Trenton Thompson grabs INT for Pittsburgh Steelers as local stars shine in NFL preseason

The National Football League's preseason got started this past weekend and so did the hopeful journey of three local products battling to make an NFL opening-day roster.

Palm Springs High grads Trenton Thompson and Tayler Hawkins, as well as Rancho Mirage grad Daniel Whelan, were all in action for their respective teams, and all three made plays.

Here is a rundown of what they did and where they stand:

Trenton Thompson

Team: Pittsburgh Steelers

Preseason Game One: Thompson, who was signed by the Steelers earlier this summer after being waived by the New York Giants, made a huge impact play for the Steelers on Friday during Pittsburgh's 27-17 win over Tampa Bay.

Midway through the second quarter, Thompson, playing safety and wearing No. 17, knifed in front of a receiver to intercept a pass thrown by Kyle Trask and returned it nine yards. Thompson also added a tackle on the night.

According to Steelers insiders, Thompson has made quite an impression on the team in just two weeks with his new squad. He followed up his interception Friday with a strong outing during Sunday's practice according to steelersnow.com. Thompson took some snaps with the starting unit and had three pass breakups during one drill as he makes a bid to, at the very least, make the team's practice squad and stick around.

Last season, Thompson played in one regular-season game for the New York Giants, making him just the seventh player from a desert high school to play in an NFL game.

Next game: Bills at Steelers, 3:30 p.m. Saturday

Tayler Hawkins

Team: San Francisco 49ers

Preseason Week One: Hawkins, who like Thompson graduated from Palm Springs High in 2016 and played at San Diego State, had two tackles for the 49ers during Sunday's 34-7 loss to the Las Vegas Raiders.

Hawkins, who has been with the 49ers since joining the team as an undrafted free agent in 2021, is vying to make the team as a free safety. He is currently listed third on the depth chart.

Next game: Broncos at 49ers, 5:30 p.m. Saturday

Daniel Whelan

Team: Green Bay Packers

Preseason Game One: Whelan, a Rancho Mirage grad who rode a fantastic season in the XFL to an opportunity to shine at Packers camp, played in the Packers' 36-19 win over the Bengals on Friday.

Whelan is challenging incumbent punter Pat O'Donnell for the punting jump. Whelan had two punts in the game, a 43-yarder and a 42-yarder, dropping one of them inside the 20-yard line. For what it's worth, O'Donnell punted once, nailing a 60-yarder. Whelan also was the holder for extra points and kicked off during the game.

This is Whelan's second NFL camp after a brief stint with the New Orleans Saints last summer.

Next game: Patriots at Packers, 5 p.m. Saturday

Shad Powers is a columnist for The Desert Sun. Reach him at shad.powers@desertsun.com.

This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Trenton Thompson grabs INT for Pittsburgh Steelers in NFL preseason opener