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A team-wide fight broke out at Pittsburgh Steelers practice on Wednesday after a defender hit newly signed QB Justin Fields late. The unnecessary shot led the entire offensive line to go after the defense.
Members of each unit commented on the melee, which went on for some time. The gloves came off and punches were thrown as those Steelers players defended their backup passer.
A video now circulating social media picks up just as the action gets started. In the center of the brawl, you can see Cordarelle Patterson (#84) and Troy Fautanu (#76) take swings at defensive teammates.
Not much can be made out after that point!
THINGS GETTING HEATED 🍿
AFC Northing football isn’t soft pic.twitter.com/5GA264nrnO
— PickensBurgh🫡 (Tino) (@PickensBurgh) July 31, 2024
At the root of the issue is said to be that hit on Justin Fields.
While he’s ceded the starting role to Russell Wilson, he still seems to have the respect of his offensive unit. It’s hard to see where he stood in the chaos, post-practice responses seemed to confirm those rumors of a late hit.
“Nobody’s gonna hit our quarterback with a cheap shot and get away with it,” said offensive lineman Nate Herbig. “It’s a big emphasis for us, a big emphasis for our unit. It’s nothing personal, we just protect our quarterback.”
The defense saw things another way, though linebacker Elandor Roberts – who laid the hit – respected the offense’s response.
“It was just a little tap, but the offense did what they supposed to do,” he replied. “You’re always supposed to protect your quarterback… Imma stay away from the quarterback.”
That’s probably a good idea given Russell Wilson is currently on the sidelines with a calf injury. You might notice him in the endzone at the top of your screen when the fight breaks out.
The Steelers are continuing to ease back veteran QB Russell Wilson, who “tweaked” his calf doing a sled push during the conditioning portion of training camp.
That has allowed fellow QB Justin Fields to take most of the snaps with the first team offense.
While that setback doesn’t expect to keep him off the field this fall, you’d like to be as healthy as possible at the most important position!
It’s officially fall practice fight season in the NFL, and no one is safe.
We saw Travis Kelce get into it with Chiefs teammates earlier this month following a vicious hit on Kadarius Toney. Jadeveon Clowney received the same treatment at Panthers camps after he de-cleated starting running back Chuba Hubbard.
It’s that time of year!
Soon, players will get tired of beating up on teammates and they’ll be able to turn the attention to the opposition. Football season is nearly among us! Until then, we’ll continue to see these practice scenes.