According to several Tuesday reports, the Pittsburgh Steelers had full attendance for their first OTA practice of 2015 and that’s probably something that a lot teams can’t say. In fact, it’s hard to remember the last time that the Steelers had full attendance for the start of OTAs.
In the past, the Steelers have usually had a few draft picks that weren’t able to participate at the start of OTAs due to those players being on the quarters system. That isn’t the case this year, however, as all eight of their selections come from colleges that no longer use that system.
Last year the Steelers were unable to have linebacker Jordan Zumwalt present for the start of OTAs as UCLA observed the quarters system. The same went for wide receiver Markus Wheaton in 2013 being as he went to Oregon State.
Additionally, it wasn’t uncommon for the Steelers to have a veteran or two absent for the start of OTA sessions in the past, but that obviously wasn’t the case this year.
As far as injuries go, it doesn’t appear as though the Steelers have many walking wounded on their 90-man roster. I did, however, notice that tight end Matt Spaeth was without a helmet Tuesday, so he might still be recovering from some sort of offseason surgery. There might be a few more players that are unable to participate fully and perhaps head coach Mike Tomlin will give us a full update on the overall health of the team by the end of the week.
The Steelers will resume their OTA practices on Wednesday.
