Rookie 4th-string Steelers QB Tanner Morgan embraces scant work he gets in camp
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One of the more reliable scenes throughout the first seven practices of this Pittsburgh Steelers training camp at Saint Vincent has come after each practice ended.
On the second field behind Chuck Noll Field, virtually without fail, the tall, slender No. 5 gathers with a couple teammates following the full-team huddle that typically ends practices.
That No. 5 is rookie quarterback Tanner Morgan, and he’s convening with the likes of rookie receiver Jordan Byrd and third-year receiver Dan Chisena to toss balls back and forth, get together for brief chats and, most importantly, run mock plays.
“It’s been great,” Morgan said after a walkthrough earlier this week at Saint Vincent. “We have been going through calling plays, ‘X-Y-Z play, it’s this coverage, here’s where I am going with the ball.’ And I am getting the throws out there, so it’s been a huge help, and I have been very appreciative of that.”
Morgan is so grateful for that work because he has been getting so few repetitions during 11-on-11 and seven-on-seven drills at practice. Similar to last season, when seventh-round pick Chris Oladokun mostly was a mere observer of the other three quarterbacks in practice, the undrafted Morgan can do little more than watch Kenny Pickett, Mitch Trubisky and Mason Rudolph ply their trades — in team drills, at least.
“You just have to adjust,” said Morgan, who started 47 games over five seasons at Minnesota. “I go through the plays after practice, doing the best I can with what I get. There’s more you can do (besides reps) — just be an asset in any way that I can be, whatever I can do. You’re there in the back, and I go through the reps as if I was in there … and act like you were the guy taking the rep.
“ ‘Oh, I would have gone there … I would have looked that way.’ Things like that. Or, ‘Oh OK, that makes sense why he did that. How can I make sure that when I am in there I can make that decision?’ ”
The Steelers are like most NFL teams in that they want four quarterbacks in camp. During the season, three is often the maximum because practice time and reps are so limited. But during camp, someone has to play preseason game snaps, and someone has to be ready to step in in the case of injury.
But the past two years after the retirement of Ben Roethlisberger, the QB4 has found himself struggling to get onto the field. During the final several years of Roethlisberger’s career, he was in a routine where he typically took at least one-third of the practice days off. Other times, he would perform a light schedule. In other words, that fourth quarterback (whoever he was) got the reps.
But with the new starter, Pickett, still being so young, the Steelers don’t have the “luxury” of being able to sit him down.
“There’s nothing new about that discussion,” coach Mike Tomlin said of getting a fourth QB practice time. “(Morgan) takes great mental reps. … I like his attention to detail. We’ll see what he does with his opportunities when he gets them. Obviously, they’re going to be scarce. But, you know, that’s the case for a lot of these guys. You don’t get many opportunities to state the case for yourself.”
Morgan recognizes the situation he’s in. But he’s also aware enough to appreciate there are far worse circumstances to be in than at an NFL training camp.
“Every day is a gift, man,” he said. “To be here is a blessing, that’s the way I look at it — and that’s true, too.”
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