The Pittsburgh Steelers took the field on Friday for their second day of 2023 training camp practice, and with that came sweltering temperatures. As practice concluded around 4pm, the temperature in Latrobe sat at 89 degrees with a 'real feel' of 99, nearly 10 degrees warmer than Thursday. But it didn't appear that Mike Tomlin was concerned with the temperature as the Steelers practiced for the full two hours after a 90-minute day on Thursday.
Jordan Schofield / SteelerNation (Twitter: @JSKO_PHOTO)
Pittsburgh Steelers head coach, Mike Tomlin during 2022 training camp.
With the heat comes plenty of risks for the athletes. On Thursday, it was back up tight end, Rodney Williams Jr. who was unable to finish practice because of the heat according to Tomlin.
“Thankfully, we didn’t have any health issues today,” Head Coach, Mike Tomlin said following practice. “I think Rodney Williams, at tight end, got a little bit of fatigue, via the heat. We’ll evaluate him and see if we can get him back out here tomorrow.”
Williams was back on the field on Friday and appeared to finish the day without any issue. While none of the Steelers were fazed by participating in the heat, there were some other complications from the heat. After a long run down the field, undrafted free agent rookie, Alfonzo Graham appeared to pull up lame with a cramp.
Graham just had a big run, but he limps off the field too. I feel like they just need to end this practice at this point. Looks like another cramp. #HereWeGo
— B-Wall (@BWall) July 28, 2023
Earlier in practice, receiver, Diontae Johnson grabbed at his lower leg. Johnson appeared to try and come back in, but after one play was taken back off to the sidelines. From there, Johnson was sent to the locker room on a cart. After practice, Tomlin confirmed that Johnson was dealing with a 'heat related issue' and not an actual injury.
Twitter - @ReneeFreakNFL
Steelers' Diontae Johnson is carted back to the locker room during Day 2 of Training Camp 2023
During the media scrum following Friday's practice, Tomlin also confirmed that tight end, Connor Heyward, and defensive lineman, DeMarvin Leal missed time because of the extreme heat. It's uncertain when Leal missed any time, but Heyward limped off the field towards the very end of practice.
Mike Tomlin says Diontae Johnson, Connor Heyward and DeMarvin Leal missed some periods of practice today due to heat-related issues.
— Brian Batko (@BrianBatko) July 28, 2023
If you weren't aware, Tomlin likes to wear all black with long pants and long sleeves during training camp because he doesn't want to hear any excuses from his players. If the heat is forcing you off the practice field and you're a young player, it's going to affect your chances at a roster spot.
“Availability is a big component of this thing, particularly at the early stages,” Tomlin said. “That’s how you get better, you make yourself available, you snap the ball, you work, you repeat process and in the midst of that you analyze and adjust and so forth.”
Steelers Could Get An Indoor Practice
The weather forecast for Saturday is 83 degrees with a 70% chance of rain. If the weather doesn't cooperate, the team will likely take buses down to their South Side practice facility so they don't miss a day. That could bring a whole lot of happiness from a lot of players who wouldn't mind a day out of the sunny conditions of Latrobe, PA.
Are you coming out to practice tomorrow in Latrobe? Let us know in the comments!
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