Phase one of the Pittsburgh Steelers offseason program got underway on Tuesday and a good majority of the players are now back in town getting ready for the upcoming OTA sessions. One player who’s been in Pittsburgh all offseason training is center Maurkice Pouncey and he recently updated the rehab of his surgically repaired knee in an interview with steelers.com.
“When this first happened, I thought I was going to be out for the longest time,” said Pouncey, who suffered a serious knee injury just eight offensive plays into the 2013 season-opener against the Tennessee Titans. “I was never expecting to be walking like this now, to be able to do all of things that I can do in the weight room. I never thought it. I wish I could say that I’m fully back, but I’m pretty close.”
Pouncey is reportedly now back running on an anti-gravity treadmill machine that was designed to help avoid putting too much pressure on the knees. That exercise begins with him walking for 20 minutes before transitioning into a sprint.
“It is intense, but I have been away from running and football for so long so it’s helped me get back in shape,” said Pouncey. “It’s keeps the pressure off my knee, keeps the swelling down. You aren’t outside running and putting your total body weight on it. It’s a great rehab source. It’s gets you better a lot faster. We are going at the right pace and everything is good right now.”
According to Missi Matthews, Pouncey believes that he will mostly be limited to doing individual drills with the possibility of doing a few live reps once the OTA sessions get underway following the draft. More than anything else, the Steelers center said he can’t wait to back out on the field again with his teammates.
“I can’t wait to get back out there and stretch for the first day with the team and get back out there and do a live drill. It’ll be awesome.”
Pouncey is entering the final year of his rookie contract after being drafted by the Steelers in first round of the 2010 NFL Draft out of Florida.
