All NFL teams want that kind of camaraderie. That kind of relationship creates a squad that will go to bat for their teammates against opponents. The way Ramon Foster, Maurkice Pouncey, and the gang once backed up Mason Rudolph against Myles Garrett and the Cleveland Browns.

What you don’t want is for that to go too far as Brian Batko told fellow Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reporter Christopher Carter on his North Shore Drive Podcast.

“You don’t want anything to cross that line. The stuff that happened Wednesday came pretty close to being foolishness in my opinion. When you’ve got guys throwing haymakers, you can hit your finger on a helmet. You also don’t want any sort of actual division within a team.”

Batko said he asked some of the veteran defenders about the physicality the offense was bringing, even before the skirmish. He said that Roberts and DeShon Elliott both shared that they welcomed it.

While that might be true, Batko believes that teams have to avoid the two sides actually warring with each other. You don’t want the offensive players thinking the guys on defense are overly aggressive or the defense thinking the offense is a bunch of crybabies. He said that kind of frustration leads to players on both sides getting shots in wherever they can.

“There were some moments on Thursday where Najee Harris, it’s hard to tell sometimes with him if he’s being playful or not, but there was legitimate annoyance a couple times. Patrick Queen running up on Jaylen Warren, thudding him from behind. We know those were two guys who did not like each other admittedly very much in the Baltimore-Pittsburgh clashes of the last couple years. Miles Killebrew flattened one of the backup running backs, La’Mical Perine. It was a just a bit much and MyCole Pruitt yelled at him, Najee Harris yelled at him. They kind of gave it to Teryl Austin too. Who was like, ‘Yeah, I’ll handle it.’ He knew his guy was in the wrong when you’re not in pads.”

What surprised Batko the most was that the majority of the “extracurricular” brawling and bickering was coming from veterans such as Roberts, Patrick Queen, and Miles Killebrew. He said he expects this of the rookies who are trying to make a name for themselves, but not from the established players.

Carter and Batko both said they are curious to see how much this continues as camp progresses.

Steelers Need A New Target

The Steelers will host the Buffalo Bills for joint practice in mid-August before their preseason game. Carter said during the same show that he thinks facing the Bills will help the Steelers players channel their aggression.

They won’t have to take it out on each other anymore; instead, they can turn their attention to the Bills. The Bills and the Steelers have a lot in common, so there are many who believe that the practice between the two teams could get very chippy and physical.