LATROBE, Penn. – DK Metcalf heard a knock at the door shortly after he checked into his room at Rooney Hall earlier this week.
“I thought it was my front door, and it was actually my bathroom door,” Metcalf, the new Pittsburgh Steelers receiver, explained after the first training camp practice on Thursday.
Surprise, surprise. Metcalf has a suite mate. And one who comes with big benefits.
“He was like, ‘Aw man, I was hoping it was you,” Metcalf said.
Of course, it is no mere coincidence that the legendary quarterback and big-play receiver are sharing a suite, their dorm rooms separated by a bathroom. The arrangement has Mike Tomlin’s fingerprints all over it. The crafty Steelers coach has been known to sometimes assign stalls in the locker room while seeking to position new players near certain personalities, for one reason or another. So, why not in this case?
That Rodgers and Metcalf will be in such close proximity during training camp – and this camp comes with the need for some serious bonding with several prominent new faces in tow – comes with the potential for all sorts of intangible benefits.
“We can talk about a lot of stuff that we see the same on the field, conversations that we might not get to talk about in the meeting room,” Metcalf said. “He gets to listen to a lot of my music tastes or hear me yell at the video game sometimes. But it will be fun having him across the hall.”
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They will expedite the curve of getting to know each other, that’s for sure. Metcalf, the seventh-year veteran obtained in a trade with the Seattle Seahawks, enjoys playing video games in his spare time. Rodgers caught wind of that on Wednesday as Metcalf played an NCAA-themed game on his console.
“He walked in my room yesterday and said, ‘Oh, you’re gaming!” Metcalf said.
“And then he just walked out.”
Rodgers, 41, has had a healthy share of roommates and suitemates during an NFL career that began 21 years ago in the Green Bay Packers camp at St. Norbert’s College. Metcalf, it seems, fits the profile for an ideal suitemate in his mind for reasons that go beyond strengthening the connection with a go-to target.
“I was here Tuesday night and not many other guys were here other than the rookies, and when I got in the room and realized we were sharing something, I was secretly hoping it wasn’t a big lineman or something,” Rodgers said. “Maybe somebody who cared about their hygiene a little bit. So, when I walked in, I saw a standard suitcase. I said, ‘Oh, I think it’s going to be good. This is probably DK.”
Training camp clearly provides the setting to develop chemistry, and the Steelers’ old-school setup – Pittsburgh is one of the few NFL teams that still goes away to a college campus for camp, at St. Vincent’s College for the 58th year – amplifies that theme.
In the case of Rodgers and Metcalf, though, this chemistry was launched months ago. In March, while Rodgers contemplated his future, Metcalf flew to Los Angeles and worked out with the quarterback at UCLA. It added fuel to the speculation that Rodgers would ultimately sign with the Steelers…and laid a foundation for the current prospects.
“We talked about a lot of football stuff,” Rodgers said. “We FaceTime, we texted during the offseason after minicamp. So, we’ve got a good relationship. It’s going to just keep on growing.”
Metcalf: “I’m going to try to soak up as much knowledge as I can. I’m going to listen to everything. Even the criticisms he has; I’m going to be really open, searching for those answers from him. He’s had great receivers in the past. I’m just trying to be among them.”
There is no denying that the bond that Metcalf and Rodgers develop as a go-to connection will be essential to the best-case scenario for the Steelers offense. Yet it’s also evident that Rodgers, a newcomer assuming the ultimate leadership position for an established team, has made it a priority to quickly try developing bonds throughout the team.
Since signing just before the team’s mandatory minicamp in June, though, Rodgers has tried to make up for lost time. In the window before training camp, he hosted skill-positioned players for workouts in Malibu, Calif., where he has a home.
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Also, on the day he signed his one-year contract in June, Rodgers attended a cookout at Tomlin’s house and spent several hours mingling with members of the coaching staff. The next day, he went to a cookout that veteran defensive end Cam Heyward hosted at his house for players. And the day after that, Rodgers showed up at Heyward’s charity golf tournament.
The effort to mesh with his new team was surely noticed.
“I know it wasn’t on everybody’s time frame for when things were supposed to happen, but I can only speak to the man I met,” Heyward told USA TODAY Sports. “When a guy comes to my golf outing or comes to my house and interacts with my family, with me and my teammates, that’s all I can ask for. I think that’s a good start.”
How it ends remains to be seen for a team hoping to become a legitimate contender. Yet Rodgers seems to be all-in for the bonding – and his new suitemate can vouch for that.
Contact Jarrett Bell at jbell@usatoday.com or follow on social media:
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