Inside the ropes: Steelers' Jon Bostic getting long look with first team

When he met with the Pittsburgh Steelers in free agency, linebacker Jon Bostic had one request for coach Mike Tomlin .

“I would like to not come off the field,” Bostic said he told Tomlin.

It has taken a bit longer than expected, but Bostic’s plea is starting to come to fruition. After working with the second-team defense in spring workouts and the early part of training camp, Bostic has started taking extensive reps with the starters.

Such was the case Thursday afternoon at Saint Vincent when Bostic took the majority of snaps with the first team, and Tyler Matakevich worked with the backups. It was the role that was envisioned for Bostic when the Steelers gave him a two-year contract to compete for the inside linebacker job vacated by Ryan Shazier ’s spinal cord injury.

Matakevich, with two years of familiarity in the Steelers defense as a backup, worked with the first team exclusively in the spring and remained there at the beginning of camp. Bostic said working with the second string didn’t bother him.

“To be honest, it’s just important to get the reps,” Bostic said Thursday. “Wherever you’re running on the field, I still have to come out and earn my job. I’ve got to do things just like everybody else has done here in the past. I’m excited for today and to keep building.”

Bostic’s first-team work early in camp was confined to playing nickel linebacker, a role L.J. Fort filled at the end of last season after Shazier’s injury. But Bostic’s role has expanded the past two days, and he is hardly leaving the field while the first team is on it.

“Going forward,” Bostic said. “I’m going to do whatever I can to make sure that happens.”

• Before the start of the “Seven Shots” 2-point conversion drill, Tomlin had a brief reminder for his players. “Tackle football,” he said. “The officials are working.”

The officials wasted little time providing input. On Ben Roethlisberger ’s first pass, tight end Jesse James ran a quick slant and caught the ball for an apparent score, but the play was negated when James was flagged for pass interference. On the next pass, Xavier Grimble made a sprawling catch in the corner but was ruled out of bounds.

On Landry Jones ’ first play for the second team, cornerback Coty Sensabaugh was called for hooking undrafted free agent receiver Damoun Patterson .

• The defense prevailed again in “Seven Shots” by a 4-3 margin. Roethlisberger threw a touchdown pass to Darrius Heyward-Bey , and Jones hooked up with JuJu Smith-Schuster for a score. Rookie running back Jaylen Samuels dropped a throw from Roethlisberger, and Justin Hunter couldn’t hold onto a pass from Jones.

• With Sean Davis and Morgan Burnett continuing to nurse injuries, the starting safeties again were rookie Terrell Edmunds (strong) and veteran free agent Nat Berhe (free).

• Quadree Henderson and Justin Thomas continued to get all of the work in punt-return drills.

• The alignment featuring seven defensive backs was used again. On the field along with Edmunds and Berhe were starting corners Joe Haden and Artie Burns , plus Mike Hilton , Marcus Allen and Cameron Sutton .

• Second-round pick James Washington had a nice practice. He made a leaping catch in traffic along the left sideline, beating cornerback Dashaun Phillips . He also reached back with one hand and caught a touchdown pass despite good coverage from cornerback Brian Allen .

• Burns and Heyward-Bey had some good matchups. Burns denied a touchdown catch by sticking out his left hand and deflecting a pass in the end zone. Heyward-Bey got his revenge by denying an interception by Burns with a last-second tip of the ball.

• Josh Dobbs had a forgettable final 11-on-11 session when he threw a pair of interceptions that were returned for touchdowns. Jordan Dangerfield and Allen had the picks.

• The second fight of training camp featured backup center Parker Collins going toe-to-toe with 352-pound defensive lineman Daniel McCullers . Collins had his helmet ripped off but kept coming after McCullers despite his 57-point weight disadvantage. L.T. Walton intervened and shoved Collins out of the way.

• Hilton elicited a vocal reaction from the crowd with a hard hit on Trey Griffey that forced the wide receiver out of bounds.

• Roethlisberger had a playful give and take with field judge Dale Shaw during seven-on-seven competition when the official called offensive pass interference on tight end Pharoah McKever . Roethlisberger lobbied for a makeup call against the defense to no avail.

Chris Adamski is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Chris at cadamski@tribweb.com or via Twitter @C_AdamskiTrib.