Steelers veteran reveals there was lack of 'complete trust' in past offense

Steelers players have been giving new offensive coordinator Arthur Smith rave reviews all offseason and that continued following the latest training camp practice on Tuesday.

However, veteran guard James Daniels, who joined Pittsburgh on a three-year deal ahead of the 2022 season, also confirmed that he and his teammates lacked trust in their previous offensive coordinator, Matt Canada.

"Obviously it's the scheme," Daniels said when asked what has changed with Smith as OC. "I think everyone has complete trust in him and I don't think we've had that before. So everyone trusts Art and he's been doing a good job so far."

It's not surprising to hear that was the case as Canada was highly criticized for being predictable and uncreative before being fired midway through the 2023 season. But it also supports the idea that the Steelers may have got it right with Smith.

Smith has said all offseason that he wants Pittsburgh to have the most physical offense in the NFL and tight end Pat Freiermuth said he sees exactly that type of offense coming together in camp.

"It's felt great," Freiermuth said. "I think it's been really good since we put the pads on, showing our physicality and what we're gonna be on offense."

It's no secret the Steelers want to run the ball early and often this season and to do that the tight ends will likely play a larger role than they did in the previous offense.

That has Freiermuth excited heading into the final year of his rookie deal.

"I think it's been great," Freiermuth added. "The schemes that we're being asked to do have been great. I think it fits a lot of us and we're all just excited to go out and execute."

Pittsburgh may still decide to extend Freiermuth, who seems to be in line for a big year, but he didn't reveal if there's been any movement in contract negotiations.

"Handling my agent and just focused on football," Freiermuth finished.

All quotations obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted