PITTSBURGH — The Pittsburgh Steelers took the field on Tuesday for their fourth OTAs practice, and with most of the roster in attendance, it continued a spirited first week of practices.

So, with that in mind, what did we learn from the fourth day of OTAs?

Cory Trice has Ja’Marr Chase on the mind

Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Cory Trice isn’t worried about his weight or frame as long as he still feels he can run, and he sure does, but Trice is concerned about the last extended tape he put out there.

For Trice, that was against Ja’Marr Chase of the Cincinnati Bengals. Trice allowed a touchdown to Chase and had a rough go of things, especially early in the game. Eventually, Trice settled into his own and put up a solid effort for someone playing man coverage against Chase in his first start.

However, Trice wants to get another shot at Chase at some point in his career, whenever that is, because he does not want the same mistakes to happen again. That game fueled his entire offseason. Trice says he has watched it ten times.

“That’s all I’ve been thinking about,” Trice said. “Because that was my last game out. I just don’t want anybody to really just think of me as that last game because I’m way better than that. It stung a little bit. I’m still feeling it right now. That’s really kind of my motivation going into next year. Just make sure I don’t put no tape out there like that again.”

Chase’s final stat line in that game was ten receptions for 96 yards and a touchdown, with most of that coming against Trice. Some coaches even applauded Trice for his performance, given how he stepped up in a tough spot, but that is not enough for the third-year cornerback out of Purdue.

“I don’t think (coaches) was upset. Everybody, they actually was saying I did a good job and stuff like that,” Trice said. “For me, I’m used to letting up nothing, so I was upset. I was really hard on myself. I done watched that game already like 10 times.”

Trice says after that game, he learned to trust himself without apprehension.

“I just learned to trust myself,” Trice said. “I need to trust what I see and everything the coaches showed me.”

Kaleb Johnson gets drilled

Steelers running backs coach Eddie Faulkner is not letting rookie running back Kaleb Johnson off the hook easily. Pass protection is a real issue for Johnson, who says the technique and getting everything to work together is new to him.

“I feel like it’s very new because at Iowa I was really not like really not focused on technique, but it really wasn’t bringing the hips. It was really strike, hit, make sure the quarterback’s cool to make a throw. But now it’s more here, it’s more technique, it’s more formative and stuff like that here. So I’m just gotta get my stuff down, so that’s why I’m here to work,” Johnson said.

At one point, Johnson said there were only five minutes left in the individual period, and Faulkner told him he would have to go through the pass protection gauntlet as often as possible until he got everything correct on two straight reps.

That motivated Johnson, who said asking detail-oriented questions comes naturally to him.

“That motivated me because that’s what I wanna do, you know what I’m saying? I wanna get better, I wanna be one of the best out here. So I’m just gonna keep striving to do my great and keep learning from the vets, like Jonathan Ward and Jaylen Waren,” Johnson said.

If Johnson is going to get on the field early, pass protection will be a big part of his growth to do that. For now, he will at least play a lot on early downs, but the Steelers must see him leap as a pass protector before they can trust him as a three-down workhorse.

Minkah talks communication

Steelers safety Minkah Fitzpatrick made it clear as day that if players do not communicate this year, they will not be here very long. In Fitzpatrick’s words, the Steelers need to cut out all the ‘gray’ that might creep him in, and any signals that are sent out need to be reciprocated back so the team knows they are on the same page.

New defensive backs coach Gerald Alexander is not accepting mediocrity from the team regarding their nonverbal communication, an area in which they faltered in 2024.

“Leave no gray. Football, I think, should be black and white, in regards to execution and schematics. There should be no gray,” Fitzpatrick said. “It should be this is how we’re doing it, this is how we’re going to communicate. If I give you a thumbs up, you give me a thumbs up back. If I give you a thumbs down, you give me a thumbs down back. It’s as simple as that. So when guys aren’t doing it or establishing this is what we’re doing, if you don’t want to do it, you ain’t going to be here. You’re not going to be on the field. Really pressing down and instilling that in everybody.”

That will be huge for the Steelers this year if they are going to regain form defensively. As for Fitzpatrick, getting turnovers from him would be a huge boost, and he confirmed he did just that on Tuesday. In the team’s seven shots, Fitzpatrick jumped a ball for an interception after dropping one earlier.

“I dropped one today,” Fitzpatrick said. “Luckily, I made up for it, but I dropped one earlier today. So it was just getting extra work.”

The Steelers’ superstar safety is one of the key cogs to making their defense go from just good to one of the NFL’s elite, and they got a good sign on Tuesday.

Cole Holcomb is back

After a gruesome knee injury 18 months ago, Steelers linebacker Cole Holcomb is back and ready to go. It took Holcomb a long time to even get to a point where doctors would clear him, but he did touch the practice field last year before the season ended.

Holcomb was even ready to suit up in the playoffs if the Steelers needed him to, even though he would tell you himself that was not the best idea.

“I felt good, but it probably wouldn’t have been the best idea,” Holcomb said. “But I felt ready if they needed me. If they needed me, I would have been ready, but everyone stayed healthy.”

At one point. Holcomb thought he would never return to the field, and admitted he had contemplated retirement.

“It was a serious injury,” Holcomb said. “You all saw it. It was pretty gruesome. They were emphasizing how important the rehab was going to be. If guys don’t take it serious and don’t put the work in, they won’t make it back. If you put the work in, you do the extra stuff, you come every day no matter how bad you don’t want to, you can come back from this.”

Holcomb slots in as the top reserve linebacker in the Steelers’ defense, a role that is a step back from him when he last played as the team’s green dot. Yet, the Steelers have a quality backup in Holcomb to lean on if things go haywire this season.

“Looking back, you never know,” he said. “One play can end your season. You take stuff for granted. Now I’m soaking it up, enjoying it and having fun out there. I’ve been working hard to come back. It’s been a long road, and I feel like I’m picking up where I left off.”

Other Notes

1. Daniel Ekuale seems extremely amped up to join the Steelers. The Samoan-born defensive lineman idolized Troy Polamalu. Right now, he says his strength is run defense, and the Steelers have told him to be ready to play anywhere, from nose tackle to 4i.
2. Calvin Austin III told me he sees rookie quarterback Will Howard soaking in all the reps just from afar. From his point of view, he has seen things slow down for the rookie over four days.
3. Jaylen Warren says he is ready to take on as much of a load as the team needs, though he admitted he does not expect it to be that much, considering Johnson and Kenneth Gainwell are in the building. He probably still projects as the lead running back, but Johnson and Gainwell will play a lot.
4. With the injury to Donald Parham, this is a big chance for undrafted free agents DJ Thomas-Jones and J.J. Galbreath. Thomas-Jones has come along quicker than I thought he would as a pure receiver. Have a nice day.
5. Jonathan Ward is the underappreciated running back in the Steelers’ room. He is rock solid in the dirty things, such as pass protection and special teams. He might not make the roster, but he is virtually a practice squad lock.