Steelers inside the ropes: Russell Wilson, Justin Fields each show off arm with deep throws

A pessimist’s view of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ quarterbacks room might posit that Russell Wilson is past his prime and/or that Justin Fields can have bouts of inconsistency and lack of pocket awareness. Time might tell if either evaluation is true, but make no mistake: Wilson and Fields each very much have high-level NFL arms and can throw pretty deep balls.

Each of the Steelers’ top two quarterbacks put on a show Monday, arguably the best QB day so far of this camp. Almost certainly, when Wilson’s early injury absence is taken into consideration, Monday’s practice was the best combined showing for both he and Fields.

Each had a completion during an 11-on-11 period that was thrown more than 40 yards in the air. For Wilson, it was to a streaking Calvin Austin III, who’d blown past Anthony Averett. Fields’ longest completion was of similar distance to Van Jefferson on a post route with Joey Porter Jr. in tight coverage.

Fields also connected with Austin on a flag route maybe 30 yards downfield during a 7-on-7 period. That induced a mimed bow-and-arrow celebration.

• In pads and with live tackling for the penultimate practice of the summer at Saint Vincent, the tenor was spirited. It seemed as if coaches let running plays during 11-on-11 drills play out to a finish, and this sometimes seemed to invite angst when a still-fighting-forward ballcarrier would get dragged to the ground. About midway through the team portion of practice on consecutive snaps players on offense and defense seemed to circle for what each time looked like might get chippy – especially when on-lookers saw arms swing as if throwing punches. But once the scrum cleared, it became clear any “fisticuffs” were in good fun. Tight end Pat Freiermuth, in particular, took joy in the faux fights. He was involved with Patrick Queen at the end of one rep and Tyler Matakevich at the end of the next.
• In addition to Cordarrelle Patterson splitting two carries, the offense got into the end zone on four of the other five snaps of the “Seven shots” 2-point simulation that begins team drills at camp practices. Safety Damontae Kazee batted down a Wilson pass intended for Darnell Washington for the other “stop,” but a wide-open Austin caught a pass in the end zone from Fields, running back Jonathan Ward had a scoring run and George Pickens turned the corner on an end-around to close out the drill.
• Grayland Arnold ran as the first-team slot/nickel DB for the second consecutive practice, unseating rookie Beanie Bishop. Briefly a starter for the Houston Texans, Arnold did not look out of place – though he was beaten badly once each on reps versus receivers Pickens and Austin. Multiple times, Arnold was asked to blitz from the slot.
• Whether his demotion was permanent or official or not, Bishop made some plays while working with second-teamers. Notably, he broke up a Kyle Allen pass that deflected into the air for an interception by Kyler McMichael.
• Depth receiver Jaray Jenkins made two nice catches just a few snaps apart during an early 11-on-11 series. One came 15 yards downfield after a deft Fields shimmy to avoid a passrush, and soon after Jenkins beat Thomas Graham Jr. for another over-the-middle reception from Fields.
• Scotty Miller has been an under-the-radar camp playmaker of sorts among the second tier of wide receivers. His best catch Monday was a toe tap and drag along the left sidelines on a 10-yard out route throw from Fields. Freiermuth was particularly excited to celebrate it.
• A day what was his best practice of camp, receiver Duece Watts dropped a pass on a slant route during a team drill. He immediately dropped to the ground in a self-directed penance-paying of doing pushups.
• A recurring theme of camp has been balls batted down by passrushers. Monday, defensive linemen Dean Lowry and Montravius Adams each had one of a Wilson attempt.
• If Monday is any indication, expect kicker Chris Boswell to make his preseason game debut Saturday. Last week, Boswell sat out live kicking sessions at practice in lieu of Matthew Wright. Boswell booted several field goals Monday, notably connecting on a pair of consecutive 50-yard attempts while coordinator Danny Smith drilled the protection and rush units.
• New punter Cameron Johnston has a leg that makes you take notice. During a punt drill from his own end zone, he was booming some kicks as far as 75 yards in the air (equivalent to a 60-yard punt).
• After practice, Freiermuth caught several dozen balls from the JUGS machine… while barefoot.