Training camp for the Pittsburgh Steelers opens up today as the players will all report to Latrobe to get checked in prior to the first practice taking place on Saturday. Over the course of the last several weeks, we have focused in on quite a few of the key battles that will take place over the course of the next few weeks on the practice fields of Saint Vincent College. In case you missed any of them, below are the links to each of them for easy access.
The running back battle, in my opinion, will be the most entertaining one of the bunch to follow, as it could result in either Jonathan Dwyer or Isaac Redman seeing their time in Pittsburgh come to end.
In addition to that key battle, Stevenson Sylvester and Marshall McFadden figure to have a tightly contested duel to see which one of them sticks on the roster as a backup inside linebacker.
The Steelers lack depth on their offensive line heading into training camp and all we know at this time is that there are six players who are locks to make the roster. Action during training camp and the preseason should give us a better idea if any of the undrafted rookie free agent linemen can fill a few of the remaining roster spots up for grabs.
One lesser publicized battle, that I think will be fun to watch play out, is the one between backup cornerbacks DeMarcus Van Dyke and Josh Victorian. There might not be enough room on the Steelers 53 man roster for both, so Van Dyke has a lot of work ahead of him if he wants to hold the second-year undrafted free agent.
Outside Linebacker Battle: Chris Carter Versus Adrian Robinson
Long Snapper Battle: Greg Warren Versus Luke Ingram
Cornerback Battle: DeMarcus Van Dyke Versus Josh Victorian Versus Terry Hawthorne
Inside Linebacker Battle: Stevenson Sylvester Versus Marshall McFadden Versus Vince Williams
Punter Battle: Drew Butler Versus Brian Moorman
Wide Receiver Battle: Plaxico Burress Versus David Gilreath Versus Justin Brown Versus J.D. Woods
Guard Battle: John Malecki Versus Nik Embernate Versus Justin Cheadle
Tackle Battle: Guy Whimper Versus Joe Long Versus Mike Golic Jr.
