OTAs are here for the Pittsburgh Steelers, being one of the first big steps towards the beginning of the season. While Week 1 is still a few months away, it’s drawing ever closer. However, before that, the Steelers have several other activities they’ll participate in, including training camp and the preseason. The Steelers’ preseason finale will come against the Carolina Panthers, and Panthers head coach Dave Canales had expressed interest in a joint practice between the two teams.
However, it seems that won’t be happening.
“It’s a good change-up,” Canales said Tuesday on the Panthers’ YouTube channel. “With the Browns coming in here and then for us to go down [to Houston]. We go against each other every day, it’s great. It just brings fresh life into the competitive environment. I love these joint practices. We’ll take advantage of that. Not with the Steelers, though.”
The Steelers holding a joint practice with the Panthers wouldn’t have been surprising. While it’s not something they regularly do, Pittsburgh had a joint practice with the Buffalo Bills last year. However, before that, the Steelers hadn’t held a joint practice since 2016.
While it seems like something the Steelers are open to, it doesn’t happen very often. Instead, the Panthers will hold joint practices with their other two preseason opponents. The Cleveland Browns will travel to Carolina to practice, and the Panthers will practice in Houston with the Texans ahead of their preseason matchup.
While the Panthers could try to practice with their third preseason opponent, the timing might not work out for them. Both teams only have four days between their second and third preseason games. With the Panthers already holding a joint practice with the Browns in their stadium, it makes a little more sense for them to test themselves in a different environment.
We’ll see if the experience from those special practices helps the Panthers this year. Last year, it felt like the Steelers’ practices with the Bills were fruitful. Many of the players and coaches seemed to appreciate the experience. While the Steelers would go on to lose their preseason game against Buffalo, wins and losses don’t matter in the preseason as opposed to the regular season.
The Steelers will play the Panthers on Aug. 21, and maybe by that time Aaron Rodgers will be with the team. While the two teams aren’t practicing together, the game should still provide them both with a chance to make any final roster decisions before the regular season begins.
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