When it was announce in a Friday written statement by Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin that cornerback Cortez Allen had minor knee surgery earlier that day, the coach indicated his starting cornerback would be sidelined “for a few weeks.”
Since then, Allen told Ralph Paulk of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review that he would be smart during his recovery, which suggest he will miss all of the preseason.
“I\’m just trying to be smart about it,” said Allen, who started three games in 2012. “I can\’t really give a timetable on it, but I just have to follow the instructions of the training staff.”
None of you are probably shocked that a couple of week will likely turn into a month, but Tomlin has always been a glass half full kind of coach when it comes to injuries.
While we don\’t know for sure what the minor surgery that Allen had was for, we can only speculate it included repairing a tear to his meniscus. Once again, that\’s only speculation.
When the Steelers play the New York Giants Saturday night at Heinz Field, they will more than likely only dress six cornerbacks for the game as Allen, Terry Hawthorne, DeMarcus Van Dyke and now Curtis Brown are all sidelined with injuries.
Being as both Ike Taylor and William Gay will likely exit the game quickly, that will leave Josh Victorian, Isaiah Green, Ryan Steed and Buddy Jackson plenty of snaps to divide up amongst themselves should another cornerback not be signed between now and Saturday.
Being as Allen had the surgery when he did, there is a good chance he will be ready for the season opener against the Tennessee Titans. At least that\’s what we\’re hoping for.
