The Pittsburgh Steelers started training camp Sunday with five players on the PUP list and one of them is backup quarterback Bruce Gradkowski, who is still hampered by the same soreness in his throwing shoulder that caused him to miss a several of the earlier offseason practices.
With Gradkowski sidelined for the immediate future, several of the younger arms on the roster will see increased reps under center during training camp. Two of those players, undrafted free agents Tyler Murphy and Devin Gardner, both took reps at quarterback and wide receiver during the offseason practices and head coach Mike Tomlin talked Sunday at the conclusion of the team’s first session about how he intends to rotate the two of them between multiple positions moving forward.
“Between Tyler and Devin, we’re going to move those guys back between quarterback and wide receiver on some sort of a schedule,” said Tomlin. “We’ll find a rhythm there. The big thing is that we give them the opportunity to show what they’re capable of at both spots.”
According to Alex Kozora, Murphy worked exclusively as the No. 4 quarterback Sunday while Gardner worked at wide receiver.
With Gradkowski out, third-year quarterback Landry Jones is currently working as the backup to starter Ben Roethlisberger and according to Kozora, he threw back-to-back interceptions at one point during Sunday’s practice. Tomlin was asked to comment on Jones’ performance at the conclusion of practice.
“I haven’t evaluated him singularly,” said Tomlin. “Were just getting started.”
