PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Steelers put the ball in Aaron Rodgers’ hands with less than two minutes on the clock to close practice Wednesday. Facing a fourth-and-long, the 42-year-old quarterback reared back and let it rip. The ball sailed well over 50 yards in the air and hit Roman Wilson, in stride, streaking down the field for a touchdown.

“It’s crazy just to see a guy like, I don’t wanna say older guy, but (Rodgers) still ain’t lost a step yet,” tight end Darnell Washington said. “Just to see the arm talent still there and Roman just opening up the deep ball, running downfield like that. It for sure was crazy just to see it.”

That play was not only one of the last live reps of Wednesday’s mandatory minicamp, but it may have been one of the last meaningful snaps of the offseason program for many veterans. Over the last three weeks — two weeks of OTAs and one week of mandatory minicamp — new coach Mike McCarthy’s focus was on completing all the installs. On Thursday, they’ll do some team bonding, Pittsburgh-style, at Kennywood Amusement Park.

They still have one more week of voluntary OTAs, but those sessions are likely to focus on developing young players, with many established players heading out of town. Now that most of the heavy offseason lifting is behind the Steelers, let’s look back at what we’ve learned so far.

Watt moving around more — and he’s not alone

It feels like every minicamp and training camp, T.J. Watt talks about how this is the year he’ll move around more from his familiar spot on the left side of the defense, where he’s usually rushing against an opposing right tackle. This year, it might actually happen.

“I think in the past, it was a little more me being stubborn,” Watt said. “This new system, I really can’t say no. A lot of us are interchangeable parts. You’re not just learning your position. You’re going to have to learn the whole defensive front structure. I think you’re going to see a lot more movement out of not just me, but the whole front.”

That doesn’t just mean flipping sides. Watt could be dropping into coverage more or rushing from different lanes more often as well. The Steelers will also likely deploy more of their three-outside linebacker looks than in years past as a way to highlight their depth at the position.

Speaking of linebackers moving around, new $100 million man Nick Herbig was asked about potentially playing off the ball. While we aren’t yet allowed to report everything we see freely like we are during camp (and Herbig has only been at two practices), he didn’t shut the idea down entirely. He’s not changing positions, but there could be some wrinkles.

Ramsey’s role

To get a sense of how the new coaching staff envisions Jalen Ramsey fitting into the defense, flash back to McCarthy’s days with Charles Woodson.

“Charles came to Green Bay; we moved him inside to nickel,” McCarthy said. “That took his game to a whole different level, with his ability to be so impactful when we moved him closer to the ball.”

McCarthy said he’s observed Ramsey from afar and believes that the 31-year-old defensive back could also become an impactful player from the slot. (By the way, the Steelers, like many teams, are calling this position the “Star.”)

The new coaching staff has made a point to say Ramsey is a “defensive back,” instead of putting him into a specific bucket as a corner, slot corner or safety. He’ll probably wear a number of different hats. However, his primary responsibility will likely be the Star, especially considering the Steelers will probably be in sub packages about 75 to 80 percent of snaps.

They need another safety

Defensive passing game coordinator and defensive backs coach Jason Simmons acknowledged that the Steelers will frequently play from a two-high shell. This means they’ll align with two deep safeties pre-snap, but it doesn’t mean they’ll stay in a split-safety coverage.

“The league is going to it because it allows a lot more disguise,” Simmons said. “When you have that split-safety shell, what are you dropping out of? Are you playing single high? Are you playing Cover 2? Are you playing Cover 4? Are you playing Cover 0?”

Playing this way schematically means that DeShon Elliott and Jaquan Brisker will be interchangeable. Post-snap, sometimes Elliott will be in the box with Brisker deep. Sometimes vice versa.

While they both have the skill set to fit this scheme, the Steelers still should be looking to add some more depth to this position group. Because Elliott might not yet be 100 percent, Sebastian Castro (a UDFA last year out of Iowa) got plenty of run with the first-team defense while filling in for the veteran. Unfortunately, he was in coverage on Wilson’s catch. This is not to knock Castro; he could be a developmental depth piece who fits in further down the roster. Still, if the Steelers lose a safety, they need a stronger replacement, even with Darnell Savage finally on board officially.

Rodgers-to-Roman connection growing

The other takeaway from the play is that the Rodgers-to-Roman connection is in a much better place than it was a season ago. That deep pass to Wilson wasn’t the only one Wednesday. Even though the Steelers drafted Germie Bernard in the second round and he’s looked quite good, Wilson is clearly WR3 at this exact moment in an offense that will use a lot of three-receiver sets. His challenge will be to try to hold off Bernard for the rest of the season.

