90 in 30: Steelers 2024 training camp preview – Isaac Seumalo, Aaron Shampklin, Jacob Slade

The Pittsburgh Steelers’ 2024 offseason workouts ended in mid-June. Next up is the team’s annual training camp, which begins at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe in late July. Leading up to the Steelers’ training camp, we’ll be doing a series of posts looking at the team’s offseason roster, three players at a time. This Steelers roster preview, which also includes projections for each player, will be sorted alphabetically by last name for easy followability. This series is expected to include more than 90 players this year, as the team will be able to bring a total of 91 players with them during the offseason due to the team’s international designation being allowed.

The next players we will feature before the Steelers’ 2024 training camp are Isaac Seumalo, Aaron Shampklin and Jacob Slade.

OG Isaac Seumalo: After playing his first seven NFL seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles, the Steelers signed Seumalo to a three-year, $24 million contract last year at the start of free agency in 2023. He started every game for the team at left guard and played 1,104 offensive snaps.

Pro Football Focus graded Seumalo 73.9 for the 2023 season and did not issue a penalty for allowing sacks. Overall, Seumalo was only penalized twice in 2023, once for a false start and once for offensive offsides. That offside penalty, a very questionable one, came during a field goal attempt.

All in all, Seumalo was probably the Steelers’ most consistent and best offensive lineman in 2023. Additionally, Seumalo seemingly established himself as the leader of Pittsburgh’s offensive line in his first season with the team.

Outlook: In 2024, Seumalo is expected to once again be the Steelers’ left guard.

The Steelers are expected to get a new center in 2024. That player will likely be rookie Zach Frazier, the team’s second-round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft. That means Seumalo should have a new counterpart on the right side, and possibly a new one on the left as well, depending on which tackle snatches that spot.

The Steelers will apparently rely heavily on their running game in 2024, and that should suit Seumalo’s game well. Seumalo is already an established NFL veteran at this point in his career and will likely once again be the undisputed leader of the Steelers’ offensive line in 2024.

Although Seumalo turns 31 in October, there’s a good chance the 2024 season will be his best yet, especially if the Steelers’ first- and second-year offensive line players can quickly adjust to the veterans.

Running Back Aaron Shampkin: Shampklin was originally signed by the Dallas Cowboys as an undrafted free agent out of Harvard in 2022, but bounced around to a few NFL teams before signing a reserve/future contract with the Steelers in January. After being released by the Cowboys in September 2022 due to an injury settlement, Shampklin eventually landed on the Indianapolis Colts practice squad toward the end of his rookie season. He most recently spent a few weeks with the Los Angeles Chargers last summer.

Shampklin has made limited NFL preseason appearances since signing as an undrafted free agent. He has 31 preseason carries for 116 yards and one pass reception for no gain. In May 2023, Shampklin signed with the Houston Gamblers of the USFL and rushed for 52 yards on 12 attempts in three games. At Harvard, Shampklin rushed for 2,251 yards and 23 touchdowns on 402 total attempts. He also recorded 29 pass receptions for 296 yards and three touchdowns.

At his pro day in 2022, Shampklin weighed 5,093 pounds and weighed 194 pounds, and he reportedly ran his 40-yard dash in 4.48 seconds.

Outlook: If Shampklin can make it through the entire training camp and preseason on the Steelers’ offseason roster, it would be a tremendous accomplishment for him.

The Steelers have a pretty stacked running back corps entering training camp, and that list includes some players who are at the bottom of the order, like the semi-experienced La’Mical Perine and Jonathan Ward. The Steelers also signed Daijun Edwards as an undrafted free agent this offseason.

Shampklin’s chances of making the 53-man roster this summer are virtually nil. In fact, he will be trying to find a practice squad spot over the next few weeks. But even that seems like a very difficult task as we sit here in the middle of July.

DL Jacob Slade: Slade, a product of Michigan State, was originally signed by the Arizona Cardinals as an undrafted free agent in 2023. He played 28 defensive snaps for the Cardinals during the preseason last year and was eventually released by them as part of their final roster cuts. Slade managed to get in and out of the Cardinals’ practice squad in 2023 as part of four different stints on that unit.

