With eight OTA practices now in the books, the Pittsburgh Steelers appear to have been very lucky when it comes to injuries and attendance. However, as you would expect at this time of year, several players are missing practices for one reason or another.
According to a Wednesday report by Chris Bradford of the Beaver County Times, tight end Matt Spaeth, tight end Rob Blanchflower, tackle Mike Adams, guard Ramon Foster and rookie wide receiver Sammie Coates did not take part in Wednesday’s practice.
Among players not partaking in voluntary on field session were: Coates, Spaeth, Blanchflower, Adams, Foster.
— Chris Bradford (@BCTBradford) June 10, 2015
As far as Coates goes, his absence from the practice field does appear to be related to injuries and quarterback Ben Roethlisberger said as much after Tuesday’s session in his interview with Teresa Varley of steelers.com.
When it comes to Adams, Foster and Spaeth, all three have reportedly missed practice time prior to Wednesday, but there’s no reason to think they are suffering from injuries that will keep them sidelined for an extended amount of time, if indeed they’re injured at all.
As for Blanchflower, who was drafted last year by the Steelers in the seventh-round of the 2014 NFL Draft, you certainly hate to hear about him already missing practice time. Last year during training camp, the Massachusetts product missed quite a bit of time with an ankle injury and during his college career he also battled injuries that resulted in several games missed.
The Steelers drafted tight end Jesse James this year in the fifth-round, so Blanchflower will presumably have to beat him out this year during training camp if he is to make the team’s final 53 man roster. In order to do that, he’ll have to stay healthy.
