The Pittsburgh Steelers had quite the interesting practice at training camp on Wednesday. Not only was it the second session with pads, but the team also saw a fight break out between the offense and defense.
The skirmish took place after linebacker Elandon Roberts laid a hit on quarterback Justin Fields, knocking him to the ground. The offense took exception to this and a fight ensued. Thankfully, the two sides patched things up after practice.
Upon learning of the fight, former Steelers offensive lineman Trai Essex noticed a big difference in what he has seen in terms of the attitude of the offensive linemen from the past two years as compared to this year's group.
"Look, I’m not in the huddle, practice or meetings," Essex tweeted. "But it used to PISS ME OFF the last 2 years that the OL didn’t seem to have this attitude. Not consistently running downfield to pick up your RB. Not picking up your QB after he gets hit. I’m not going to speculate why it was like that….I’m just glad it seems that has shifted! Loving what I’m hearing and seeing now!"
Look, I’m not in the huddle, practice or meetings. But it used to PISS ME OFF the last 2 years that the OL didn’t seem to have this attitude. Not consistently running downfield to pick up your RB. Not picking up your QB after he gets hit. I’m not going to speculate why it was… https://t.co/gurSALPVNM
— Trai Essex (@TraiDay79) July 31, 2024
One of the players who was involved in the scrum, offensive lineman Nate Herbig, who is competing for the starting center job in camp, made it quite clear that the offense is not going to tolerate what he called a "cheap shot" on Fields, or any quarterback, for that matter.
“Nobody’s gonna hit our quarterback, cheap shot, and get away with it," Herbig said, per Aaron Becker of Yardbarker. "It’s a big emphasis for us, a big emphasis for our unit. It’s nothing personal, we just protect our quarterback.”
And that's a message Roberts heard loud and clear, with the veteran saying he's going to "stay away from the quarterback" going forward.
Practice fights are never ideal, but sometimes some good can come from them. In Essex's eyes, that's exactly what happened on Wednesday.
