Steelers Cancel Paris Practice Due to Weather

PITTSBURGH -- The Pittsburgh Steelers will not practice Friday in Paris, France, before taking on the New Orleans Saints in Week 7. The team has canceled their scheduled practice due to inclement weather, leaving their Saturday walk-through as their only workout in the country prior to kickoff.

The Steelers traveled overnight and landed in Paris with the expectation of going straight from the plane to the hotel, where they would receive bodywork and treatment. Then, they would host a 30-minute practice.

"We had two plans coming in," McCarthy told reporters in Paris. "Just really wanted to acclimate the players after the long flight, just based off the communication with the weather and the reality of the timing too. We had to make the decision before we landed just to put it together. But frankly, driving by, I wish we would've stopped. But this is part of our plan."

While it was not raining in Paris during the time of interviews, there was a wind storm happening.

The team's PR staff sent out a memo upon arrival that the team was canceling their practice at Stade de France and instead headed straight for the hotel, where they would do their media availability.

The Saints have been in town throughout the week, getting acclimated and practicing in the country before the game. The Steelers held practices in Pittsburgh on Wednesday and Thursday, and typically have one more on Saturday before game day.

While the weather may have disrupted the team's plans this time around, the Steelers were successful in traveling in the same fashion last year to Dublin, Ireland. They flew overnight on Thursday and landed Friday morning, going straight to practice.

They defeated the Minnesota Vikings in that game.

"Just like anything, when the schedule comes out we’re on a 7-day week flow here," McCarthy said earlier in the week about the team's travel plans. "Played yesterday in Tampa, had to travel back, so that factors into it... Whether you’re playing in the Super Bowl or you're playing in a Monday night game, you look at all of those things and the reality of it is I've always tried to stick to the basics. The hydration, the sleep, just to give the men the best opportunity to prepare and perform while staying in the normal flow of operation as possible."

Pittsburgh will take on New Orleans on Sunday with a 9:30 a.m. ET kickoff time.