Immediately following the Saturday night loss to the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC Wild Card game, Pittsburgh Steelers safety Mike Mitchell made it know that he played all season with a torn groin. During his end of the year press conference Tuesday, head coach Mike Tomlin was asked to comment on how that injury might have impacted Mitchell’s performance over the course of the season.
“I’m not into the excuse making,” said Tomlin. “I’m not going to speculate on how that might have affected his performance. The reality is, as professional football players, often times guys show up and play in less than ideal physical circumstances.
“I’m appreciative of his willingness to do that. I appreciate his efforts. I appreciate what he did for us, but I’m not going to quantify his production based on a set of circumstances that are really irrelevant in the big scheme of things. He was well enough to play.”
Tomlin also said that Mitchell will address his groin injury moving forward and that he and a few other players are likely to have surgery.
“He’s on the short list of guys that could be looking at offseason surgery to correct that issue, said Tomlin. Ben [Roethlisberger] could have a minor procedure to clean up his knee. Matt Spaeth could have an offseason surgery to clean up some things with his elbow. Largely, though, we’re in pretty good shape from a health standpoint in terms of the things that guys are dealing with and playing with. This season was no different than any other in that regard.”
Tomlin later made it known that cornerback Cortez Allen did indeed have his right knee scoped a few weeks ago.
