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On Friday, the Pittsburgh Steelers held Day 2 of training camp, with most eyes on their young offensive core of second-year quarterback Kenny Pickett, second-year wide receiver George Pickens and Pro Bowl wide receiver Diontae Johnson.
Johnson, a third-round selection by the Steelers in the 2019 NFL Draft, is looking to have better numbers than he did in 2022 when he recorded a career-low catch percentage (58.5) and zero touchdowns on the year. Major improvements from Pickett would go a long way towards Johnson elevating his own game but, on Friday, the Steelers had to cut that developmental time a little bit short.
Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin would relay to reporters that Johnson, second-year defensive tackle DeMarvin Leal and second-year tight end Connor Heyward all left practice on Friday with âheat-related issues,â per Dale Lolley of Steelers.com.
âThe temperature was pushing 100 degrees (in Pittsburgh on Friday) ⊠and it was steamy after last night's rains,â Lolley adds.
With NFL training camp fully underway ahead of the 2023 season, several teams around the league are already dealing with health and injury scares. Some are even outright concerned, like Cincinnati Bengals with star signal-caller Joe Burrow (calf) and the Miami Dolphins with star cornerback Jalen Ramsey (meniscus), both of whom will be out for several weeks.
To that point, Johnson was originally reported as having sustained an injury, which would have put an early cloud over Steelers training camp. However, with Tomlin clarifying that Johnson â along with Leal and Heyward â were simply too hot, fans and the organization can breathe a sigh of relief.
