Behind the Steel Curtain
The pads will be on soon, but the Steelers aren’t completely healthy headed into Week 2 of training camp.
The first week of Steelers training camp is in the books. Players will get Monday, July 28, off before the pads come on Tuesday.
However, several Steelers are dealing with injuries headed into the second week of camp.
Per Steelers Now’s Alan Saunders, head coach Mike Tomlin updated the media on three injuries suffered in Sunday’s practice: starting left tackle Broderick Jones and wide receiver Montana Lemonious-Craig have lower body soft-tissue injuries, while rookie tight end/fullback D.J. Thomas-Jones has a “significant” lower-body injury.
Thomas-Jones was carted off the field in Sunday’s practice.
Jones and Lemonious-Craig’s injuries were deemed “day to day,” per PennLive’s Nick Farabaugh.
It was Dylan Cook, not Calvin Anderson, who took over as first-team left tackle following Jones’ injury. However, Tomlin said it’s too early to label him the swing tackle over Anderson, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette’s Brain Batko reported.
Farabaugh noted that newly-acquired tight end Jonnu Smith, who started training camp with an undisclosed injury, practiced again on Sunday. Reserve outside linebacker Jeremiah Moon, who was carted off the field on Saturday, was not at practice.
Veterans including T.J. Watt and Darius Slay, who had a veteran rest day Saturday, worked with the team on Sunday.
Reserve center Ryan McCollum, who started camp limited with an injury, also practiced. He was also involved in a camp scuffle with linebacker Cole Holcomb.
Steelers Depot’s Alex Kozora reported that veteran running back Cordarrelle Patterson still hasn’t practiced. He was in street clothes to open camp and labelled “day to day” by Tomlin.
Kozora also noted safety Quindell Johnson, who missed much of Saturday with an injury, was back Sunday.
Starting guard Isaac Seumalo, who opened camp on the active non-football injury list, still has the designation but has been putting in some work over the week.
The Steelers will return to Latrobe at 1:55 p.m. July 29. Their preseason opener, Aug. 9 against the Jacksonville Jaguars, is less than two weeks away.
