LATROBE, Pa. -- There's been a big focus on "hold ins" across the NFL as players adjust to the new rules involving skipping practices.
Because of mandatory fines built into the CBA, hold outs are now a thing of the past as the Steelers have learned in the past two training camps with T.J. Watt last year and Diontae Johnson this year.
One player who didn't take that approach was placekicker Chris Boswell. The veteran kicker was entering the final year of his current contract.
Monday, the Steelers gave him a new one. According to reports, Boswell and the Steelers have agreed to a four-year, $20-million contract extension that matches Justin Tucker as the highest-paid kicker in the NFL.
Certainly, the life of a kicker isn't the same as that of position players, who sit out practices to ensure they don't suffer an injury. But Boswell wasn't interested in sitting out if even just to make a point.
"I’d be lying if I said I didn’t think about it," Boswell told me of his contract status prior to signing it as the Steelers opened their second week of training camp practices here at Saint Vincent College. "But I’m not worried about it. It will get done whenever both sides want to get it done. All I can do is kick until then."
Both sides apparently wanted to get it done sooner rather than later.
Boswell was slated to make $3.26 million this season, the final year of a four-year deal he signed in 2019.
His initial base salary had placed him 11th in compensation among kickers in the NFL this season. He's wasn't worried about being the highest-paid guy.
"It doesn’t matter to me," Boswell said. "I’m a realistic person. Justin Tucker is at the top of that food chain. Everybody is hunting him down. He is phenomenal and he deserves to be paid like it."
Tucker is the gold standard for placekickers in the NFL. His 91.1 percent conversion rate on field goals is the highest in NFL history. Boswell is fourth on the all-time list at 88.3 percent. In addition to Tucker, only Kansas City's Harrison Butker (90.1) and Atlanta's Younghoe Koo (90.0) are higher.
Boswell said he doesn't look at that.
"Not at all. Everybody has different chances, different kicks," he told me. "You can’t really compare yourself to everyone around the league. No two of us have the same number of 50-pluses, PATs, total attempts. Comparing yourself to others is just not in my game. I just look at my makes and misses and just go on from there."
Outside of a disastrous 2018 season, Boswell has been as good as anyone in the NFL -- including Tucker. In fact, take that 2018 season -- when he made just 13 of 20 field goals -- out of the equation, and his career conversion percentage rises to 90.8 percent, a number that would put him within range of Tucker.
Beyond of that season, he's never missed more than four field goals in a season, including last year when he was 36 of 40.
"Obviously there was that one down year, but other than that, I’ve done things to the best of my ability," he said. "There are some kicks I wish I could have back. Over the years, some makable misses and stuff like that. Overall, I’m proud of where I’m at, but I have a lot more to do."
The 31-year-old has a lot of good years left in his leg. And with the Steelers moving on from the Ben Roethlisberger era, points could once again be a premium.
The plan is to run the ball effectively, play good defense and win on special teams.
With the trust that Mike Tomlin has in Boswell, he's a big part of that. In fact, Tomlin has such trust in Boswell and they've been together so long, they don't even have a conversation any more about where the kicker feels his range is on a given day.
"We don’t talk about distances. We don’t talk about wind. We don’t talk about anything," Boswell said. "He calls it. I kick it."
That trust is one reason the Steelers got a new deal done with Boswell quickly. They know they've got a good one and they're willing to pay to keep him.
"I believe so," he told me. "I’ll let the contract speak for itself whenever it happens and cross that bridge when it happens."
It's speaking loud and clear.
• The pads went on for the team on Monday and to be honest, it wasn't the most riveting session.
Perhaps it was a letdown because there had been so many people here Saturday, but this practice didn't have the vibe of that one.
Still, Monday's crowd was the second-biggest of this camp.
I also think the use of the Guardian helmet covers lessened some of the blows that would have been much louder in previous years.
• Najee Harris vs. Myles Jack was the first rep of backs on backers. And Harris was doing an awful lot of talking in this session.
Harris won that rep and let the defense know about it. But I don't necessarily think blitzing is Jack's specialty. Also, this was his first shot at the drill, so for former Jaguars star didn't necessarily know what was expected.
