The Pittsburgh Steelers recently finished up a joint practice with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Acrisure Stadium prior to their Preseason Week 2 matchup against each other. It's always nice to go against someone other than your own defense for a change, and the idea is that there is a lot for both teams to benefit from in seeing someone else on the other side of the line of scrimmage. It also helps that the two teams won't play each other in the 2025 regular season, so they can practice everything that they want to without necessarily giving plans away.
Karl Roser / Pittsburgh Steelers
Pittsburgh Steelers' Keeanu Benton (#95) in his first NFL game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Sometimes, the good thing about joint practices is understanding where your team still might be limited. After practice concluded and interviews were finished, the conclusion seemed to be that the Steelers still have a long way to go before being ready for the regular season, as reported by ESPN's Brooke Pryor.
Steelers and Bucs joint practice finished off with a two-minute drill where the Steelers offense didn’t pick up a first down, Pat Freiermuth confirmed. DK Metcalf dropped a pass on second down, but the overall sentiment was they needed to clean a bunch of stuff up.
— Brooke Pryor (@bepryor) August 14, 2025
Outside of a dominant seven shots drill, it seemed like the Steelers had a rough practice. While filming most of practice was banned, there were some photos of wide receiver Mike Evans beating new defensive back Jalen Ramsey clean to the corner of the end zone for an easy score.
Mike Evans beats Jalen Ramsey for a “TD” from Baker Mayfield in “Seven shots” 2-pt conversion simulation at Steelers-Bucs joint practice @AcrisureStadium pic.twitter.com/1CcpPoLwom
— Chris Adamski (@C_AdamskiTrib) August 14, 2025
Of course, there is still a little bit of time for the Steelers to clean up everything and put on a good show for Week 1. Resting most of their starters for Preseason Week 2 may not the greatest idea for that, however. After this game, there will be one more week of preseason before a week with no games. After that, it's put up or shut up time for this revamped team.
Jordan Schofield / SteelerNation (X: @JSKO_PHOTO)
Steelers cornerback Jalen Ramsey runs on the field as the team works out during a 2025 training camp practice at St. Vincent College in Latrobe, PA.
Obviously, when you have a brand new starting quarterback and top wide receiver, it can take some time for the whole offense to click as a collective unit, although that's not an excuse for the pass that DK Metcalf reportedly dropped during the two-minute drill. Now is not the time for the team to take things easy. With a short week of practice between Preseason Week 2 and 3, the cleanup phase could come during the upcoming week without NFL football.
Steelers Hopefully React To Wake-Up Call Like Young Receiver Did
During training camp, wide receiver Roman Wilson was a bit underwhelming to start, and his spot on the roster was suddenly questionable. That was exactly what he needed to realize that he had to work nonstop if he wanted to reach his potential. Since then, he has performed well and has made a case for a spot in the starting lineup, let alone the 53-man roster.
Jordan Schofield / SteelerNation (X: @JSKO_PHOTO)
Steelers wide receiver Roman Wilson (10) during 2025 training camp in Latrobe, PA.
That's exactly how the whole team needs to respond. Even Aaron Rodgers, the starting quarterback, needs to work like his job is on the line if he wants to gain chemistry with his new receivers, even though there is likely zero chance that he gets cut, or even benched. If they try to coast through the season, the infamous non-losing season streak may finally come to an end, and massive changes will have to be made.
What do you think about the Steelers' rough joint practice performance with the Buccaneers? Will they get all the issues cleaned up soon? Let us know in the comments or on X at @Steelers_ChrisB.
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