Now that the NFL Draft is complete, the Steelers have to take the next steps to get ready for the 2021 season.
That involves the workout dates for the team's rookies and veterans to workout with the Steelers, get acclimated or re-acclimated to the team environment and start building for the regular season.
The NFL released the dates for the Steelers' offseason schedule Thursday afternoon:
The first session is rookie minicamp, which is to run from May 14-16. That's where Najee Harris, Pat Freiermuth and the Steelers' newest pieces will get their first does of working with Mike Tomlin and the coaching staff.
After that, the Steelers will have three groupings of OTAs on May 25-27, June 1-3, and June 7-10.
That could be a point of controversy for the team, as Cam Heyward went public about veterans and rookies not complying with in-person OTAs, and the NFLPA released a statement mid-April from the Steelers' players that they wouldn't participate during in-person OTAs this summer.
Whether the full team participates or not will be something to watch, especially after Broncos offensive tackle Ja'Wuan James tore his achilles while working out away from team facilities. A move that the NFL reminded its players with a memo Wednesday that if a player were suffer a season-ending injury while working out away from a team facility, that team wouldn't owe the player any of their salary that season.
The NFL and NFLPA are still at odds about how this season will be handled after the regular season was expanded to 17 games, and players are still wanting to be cautious about COVID-19 issues.
But what won't be an issue for the Steelers' players showing up is during minicamp, which is mandatory. That's set to run from June 15-17, and the last official team workout activities before training camp opens at Saint Vincent College in late July.