Later, Harris went up against Robert Spillane, a more accomplished blitzer, and was beaten, much to the pleasure of the defense.
• Undrafted rookie running back Jaylen Warren opened some eyes in this drill. He and fellow rookie Mark Robinson were pitted against each other three times in a row.
Warren was the clear winner of the first two, but Robinson came on the third with a purpose, blasting Warren.
Neither player did anything to hurt their cause in that drill.
• Some might wonder why the Steelers gave up on outside linebacker Tyree Johnson to sign wide receiver depth in Javon McKinley earlier in the day.
It could be the team seems to really like Delontae Scott. How much so? He was pitted against Zach Gentry in backs on backers and more than held his own. Then, in team run, he was getting some reps with the second team opposite Genard Avery.
At 6-foot-5, 246 pounds, Scott looks the part.
• Avery, by the way, has the expected burst I expected. He easily whipped Connor Heyward on his final two reps with Heyward lined up as an in-line tight end. Avery is really fast.
Heyward has made a lot of plays in this camp, but his lack of length showed up there.
• This practice was all about two things -- running the football and stopping the run.
The Steelers weren't very good at either last season. And if the ball went in the air more than a dozen times in 11-on-11 drills, it wouldn't have been much more than that.
"We’ve just got a lot of growth ahead of us, on both sides of the ball, in that space," Tomlin admitted. "When given an opportunity, we’re certainly going to focus on that component of play. There just are not a lot of padded opportunities between now and when you step into a stadium based on the structure of the preseason. So, when you get those opportunities, it really needs to be a focus."
Harris got his foot stepped on, so he didn't get a lot of opportunities to run the ball. And with Jeremy McNichols also dealing with a shoulder issue, that mean plenty of reps for Benny Snell, Anthony McFarland, Warren and fellow undrafted rookie Mataeo Durant.
The order in which they were used went that way, as well. All had their moments and both Warren and Durant showed to be decisive runners, making one cut and hitting the hole quickly.
But overall, the defense got the better of things.
• Mason Rudolph bumped down to No. 3 on the depth chart behind Mitch Trubisky and Kenny Pickett, but that doesn't really mean anything at this point. In fact, Rudolph continues to look the best of the three overall, though Trubisky is getting better each day as he gets his feet under him.
But it wouldn't surprise me if they continue giving Pickett second-team snaps this week and then give him some first-team snaps next week.
That's just how this thing seems to be going.
• Kendrick Green looked good in two one-on-one blocking reps against Cam Heyward.
I know plenty of Steelers fans will question that after seeing him pushed around at center as a rookie. But it really was just a snap hand issue. He didn't get his snap hand up quickly enough and opponents saw it on film and took advantage.
In fact, it wouldn't surprise me if Green winds up as the starting left guard on this team. His mobility factor and ability to get out on the edge is exactly what this team seems to want.
• George Pickens and Anthony Miller continue to be the stars of the wide receiver group with Diontae Johnson (hold in) and Chase Claypool (shoulder) sitting out.
Pickens was called out by Claypool last week of perhaps being set to have the best rookie season of any of this year's wide receivers -- across the NFL.
"Thank you Chase. I’ve just got to keep working," the rookie said Monday. "I don’t really look at the accolades, I just let it happen kind of naturally."
It's happening ... naturally.
• With Pat Freiermuth (hamstring) still sitting out, Jace Sternberger is getting a long look as a receiving tight end. The former third-round pick of the Bears didn't show well in backs on backers, but he scored on a shovel pass from Rudolph in Rudolph's only rep in Seven Shots and has shown to be very athletic.
The true test will be whether he can play special teams or not.
Then again, it comes down to how they view Connor Heyward as a rookie. He's going to tight end meetings now, but I've been told the team's long-term plan is for him to be a fullback. But Derek Watt is there.
The Steelers also believe Heyward is good enough as a runner to perhaps be a get-you-out-of-a-game runner, so there's that.
Watt was getting a lot more usage on offense Monday, as well. That could be more fallout from Freiermuth being out, but the team is at least looking at all of its options.
