Thursday news and notes

It was a rough day for Plaxico Burress.

The 6-5 wideout was running down the sideline against 5-11 corner Ryan Steed when a pass was lofted his direction. Burress went up for the ball, just as 6-2 safety Damon Cromartie-Smith appeared and outleaped him, knocking the ball away and Burress to the ground.

Burress landed hard on his right elbow and left practice with his shoulder in ice. He later had a sling on his right arm. Reports have surfaced that it's a torn rotator cuff, which would likely end his season/career.

It was already a tough day for Burress, who hadn't been working with the first team even though Emmanuel Sanders sat out practice Thursday.

The Steelers used Jerricho Cotchery as Sanders' replacement on the outside, with rookie Markus Wheaton playing in the slot.

Wheaton looked good at times, but was chastised by quarterback Ben Roethlisberger after he failed to execute a hot route correctly.

Roethlisberger called out the audible and looked directly at Wheaton, asking him, "You good?"

Wheaton nodded.

Roethlisberger then threw a quick out while Wheaton ran 10 yards down the field before breaking the route off.

"If you don't know, ask," Roethlisberger yelled at the rookie as he came back to the huddle.

Sanders is OK - it was apparently a day off to rest his surgically repaired feet - but Wheaton showed he's still got some learning to do despite his obvious talent.

That was on display during the red zone session to close practice.

Wheaton caught a pass from Roethlisberger at the 3, juked Isaiah Green to the outside and went back inside to score untouched.

He also beat Troy Polamalu deep on another pass in the team portion of practice.

@ Wheaton and fellow rookie Shamarko Thomas got the first look working as gunners on punt duties Thursday. Lot of speed there.

@ Thomas, meanwhile, continues to work as the nickel corner in the second nickel defense. The Steelers still have four corners out, but head coach Mike Tomlin said Thomas, a safety by trade, is more than capable of handling that position.

The other guys in the second nickel were Josh Victorian, Green, Cromartie-Smith and Robert Golden in the secondary, Chris Carter, Al Woods, Brian Arnfelt, Adrian Robinson, Stevenson Sylvester and Marshall McFadden across the front.

@ In the final portion of practice, Kelvin Beachum replaced Marcus Gilbert at right tackle, with Gilbert moving to the second unit.

@ The Steelers signed free agent tight end Nathaniel Overbay, nephew of former Pirates first baseman Lyle "The Friendly Viking" Overbay and released offensive tackle Mike Farrell.

The team also claimed tight end Michael Johnson off waivers from Seattle and released tight end John Rabe.

Rabe was signed last week, but looked far smaller than the 6-4, 258 pounds he was listed at.