The Steelers held their second practice of the week Wednesday and it wasn't all good news.
Linebacker James Harrison was limited Wednesday as he continues to work his way back from knee surgery.
Harrison shooed reporters away from his locker after practice, saying he would let everyone know Friday what his status is.
Harrison could still wind up playing, but at this point, it doesn't look good.
On the other hand, Jason Worilds was back as a full participant and looks like he's ready to go. Worilds, who had offseason wrist surgery, is listed as the top backup to LaMarr Woodley, but has more experience than Chris Carter.
@ Isaac Redman was back as a full participant on Wednesday and looks to be ready to go against the Broncos.
Redman said he doesn't know if it will be him or Jonathan Dwyer as the starter in Denver.
@ Linebacker Larry Foote was out today with an ankle issue, but it was just as likely the team wanted to get Brandon Johnson as many snaps as possible at Foote's spot inside.
@ The fact the Steelers haven't done anything with David DeCastro yet in terms of injured reserve tells me that they are indeed looking to bring in a veteran to replace him.
That veteran is likely Trai Essex, despite some reports to the contrary. Right now, they have just three healthy backup linemen. And two of those are rookies Mike Adams and Kelvin Beachum.
I can guarantee you they aren't confident in putting Beachum in a regular season game at this point.
Essex will be back next week when the Steelers won't be on the hook for his entire salary.
cross your fingers there won't be any injuries along the o-line this week.
ReplyDeleteat this point, even if harrison plays, he probably won't be able to apply the pressure needed. i would rather they rest him or only bring him in on 3rd and longs to rush the passer. it's a long season, no reason to push the issue right now.
i expect we will see a combo of dwyer/redman and rainey sprinkled in as well. the weapons this offense will have are going to stretch opposing teams defenses. hopefully, the coaches will find a way to exploit the mismatches.
Steelers signed DeMarcus Van Dyke. Interesting, looks like another project, but he's taller and faster than any of the other Ike clones so why not.
ReplyDeleteThe number of weapons the Steelers have on offense is impressive...but I find myself saying that every year.
ReplyDeleteWe'll see this year if the issue was the OC all along or the if Big Ben doesn't know how to use all his options.