We haven’t heard much this season about rookie cornerback Senquez Golson since he was place on the team’s Reserve/Injured list after training camp with a shoulder injury that required surgery. With that said, head coach Mike Tomlin indicated Saturday in an interview with Bob Labriola that Golson has been around the team facility rehabbing and learning.
“Senquez Golson has had a very good year in this building day-to-day, by getting stronger and learning the game and getting better in all of the areas where he can get better outside of playing,” said Tomlin when asked if there is any value in having players on IR around on a daily basis. “But we’re not going to work with him at the expense of working with the guys we have to get ready to win a game this week.”
Even though we don’t see or hear about Golson on a weekly or monthly basis, that doesn’t mean that Tomlin isn’t keeping close tabs on his rehab. A recent media report suggested that the young cornerback hasn’t been around the team much this season, but to hear Tomlin talk, he checks in with the second-round draft pick quit frequently along with the other players currently rehabbing injuries.
“I connect with those guys just about daily, but you don’t see it,” Tomlin told Labriola “Their schedules are a little bit different than the rest of the pack. Just about every day I walk out of my 9 a.m. team meeting, and the guys break up into offensive and defensive unit meetings, and I usually go downstairs and share a few minutes with Senquez Golson because he’s working with our strength staff at that time.
“They all have individual schedules and regimens that are geared toward what it is they need, and it’s different depending on the guy, depending on the injury, depending on where he is in his career, depending on what position he plays. The big thing is we cater each individual program so each guy can get what he needs from an individual rehabilitation standpoint and from a get-better standpoint.”
Golson made it through the rookie mini camp and the team’s OTA practices before being shut down with his shoulder so at least he was able to get some practice time in. Even so, he’ll still be considered a rookie next season and hopefully can pick up right where he left off when the offseason practices resume in May.
The Steelers certainly can’t afford another draft miss at the cornerback position when it comes to Golson, who led the SEC in interceptions during his final year at Mississippi. As soon as the offseason gets underway, I suspect we’ll get more updates from Tomlin and general manager Kevin Colbert on the status of Golsen’s rehab, but at least we now know he hasny been MIA all of this time.