At his 2023 Pro Day, Slade weighed 6,031 pounds, had 32 3/8-inch arms and 9 1/2-inch hands. He posted a RAS of 8.74 out of a possible 10.00 in his Pro Day performance. At Michigan State, Slade recorded 88 total tackles, 11.5 for loss, four sacks, four passes defensed and one fumble recovery.

The Steelers signed Slade to a reserve/future contract in January and he has been on the offseason roster since then.

Outlook: Slade will enter training camp as a member of a Steelers defensive line loaded with players with NFL experience. Simply remaining on the offseason roster throughout training camp and the preseason would be a major accomplishment for Slade, who will likely be at the back of the line in practice when it comes to potential reps.

Slade is a bit below average when it comes to the stats the Steelers typically look for in their defensive linemen. However, he has a good athletic profile, as evidenced by his Pro Day RAS score. When it comes down to it, it seems like a daunting task for Slade to earn a spot on the practice squad at the start of the 2024 regular season. If he plays at all during the preseason, his appearances in those games will likely come very late.

Previous posts in this series:

90 in 30: Steelers 2024 training camp preview series – Montravius ​​Adams, Kyle Allen, Spencer Anderson
90 in 30: Steelers 2024 training camp preview – Grayland Arnold, Calvin Austin III, Anthony Averett
90 in 30: Steelers 2024 training camp preview – Kalon Barnes, Tyler Beach, Keeanu Benton
90 in 30: Steelers 2024 training camp preview – Beanie Bishop Jr., Chris Boswell, Marquez Callaway
90 in 30: Steelers 2024 training camp preview – Jack Colletto, Dylan Cook, Jacob Copeland
90 in 30: Steelers 2024 training camp preview series – James Daniels, Daijun Edwards, DeShon Elliott
90 in 30: Steelers 2024 training camp preview – Jalen Elliott, Troy Fautanu, Breiden Fehoko
90 in 30: Steelers 2024 training camp preview – Justin Fields, Joey Fisher, Dez Fitzpatrick
90 in 30: Steelers 2024 training camp preview – Minkah Fitzpatrick, Zach Frazier, Pat Freiermuth
90 in 30: Steelers 2024 training camp preview – Thomas Graham Jr., Devery Hamilton, Anderson Hardy
90 in 30: Steelers 2024 training camp preview series – Najee Harris, Nate Herbig, Nick Herbig
90 in 30: Steelers 2024 training camp preview – Cameron Heyward, Connor Heyward, Alex Highsmith
90 in 30: Steelers 2024 training camp preview – Cole Holcomb, Donte Jackson, Van Jefferson
90 in 30: Steelers 2024 training camp preview – Jaray Jenkins, Kyron Johnson, Cameron Johnston
90 in 30: Steelers 2024 training camp preview – Broderick Jones, Damontae Kazee, Miles Killebrew
90 in 30: Steelers 2024 training camp preview – Christian Kuntz, DeMarvin Leal, Logan Lee
90 in 30: Steelers 2024 training camp preview series – Isaiahh Loudermilk, Dean Lowry, Jonathan Marshall
90 in 30: Steelers 2024 training camp preview – Ryan McCollum, Mason McCormick, Nate Meadors
90 in 30: Steelers 2024 training camp preview series – Scotty Miller, Jeremiah Moon, Dan Moore Jr.
90 in 30: Steelers 2024 training camp preview – Tyler Murray, Larry Ogunjobi, Cordarrelle Patterson
90 in 30: Steelers 2024 training camp preview – David Perales, La’Mical Perine, George Pickens
90 in 30: Steelers 2024 training camp preview – Joey Porter Jr., Willington Previlon, MyCole Pruitt
90 in 30: Steelers 2024 training camp preview series – Patrick Queen, John Rhys Plumlee, Elandon Roberts
90 in 30: Steelers 2024 training camp preview – Mark Robinson, Darius Rush, Josiah Scott