In an effort to best maximize the day off the team had on Tuesday, Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin had his players work in shorts Monday after several straight days of practicing full pads in hopes of getting a few of the walking wounded back on Wednesday. On the surface, that strategy might have paid off.
Mark Kaboly of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports Wednesday via Twitter that running backs Le\’Veon Bell and LaRod Stephens-Howling are scheduled to return to practice on Wednesday after both missed a few days with what is believed to be banged up knees.
Bell has had a great rookie training camp and now he can pick up where he left off Friday night as he looks to make his NFL debut Saturday night in the Steelers first preseason game of 2013 against the New York Giants. That game will also be the first for Stephens-Howling in a Steelers uniform as the University of Pittsburgh product was signed as a free agent back in April.
Players not expected to practice for the Steelers on Wednesday include Cortez Allen (knee), Curtis Brown (ankle), DeMarcus Van Dyke (hamstring) and perhaps even rookie cornerback Terry Hawthorne (knee).
Being as the Steelers have so many injured cornerbacks right now, they had no choice but to sign another one on Wednesday, and it was announced that Devin Smith, a Wisconsin product that was just released last week by the Dallas Cowboys, was signed to the roster in addition to free agent running back Alvester Alexander.
