In the scenario DeAngelo Williams misses Sunday’s tilt with the Cleveland Browns due to his foot injury, Mike Tomlin has complete confidence in Jordan Todman being the next man up.
“Todman is ready,” Tomlin told reporters at his press conference Tuesday. “He’s been here, obviously an extended period of time.”
Isaiah Pead, however, is still very much the new kid at school.
“We’re very much in the teaching room with Pead. And obviously, how he performs from a detail and assignment standpoint this week will dictate whether or not he’s a part of the equation.”
While Williams’ foot injury does not seem to pose a serious threat to his availability Sunday, Tomlin has already confirmed Williams will sit out of today’s practice. It is natural though for a back to be banged up after touching the ball 29 times, like he did Sunday against the Oakland Raiders.
Pead was inactive in his first game as a Steeler. Todman has just two carries in 2015, including one in Sunday’s win. If Pead is not deemed ready for Sunday, the only other on-roster option is Will Johnson. Johnson saw some action at running back in Week One versus the New England Patriots, rushing four times and finding the end zone once as the goal line back.
The only other running back on the Steelers is Fitzgerald Toussaint. Considering the team chose to sign Pead over promoting him, bringing Toussaint up doesn’t seem as a terribly likely solution.
