You could feel the surge when it happened—Wednesday, July 30, Aaron Rodgers dropped back, saw DK Metcalf in the corner, and fired. Smooth release, effortless spiral, touchdown. Joey Porter Jr. never had a chance. That one-on-one fade in the Seven Shots drill was the kind of throw that stops practice and stuns the sideline. It was clean, electric—proof that this Rodgers-Metcalf connection might actually be more than hype. For a split second, it looked like the Steelers had found their spark.
But hang around long enough, and the buzz starts to fade. What followed wasn’t chemistry—it was chaos. Pittsburgh’s offense stumbled through the rest of practice, with the defense stuffing runs and forcing misfires. Rodgers looked out of rhythm, the line collapsed early, and the timing just wasn’t there. It wasn’t a full-blown implosion, but the cracks were showing. One brilliant throw doesn’t mask the reality: this offense is still very much under construction.
During Thursday’s practice, Steelers training camp became more of a fighting ground than a practice pitch. Reportedly, it all started when TE Jonnu Smith faced up against Safety Juan Thornhill and made a catch after beating the safety. However, the celebrations died down soon when the TE threw the ball at Thornhill, and the latter did not take it too well. One thing led to another, and soon he ripped Smith’s helmet off and got in his face before Jalen Ramsey stepped in to break the fight. However, this wasn’t the only punching highlight of the day.
The punches were followed shortly after by another altercation between safety Chuck Clark and DK Metcalf. The two exchanged a few heated words as “Clark appeared to throw punches in Metcalf’s direction as part of a particularly physical practice,” reported Brian Batko of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
Now we have Chuck Clark throwing punches at DK Metcalf for … some reason. Very chippy day.
— Brian Batko (@BrianBatko) July 31, 2025
And then the energy shifted—again. With injuries starting to mount, including a scary scene where defensive end Esezi Otomewo had to be carted off with a knee injury, the Steelers’ depth is already being tested—hard. Whatever chemistry Pittsburgh hoped would come easily with their loaded veteran core—Rodgers, Slay, Jalen Ramsey, Cam Heyward, and T.J. Watt—it’s now being met with real resistance, both from within and across the line of scrimmage.
The truth is, Rodgers’ transition hasn’t been smooth. On Day 1, he threw a pick-six to Patrick Queen. Two days later? Another INT, this time lobbed carelessly toward Jonnu Smith and taken away by Jalen Ramsey. His rhythm is off. His passes lack that usual zip. The timing’s not there, the confidence looks shaky, and if that trust with Metcalf isn’t rock solid, Pittsburgh’s high-risk gamble might start looking like a slow, public unraveling.
Aaron Rodgers’ offense looks disjointed
A day after Aaron Rodgers and DK Metcalf lit up the red zone with a clean back-corner strike, the Steelers tried to replicate the magic. Same play, same target, same corner—but a different result. Darius Slay read it cold and broke it up, playing right through Metcalf’s hands. Just like that, the one reliable connection Pittsburgh had started to lean on? Gone.
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