The fullback is alive and well

Last year, the Steelers were in 11 personnel (one back, one tight end, three receivers) on just 38.7 percent of snaps, the second-lowest rate in the league. That number should change significantly as McCarthy implements his offense — during McCarthy’s final season in Dallas, the Cowboys were in 11 personnel for more than 70 percent of snaps.

While the receivers will be featured more, McCarthy also believes in running the ball and has an affinity for the fullback. While Dallas was top 10 in 11 personnel in 2024, it was also top 10 in 21 personnel (two backs, one tight end, 8.2 percent) and 22 personnel (two backs, two tight ends, 3.3 percent). That’s why the Steelers drafted Riley Nowakowski, who will play a hybrid H-back/tight end role.

“I would always prefer to have a fullback,” McCarthy said. “I’ve played with the base three fullbacks on a 53-man roster.”

RB by committee

When Ramon Chinyoung Sr. was asked about how the Steelers will split the carries between Jaylen Warren and Rico Dowdle, the running backs coach answered: “Great question.” But there wasn’t a clear answer. Instead, he explained that the scheme and the flow of the game will dictate the workload.

“The goal is two fresh backs at all times,” Chinyoung said.

My read: Expect an “OR” at the RB1 position when the first depth chart is released.

D-line shuffle

When the Steelers drafted Yahya Black in 2025, he seemed to have all the makings of a nose tackle in a 3-4 defense. The Iowa defensive lineman towers at 6-foot-6 and proudly sports his gut — “free the gut,” he’s said often — at 336 pounds. However, the Steelers’ old staff said from Day 1 they wanted to play him a 4i (the defensive end in the 3-4 aligned over the inside shoulder of the tackle). The new staff sees things a bit differently. Steelers defensive line coach Domata Peko (the former Cincinnati Bengal) mentioned that he’d like to use Black more over the center.

Meanwhile, Keeanu Benton has mostly been the nose tackle in the base defense. He could continue to grow into other spots on the defensive front.

Mid-round rookie watch

Two rookies have caught my eye early: Bernard and third-round cornerback Daylen Everette. McCarthy wants his receivers to be versatile and play all three spots (Z, X and F). That means Bernard has to learn three positions at once. Considered a pro-ready receiver, Bernard has been able to grasp the concepts. Our draft analyst, Dane Brugler, wrote that Bernard is “just a good football player.” I see what he means. Bernard doesn’t do anything at a level that wows you as George Pickens could sometimes, but the rookie has reliable hands, gets in and out of his breaks quickly and has nice body control. To me, he has a really high floor and a good shot to work his way into the rotation this year.

Meanwhile, Everette has had a lot of opportunities because of Joey Porter Jr.’s “hold in” and Jamel Dean taking some snaps off due to his veteran status. That means the rookie has been matched up head-to-head with DK Metcalf a fair amount. The rookie is holding his own for the most part. He ran a 4.38 at the combine and ran stride-for-stride with Metcalf during one early practice. Everette has also gotten his hands on several passes. On the depth chart, Asante Samuel Jr. and Everette will be battling to become the first player off the bench if one of the outside guys needs a breather or goes down.

First-team OL set — for now

The Steelers opened the offseason program with Troy Fautanu at left tackle, Mason McCormick at left guard, Zach Frazier at center, Spencer Anderson at right guard and Dylan Cook at right tackle. That rotation has been unchanged. If there is going to be some movement on the right side, it will have to happen during camp.

Tryout players who could stick around

Before Wednesday’s practice, Rodgers spent some time catching up with an old friend, tight end Robert Tonyan. This duo spent the 2018-2022 seasons together with the Packers. During Rodgers’ MVP season in 2020, he threw 11 touchdown passes to Tonyan. The Steelers have two established veterans in Pat Freiermuth and Washington, and an H-back/TE in Nowakowski. If nothing else, I’d expect Tonyan to stick on the 90-man roster when camp begins.

The other tryout player to keep an eye on is linebacker Jamin Davis, a 2021 first-round pick of Washington. He began his career as an off-ball linebacker and eventually moved to edge. He’s bounced around the league since the Commanders declined his fifth-year option in 2024. In 2025, he spent some time with defensive coordinator Patrick Graham with the Las Vegas Raiders.