The Steelers begin phase three of their offseason workouts today. This final phase will consist of ten organized team practice activities (OTA’s), and will run for four weeks. The ten practice sessions will run over the course of three weeks, followed by a mandatory three day mini-camp on the fourth week. The weekly breakdown of the practices looks like this:

May 27th, May 28th, May 29th

June 3rd, June 4th, June 5th

June 9th, June 10th, June 11th, and June 12th

Mini-camp: June 17th, June 18th, June 19th.

The structure of the OTA’s is mandated by the collective bargaining agreement. Teams are only allowed a maximum of six hours for each of the ten practices. Only three six hour practices may be held each week for the first two weeks. Like the first two phases of the program, helmets are permitted, but pads are not, except for protective knee and elbow pads.

While no “live” contact is permitted, this is the first chance the team has to run offense vs. defense drills such as 7 on 7’s, 9 on 7’s, and 11 on 11’s during the offseason.