Bills to hold joint training camp with AFC North team this summer

There is an old adage about self-improvement, a quote that emphasizes the importance of competing with the best in order to strengthen one’s abilities: “Iron sharpens iron.”

We’re going to slightly twist that phrase for the sake of this story: “Steel sharpens… (insert whatever Buffalo-centric replacement you want, we just couldn’t pass up a Steel City reference).”

The Buffalo Bills and Pittsburgh Steelers will hold a joint workout as part of this year’s training camp, the NFL revealed in a league-wide email Monday morning. The workout will take place on Aug. 15, two days before the Bills prepare to face the Steelers in their second preseason game of the year. The workout will take place at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe, Pennsylvania.

Related: Bills get average retrospective grade for Stefon Diggs offseason trade

It makes sense that Buffalo and Pittsburgh would be interested in a joint workout, especially considering it comes two days before their preseason game. Bills head coach Sean McDermott and Steelers boss Mike Tomlin also have a well-documented history with each other; both coaches are alumni of the College of William & Mary, both having played for the school’s football team in 1994.

An interesting player to watch during the joint workout will be Buffalo receiver Chase Claypool, who was drafted by the Steelers in the 2020 NFL Draft and recently appeared to be a long-term piece for the club. He rushed for 889 scrimmage yards and 11 total touchdowns in his rookie season but quickly fell out of favor due to character issues and the emergence of other receivers. Pittsburgh traded Claypool to the Chicago Bears midway through the 2022 campaign; he was traded to the Miami Dolphins after a disappointing stint in Chicago and now finds himself struggling to extend his NFL career in Buffalo.

The Bills will report to their own training camp at St. John Fisher University in Rochester on July 23, with the first public practice beginning July 24.

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