Though plans to hold a join practice with the Carolina Panthers fell through, the Pittsburgh Steelers will scrimmage with another preseason opponent come August. Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Todd Bowles announced Monday the Bucs will scrimmage with Pittsburgh ahead of their preseason game August 16th.
“We’re working on having joint practice with two of them, with the Titans and the Steelers,” [Bowles said on the Tampa Bay based Pewter Report show Monday.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?app=desktop&v=SBsXre4b4tw)
An official date and location for the joint practice hasn’t been announced. The Bucs and Steelers play at Acrisure Stadium on the 16th, meaning he practice will occur a few days ahead of time. Depending on Pittsburgh’s training camp schedule, it could be held in Latrobe or if camp is over by then, at Acrisure Stadium. That’s where Pittsburgh’s joint practice with the Buffalo Bills was held last season, occurring days after camp broke.
In 2024, the Bills and Steelers’ joint practice was held August 15, two days before their preseason game. Under the same timeline, that would put this year’s joint practice on Thursday, August 14.
The Steelers have only held a handful of joint practices over the past several seasons, most recently with the Bills. In 2016, the Steelers and Detroit Lions held joint practices at St. Vincent College in 2016.
Joint practices have become increasingly popular, especially as the NFL’s 17-game season wiped out a preseason game. With an 18-game slate on the horizon, joint practices will be counted on even more to provide reps for young players and position battles to be decided.
Last month, Panthers head coach Dave Canales confirmed his [team wouldn’t hold a joint practice](https://steelersdepot.com/2025/05/panthers-hc-confirms-team-wont-hold-joint-practice-with-steelers/) with Pittsburgh ahead of their preseason finale. Logistically, attempting to schedule a practice with a tight turnaround of games from the second to third exhibition matchups wasn’t feasible. Instead, the Panthers found other teams to scrimmage with as did the Steelers.
Official dates for the joint practice should be announced over the next several weeks. Pittsburgh normally releases the team’s training camp schedule later this month and will return to St. Vincent College. It’s where they’ve held camp since 1967 save for 2020 and 2021 when COVID forced the team to practice at their home stadium, then known as Heinz Field.