5 Winners and 4 Losers after the Steelers first week of training camp

The Pittsburgh Steelers are enjoying a day off today, Tuesday, after their first week of training camp. The first four practices are those without pads, but there is still plenty to glean from these workouts. There has been plenty of good, and also bad, throughout the first week of training camp. With that said, it’s time to evaluate and decipher the two.

This is where the ‘Winners’ and ‘Losers’ comes in…let’s get to work!

Winners

Jalen Ramsey

I can’t begin to think what you, the reader, believed when the Steelers made the trade with the Miami Dolphins for Ramsey, but I had my doubts as to what Ramsey had left in the tank. On top of that, I had serious questions about how the Steelers might utilize Ramsey, even if he still had plenty of game left.

It’s only been a week, but Ramsey has been all over the field, and being used in a variety of ways. It didn’t take long for Ramsey to make his presence felt, already with a couple interceptions off Aaron Rodgers and Mason Rudolph. Needless to say, it looks as if Ramsey still has plenty of game left, and now it’s up to the Steelers to utilize him in a way where he can be impactful.

Derrick Harmon

The Steelers 1st Round draft pick has been turning heads since he stepped foot on Chuck Noll Field at Saint Vincent College. Yes, the team hasn’t put pads on yet, but Harmon has been impressive every step along the way. It turns out, when Karl Dunbar said at Mandatory  Minicamp that Harmon would be starting along the defensive line, he wasn’t joking.

Harmon still has plenty to prove when the pads come on, but it doesn’t seem like the professional game is too big for the former Oregon Duck. The Steelers need Harmon to step up in a big way, and his first step in the first week of camp was a big one. Plenty more to come…

Jack Sawyer

When the Steelers took Sawyer out of Ohio State in the 4th Round, many saw it as an unnecessary reach. Not only did most feel the Steelers didn’t need to take a pass rusher that early, but they also viewed Sawyer as a player who might not have a game which translates to the NFL.

Sawyer has been impressive in the early stages of camp by all reports, and has proven he has the technique to be more than just a solid special teams player. Sawyer might just be some quality depth at the outside linebacker position. Like all of the topics already discussed, there are no pads on yet, but Sawyer’s been showing more than most believed in the early stages of camp.

Aaron Rodgers

Rodgers being on the winner list has very little to do with his on field play. His arm still looks as strong as ever, and he can still make every throw, but the biggest reason Rodgers is on the winner list is how he has handled himself in the first weeks and months since signing with the Steelers.

Rodgers was painted as a villain. A player who is an egotistical maniac. Someone who is a horrible teammate. How he is always prickly with the media.

All those narratives have been proven to be false in every sense of the word. In fact, he’s been the opposite of every one of those media-driven narratives. Even when Kyle Brandt of NFL Network asked him about a cutting quote from Terry Bradshaw, Rodgers didn’t fight back, but simply deflected the question and gave praise to the earlier greats who paved the way for players like Rodgers and others.

When it comes to false narratives, the ones surrounding Rodgers would certainly be atop the list since he signed with the team.

Brandin Echols

When the Steelers signed Echols in free agency, I’m sure I wasn’t alone when I had to look up who he was and his background in the league. As I looked into Echols, the more I thought he could be the next DeShon Elliott. I’ll be honest and admit I didn’t know who Elliott was when he was signed, and I had no idea what he would bring to the defense.

I got the same feeling when the Steelers signed Echols, and he has been putting his best foot forward in the first week of training camp.

What role will Echols play in the Steelers defense? He could be a huge upgrade over Beanie Bishop as the slot defender in specific sub packages.

Losers

Jeremiah Moon

Last week I profiled 5 “under the radar” camp battles which are taking place throughout training camp. One of those battles involved Jeremiah Moon, and outside linebacker, pitted against two inside linebackers in Mark Robinson and Carson Bruener. I felt it was for one special teams spot, and I even mentioned how an injury could make some of these lesser-known battles easier to predict.

Unfortunately, Moon was injured on Saturday and missed Sunday’s practice. While the injury isn’t considered to be of the long term variety, it is always difficult to see a player losing ground due to injury. Let’s hope Moon is able to bounce back and get a shot to prove his worth, and making the 53-man roster.

C/QB Exchanges

Last season the Justin Fields experiment could be described as “unique”. Unique in how the offense moved the ball when he was under center, but also unique in how there were a lot of botched center/quarterback exchanges. We always assumed it was the rookie center’s fault, but as more information came to light, some of the burden fell on Fields as well.

Fast forward to the 2025 training camp, and botched exchanges have been happening a lot. At least two occasions during the 7 Shots drill the snap has eluded Aaron Rodgers and forced him to go scrambling back to retrieve the errant snap. It hasn’t always been Zach Frazier under center during these situations, but it is something which hopefully is just an early camp thing, and not a sign of what’s to come. We got enough of that in 2024.

Isaac Seumalo

Seumalo is coming off a down year with the team, and getting off to a good start, especially in a contract year, was going to be big for the veteran guard. Instead, he is starting camp off on the Non-Football Injury list.

Not ideal.

I’m not fretting about Seumalo, but I would love to see him return to practice soon and prove he is a player who might be worthy of another contract after this season. Until then, we’ll have to take a wait-and-see approach to when Seumalo returns and what he looks like upon that return.

Injuries

Overall, the Steelers injury situation remains in flux. I already mentioned Jeremiah Moon, but Broderick Jones and DJ Thomas-Jones, who reportedly ruptured his Achilles Tendon, are the only other noteworthy injuries. A lot of day-to-day injuries are starting to surface, and that comes with training camp every year. The hope is they avoid the big injuries, and especially those first day of padded practice injuries which have plagued the team the past two seasons.

Yes, I just knocked on wood for those who are superstitious.

I cover this list in-depth, as well as plenty more, in the Monday “Let’s Ride” podcast. You can hear that podcast in the player below: