been a busy weekend for the Pittsburgh Steelers, as they completed their first preseason game and added more training camp practices on Sunday and Monday. While Friday’s game helped give some insight into some players and what the team is looking for heading into the 2024 season, the final training camp practices reveal some other storylines that could take over before the final roster cuts in the coming weeks.
Some of those stories are position battles while others are players returning from injury to compete with others on the depth chart. Here are five Steelers who had their stock rise between the most recent practices and Friday’s preseason game.
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Russell Wilson
Justin Fields had a decent game on Friday where he only failed to complete a single pass (that may have been overturned on a challenge). However, it looked more like Fields was playing safe in instances, and took two sacks while scanning the field for plays to materialize.
None of this would lose Fields a starting job if he were the starter. However, with Russell Wilson now returning to take first-team reps during Sunday’s practice, and slated to start Saturday’s preseason game against the Buffalo Bills, the window for Fields to solely shine is closing rapidly. The quarterback position was never intended to be a camp battle, but could’ve put pressure on would-be starter Russell Wilson, had Fields blown his assignments out of the water.
Because Fields’ three series on Friday – in a “game-like” atmosphere – didn’t move the needle, Wilson’s stock instantly rises as he assumes the mantle already presumed to be his.
Zach Frazier
Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin has a long-standing tradition of making rookies earn their starting spots over the years. Stubborn as ever, Tomlin installed Nate Herbig as the first team center since the inception of camp, and also for Pittsburgh’s initial preseason game.
The results were not good, as Herbig failed on multiple snap exchanges with Fields. Second round draft pick Zach Frazier entered the preseason game and logged more offensive snaps than all but three other players. (Those three only had three more snaps as well.)
Following a performance that showed Frazier start slow but finish fierce, he was interchanged with Herbig during Sunday’s training camp practice and appears to be ready to move up to the starting position – the role he was drafted for.
This shouldn’t come as a large surprise, given Coach Tomlin handled Kendrick Green (who was not a collegiate center) in a similar fashion before giving him the starting nod back in 2021. Frazier has a higher draft pedigree than Green, and having played the center position – one that is of need to the Steelers – indicates he should be Pittsburgh’s Week 1 starter for the regular season.
Grayland Arnold
One of the camp “phenoms” spoken about frequently is undrafted rookie Beanie Bishop, who is competing to be the defense’s starting nickel cornerback. Bishop has the skills to be a talented corner covering receivers or tight ends in the slot, but playing maybe 25-30% of the team’s total snaps means he has to earn his stripes by doubling as a special teams asset.
On Friday, Bishop didn’t look as sharp as hoped in his special teams role and maybe lost some momentum as a potential starting slot corner as well.
Enter Grayland Arnold, a veteran defensive back entering his fifth NFL season. Arnold, who had been limited throughout training camp due to injuries, is a similar stature of player to Bishop but has the edge with experience as a corner and safety.
That’s the kind of versatility Mike Tomlin loves, having swapped former slot corner Arthur Maulet from safety to the nickel position a few seasons ago. Now a healthy Arnold is taking first-team reps with the defense over Bishop and has a chance to ascend from after thought to starter if he continues to build momentum through the remainder of August.
Van Jefferson
Each day that General Manager Omar Khan doesn’t trade for Brandon Aiyuk or add another receiver to the roster is a day that Van Jefferson wins.
Jefferson, a fifth-year veteran as well, looked polished during his limited snaps in Friday’s preseason game, but also continues to wow those in attendance at Saint Vincent College. He has clearly distanced himself as being the team’s WR2 with Roman Wilson sidelined due to injury, and no other receivers standing out enough aside from George Pickens, to play opposite the young star.
Scotty Miller
Just because Jefferson may have locked down the WR2 spot doesn’t mean that wide receiver still isn’t in demand for the Steelers. With Pickens, Jefferson, Austin, and Wilson the presumed top four names on the depth chart, there are potentially one or two more spots still remaining for another receiver to make the final 53-man roster.
No matter who has been throwing the football this summer, one name has continued to standout: Scotty Miller.
Most fans may be looking around during Friday’s preseason game, or in camp, and wondering “Who is number 13?” That’s been a common theme and each time I ponder “who just caught that?” I see that 13 rise from the ground after a difficult catch.
Miller simply gets open, almost so consistently with ease that it makes you wonder how this guy wasn’t already on another NFL roster beyond the free agency period. He’s a sleeper to make the team, but having played for new OC Arthur Smith in Atlanta last season likely gives him the edge of his closest competition such as Quez Watkins.
Watkins’ muffed punt on Friday likely sealed his fate, as the bottom of the chart receivers will have to also contribute on special teams. Miller was spotted fielding punts now in camp and may get an opportunity on Saturday: he briefly did the same for the Falcons, returning a single punt in 2023.
Cory Trice
Trice had a strong preseason game against the Houston Texans, while veteran Anthony Averett had a poor one. This has launched Trice into the forefront of the final training camp sessions, as he’s been tested alongside first-team players with Averett’s chances of making the roster now in jeopardy.
Trice, a seventh-round draft selection in 2023, was injured before being able to take a snap in the preseason. His return from injury had him buried on the depth chart similar to Arnold, but with a lack of quality depth behind starter Joey Porter Jr. and Donte Jackson, there’s a clear need for someone to step up.
Trice is starting to show the signs that he could play at the NFL level and that his late round draft pedigree may have been a mistake as teams overlooked him. He’s one player to continue monitoring as the preseason progresses, especially if he also shines on special teams.
