The Pittsburgh Steelers were back on the practice field Monday as they began preparing to play the Tennessee Titans Sunday in their 2013 season opener at Heinz Field. Rookie linebacker Jarvis Jones, who suffered a sprained chest in the third preseason game against the Kansas City Chiefs, was able to practice with the team, and he talked to the media afterwards.
“I pretty much did everything today,” said Jones. “It was a great feeling to get back out there and practice with the guys, go through the routine and prepare for Sunday.
“Today was a day we go through a lot of the early calls against other teams, get back into it. For me it was going out there and getting a feel for it. I was off for a week and I was finding out where I am.”
The Steelers didn’t practice in pads Monday, so Jones said that he didn’t need to take any extra precautions in order to protect his chest, and that he just went with the flow of things.
“Obviously, the offensive line was punching and doing their thing,” Jones said. “I went out there and had a good practice and just tried to finish.”
Jones is expected to be ready to play Sunday, but whether or not he will start at right outside linebacker is still unknown. Head coach Mike Tomlin admitted last week that the Georgia product was in the running to do just that, but that it all now depends on how fast he recovers from his injury.
Whether or not Jones starts is really insignificant at this point as it is obvious he will begin rotating in on defense sooner rather than later. During the preseason, the Steelers implemented a rotation consisting of Jones, Jason Worilds and LaMarr Woodley, so we could see that same rotation used as early as Sunday.
