Steelers inside the ropes: Ex

TribLIVE's Daily and Weekly email newsletters deliver the news you want and information you need, right to your inbox.

Of all the Pittsburgh Steelers who could have had the most memorable play of the highly anticipated “Friday Night Lights” practice, Kendrick Green would not have figured to be one of them.

Green was the Steelers’ starting center as a rookie in 2021, but he did not appear in any games last season and recently was demoted from second-string to third-string center early during this training camp. But Green had a highlight Friday at Latrobe Memorial Stadium ... when he lined up at fullback.

Green lined up in the backfield on consecutive plays in an 11-on-11 drill. The Steelers have no true fullback on the roster, and the 6-foot-4, 315-pound Green caught a pass and gained close to 10 yards on one snap. He flattened rookie Toby Ndukwe as a lead blocker for a run play on another.

Undrafted rookie Monte Pottebaum abruptly retired last week. He’d been the only fullback on the team, though tight end Connor Heyward has gotten some work while lining up in the backfield.

• Veteran wide receivers Allen Robinson II and Gunner Olszewski were frequent targets during Friday’s practice. Robinson began the team drills portion of his practice with a wide-open touchdown in the “seven shots” 2-point conversion simulation. Then, on the first play of more specialized drills that followed, Robinson beat Duke Dawson on a well-executed fade from Pickett.

• Olszewski caught passes from multiple quarterbacks in team drills. Aside from one drop that elicited a collective groan from the crowd about a third of the way into the session, Olszewski made plays when thrown to. Olszewski’s first play was on the first snap by Mitch Trubisky and the second-teamers in seven shots. Olszewski throughout camp has been showing a knack for getting open curling just across the goal line, almost hiding from the defense. This was an example of that, Olszewski quickly turning around to receive a pass before celebrating with Anthony McFarland and Cody White.

• The offense won “seven shots,” scoring five times. Pickett engineered scores on three of his four snaps, and he would have been perfect if not for George Pickens stepping out of bounds while running across the back of the end zone before making an acrobatic catch (the second consecutive day Pickens was flagged by officials for that infraction). Pickett scored once on a scramble, he had the throw to a wide-open Robinson on what was likely a blown coverage, and Pickett also hit Diontae Johnson just inside the right pylon after Johnson had out-maneuvered Patrick Peterson.

• Trubisky had scoring throws to Olszewski and Calvin Austin III, but his final attempt was broken up by Madre Harper and did not make it to Miles Boykin as he ran across the back of the end zone.

• On the second snap of a one-on-one passing drill that followed seven shots, the 22-year-old Pickens beat future Hall of Famer Peterson, 33, clean with a deke and cut toward the middle of the field.

• The next three snaps featured officials throwing flags. NFL officials have been regulars throughout this camp, perhaps moreso than in the past at Saint Vincent. Penalties were prevalent throughout all sessions of Friday’s practice.

• One of the loudest cheers during the first half of practice came when big rookie tight end Darnell Washington caught a ball in stride and ran into the end zone off a 25-yard pass on a flag route from undrafted rookie Tanner Morgan during a one-on-one passing drill.

• Late in practice, though, Washington could not hold on to a high-velocity pass from Trubisky at the goal line. It wasn’t a “drop,” per se, because Washington had to stretch to extend for it.

• On the first snap of a one 11-on-11 session, Johnson beat Levi Wallace clean on a crossing route off a throw from Pickett.

• Austin showed his speed, wowing the fans by catching a 50-yard bomb lofted by Trubisky. Austin made the catch despite a penalty called on a defender on the play.

• Signed earlier this week, running back Greg Bell displayed speed and elusiveness during multiple touches Friday.

• No. 4 tight end Rodney Williams had a long reception in 11-on-11 play, catching a pass 30 yards downfield from Mason Rudolph in stride and outrunning Dawson to the end zone.

• Continuing a trend that’s been observed throughout camp, Pickett – anecdotally, to the naked eye – appears to have greater velocity on his throws this camp than last year.

Hey, Steelers Nation, get the latest news about the Pittsburgh Steelers here.

Chris Adamski is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Chris by email at [email protected] or via Twitter .

TribLIVE's Daily and Weekly email newsletters deliver the news you want and information you need, right to your inbox.