The Steelers have had a large attendance over the first few days of OTAs at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex. From rookie to established veterans such as T.J. Watt and Cam Heyward, the vast majority of the roster has participate in the voluntary workouts.
"The attendance, the guys have taken the quality and the quantity approach," Mike McCarthy said after Wednesday's OTA practice. "We've maxed out our time, and the environment of working in the CBA practice structure. So very pleased, so far, we've accomplished a lot in the last two days, but June 12 is what we've been talking about since we started this, in the offseason program, and I think we're off to really good start."
From what the media has been allowed to observe and report from, the players I have not seen attend yet include Patrick Queen, Jalen Ramsey, Nick Herbig and Rico Dowdle. After missing Monday's OTA practice, both Jamel Dean and Jaylen Warren participated on Wednesday.
But perhaps the most intriguing case is Joey Porter Jr. He's attended both OTAs thus far, but has also not taken part in anything along with his teammates, even the stretching portion when the media is permitted to shoot video and take pictures. This could be a sign that Porter is preparing to be a hold in, though calling it that during a voluntary workout would be irresponsible. If he's doing the same thing come mandatory minicamp on June 2, then we can probably classify it as a hold in.
Porter is one of several players up for a contract extension, as he's heading into the final season of his rookie contract. Over his first three seasons, Porter has blossomed into one of the game's better cornerbacks. Last season, Porter finished in the top 10 among cornerbacks with at least 300 coverage snaps in passes defensed, catch rate allowed, forced incompletion rate, passer rating against and receiving yards against. He also has the longest active streak in the NFL, spanning 1,467 snaps, of not allowing a touchdown reception.
So, if Porter does become a hold in, it shouldn't be the most surprising development. This will definitely be something to monitor as OTAs continue and during mandatory minicamp.
THE ASYLUM
Attendance high, but what's up with Porter?
The Steelers have had a large attendance over the first few days of OTAs at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex. From rookie to established veterans such as T.J. Watt and Cam Heyward, the vast majority of the roster has participate in the voluntary workouts.
"The attendance, the guys have taken the quality and the quantity approach," Mike McCarthy said after Wednesday's OTA practice. "We've maxed out our time, and the environment of working in the CBA practice structure. So very pleased, so far, we've accomplished a lot in the last two days, but June 12 is what we've been talking about since we started this, in the offseason program, and I think we're off to really good start."
From what the media has been allowed to observe and report from, the players I have not seen attend yet include Patrick Queen, Jalen Ramsey, Nick Herbig and Rico Dowdle. After missing Monday's OTA practice, both Jamel Dean and Jaylen Warren participated on Wednesday.
But perhaps the most intriguing case is Joey Porter Jr. He's attended both OTAs thus far, but has also not taken part in anything along with his teammates, even the stretching portion when the media is permitted to shoot video and take pictures. This could be a sign that Porter is preparing to be a hold in, though calling it that during a voluntary workout would be irresponsible. If he's doing the same thing come mandatory minicamp on June 2, then we can probably classify it as a hold in.
Porter is one of several players up for a contract extension, as he's heading into the final season of his rookie contract. Over his first three seasons, Porter has blossomed into one of the game's better cornerbacks. Last season, Porter finished in the top 10 among cornerbacks with at least 300 coverage snaps in passes defensed, catch rate allowed, forced incompletion rate, passer rating against and receiving yards against. He also has the longest active streak in the NFL, spanning 1,467 snaps, of not allowing a touchdown reception.
So, if Porter does become a hold in, it shouldn't be the most surprising development. This will definitely be something to monitor as OTAs continue and during mandatory minicamp.
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