LATROBE, Pa. – Let's get to it:
DICK VOCHEK FROM PORTAGE, PA: I have never been to a Steelers training camp at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe. I'm really excited to go this year. My dad used to take me to the Steelers-Redskins scrimmage in Carlisle during the Chuck Noll-Joe Gibbs era. It was a great experience for me as a youngster, where I could get really close to the players for autographs and pictures. I'm taking my 3 young daughters to training camp next week. Would you be so kind as to offer any tips or advice for where the best place to view the scrimmage, and to be able to get close to the players?
ANSWER: The first thing to do, in fact I believe it's the very first thing to do is to go to Steelers.com, and on the top NavBar on the homepage you will see an icon for "TRAINING CAMP." Click on that, and you will be directed to a page that's loaded with necessary information and helpful tips.
You refer to your "3 young daughters" without specifying their ages, and I just want to caution you about what their experience will include and possibly not include. What happens daily on the fields at Saint Vincent College is a football practice, and not a scrimmage as was held back in the 1980s when the Steelers visited Carlisle. A scrimmage is much closer to a game in the way it's presented, while a practice can be somewhat tedious even for adults.
And while I maintain the players are largely patient and accommodating with fans seeking photos or autographs, it's also a reality that not every player is available every day, and even the ones who make themselves available only can be available in certain areas and not for an indefinite amount of time, because there is a daily work schedule for them that must be followed. What I always tell people who are coming to visit: Training camp can be a great opportunity to watch professional football players work on their craft in an up-close manner that's available nowhere else, and doing that can be an enjoyable experience. But if people are coming to Saint Vincent College for the express purpose of getting autographs or pictures of specific players on the specific days they choose to visit, they very well could leave campus disappointed.
RUSS PALLONE FROM TRINIDAD, CO: Is Cam Heyward in camp, or is he holding out right now?
ANSWER: Cam Heyward reported to training camp along with everyone else on Wednesday, July 24, and since then he has participated in every practice the team has held at Saint Vincent College.
NICHOLAS PELCHAR FROM PURCELLVILLE, VA: I am impressed by the job General Manager Omar Khan has done, but to me it is somewhat dubious that Kenny Pickett "demanded" a trade. Now that Pickett is gone, was it a wise move?
ANSWER: When it comes to this issue, it has been my opinion all along that Kenny Pickett quit on the Steelers. The Steelers were presented with the opportunity to sign a veteran, proven, Super Bowl winning quarterback in Russell Wilson to a one-year contract for only the veteran minimum salary of $1.2 million for 2024, and the decision was made to make the move to strengthen the depth chart at that position. It was only a one-year contract, a short-term arrangement, and Pickett would have had the chance to compete with Wilson, learn from Wilson, see first-hand how a seasoned professional carries himself in the locker room, with the media, with fans, and in the process get a chance to learn how to carry the responsibility of being an NFL team's franchise quarterback.
But Pickett wasn't interested in competing and learning, and he reacted to the move as though it were an insult. In my opinion, that was a petulant reaction from a guy who had yet to establish himself as a pro and could have benefitted from watching and learning from someone who has been voted to 9 Pro Bowls, won the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award, passed for 43,653 yards, 334 touchdowns, 100 interceptions, and has a career rating of 100.0 to go along with 39 game-winning drives. That smacked of an unearned arrogance to me, and I credit the Steelers for responding to Pickett's snit by working out a trade for Justin Fields, who has shown absolutely no reluctance to come here and learn and work on his craft, and being willing to do so even though he has a much more dynamic skill-set than Pickett. Finally, it's curious to me that someone who resisted watching and learning behind Russell Wilson is now in a situation where he is having to do the exact same thing behind Jalen Hurts.
JEFF WELLER FROM COLUMBUS, OH: I'm a consistent training camp visitor but this year I'm making my first Friday Night Lights practice. I typically purchase all my Steelers merchandise at training camp, and I was wondering if they have any merchandise at Friday Night Lights?
ANSWER: Yes, the Steelers absolutely have a presence for fans to shop for merchandise before and during Friday Night Lights, a presence I would contend is very similar to what is available at Saint Vincent College.
JAMIE EWEN FROM BOURNE, UK: Kwon Alexander looked like a good fit for the Steelers at inside linebacker before he got injured. He's now working on being fit and healthy again. Does it seem likely that he might return to the Steelers, or has that ship sailed now?
ANSWER: Kwon Alexander tore an Achilles tendon in a Nov. 12 game against Green Bay last season, and that can be a 12-month injury when it comes to rehabilitation and then returning to play. In the interim, the Steelers signed Patrick Queen as an unrestricted free agent and drafted Payton Wilson and added them to a position that contains returning starter Elandon Roberts and an on-the-mend Cole Holcomb. We could debate whether there is any room on the depth chart for another veteran inside linebacker, but I don't believe Alexander is yet ready for a return to football.
HANS KOLLER FROM FREDONIA, PA: In Tuesday's Asked and Answered, you wrote about Steelers fatigue when it comes to electing players to the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Shouldn't the selection committee be more unbiased when it comes to potential selections and just make it about football? I'm sure football fans don't care that 30 percent of all centers in the Hall of Fame would be Steelers. We just want to see the best of the best be honored.
ANSWER: Maybe Steelers fans wouldn't care that 30 percent of all centers enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame would be Steelers, but I believe you're naïve to think other teams' fans wouldn't care. Those fans want the players from their favorite team to be honored more regularly. In a perfect world, the voters would be completely unbiased, but voters for the Hall of Fame are people, and people come with biases. That's just the reality.
GEORGE THOMAS FROM OCALA, FL: As it pertains to the Steelers Hall of Honor, are there any players who are in both the Hall of Honor and the Pro Football Hall of Fame?
ANSWER: Yes. In fact, every member of the Steelers who is enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame also is a member of the team's Hall of Honor. It's an automatic.
ERIC DAY FROM PITTSBURGH, PA: Can you picture any scenario where Justin Fields plays well and we let him go into free agency?
ANSWER: You need to understand that the Steelers cannot force Justin Fields to stay with the team beyond the expiration of his current contract in March 2025, nor could they force him not to test free agency. As Coach Mike Tomlin always says, "Free agency is free for the players and free for the team." Maybe Fields decides that he wants to continue his time with the Steelers beyond 2025, but that's going to be his decision.
WAYNE EPPEHIMER FROM JAMESTOWN, NY: I don't have a question, but I'd like to encourage my fellow Steelers fans to check out the Hall of Honor Museum. My wife and I went there with some friends this summer and also last year. We thoroughly enjoyed it both times. The tour is a gem for any fan of the franchise.
ANSWER: I'm glad you enjoyed the Hall of Honor Museum, which has been described by the Pittsburgh media as "Disneyland for Steelers fans."
