The journey toward the 2017 season is now in full swing with the Pittsburgh Steelers having reported to Latrobe for their annual training camp at Saint Vincent College, where they have held their camps for over half a century now.
This is surely the time more than any other in which we find ourselves full of questions that we are looking to get answered, and this also tends to be the best time to get answers to those questions that have been building up over the course of time since the 2016 season ended.
You can rest assured that we have the questions, and we will be monitoring the developments in the training camp and the preseason as they develop, and beyond, looking for the answers as we look to evaluate the makeup of the Steelers as they try to navigate their way back to the Super Bowl, after reaching the AFC Championship game last season for the first time in more than half a decade.
Question: Is it already too late for Senquez Golson to have a solid shot at making the 53-man roster?
The inability of 2015 second-round cornerback Senquez Golson to contribute for the Steelers during the regular season is, in the spirit of Nathaniel Hawthorne, a twice-told tale. He has already missed his first two seasons as a result of his injuries in each of the past two seasons. A hamstring injury this year is making it a very realistic possibility that we hear the same story again—and for the last time.
The Steelers are at a point with Golson at which if he is not going to contribute, then he is not going to make the roster, and he is going to be let go. If not, it will not be his fault, but rather ill fate, and it will be quite unfortunate, but the circumstances do not change the fact of the matter.
But the team has already broken camp and is about to embark on their second preseason game. Golson has not even returned to participate in practice on a limited basis, so it is all but assured that he will not play on Sunday. He has literally never completed a padded practice as a professional, so it would be hard to imagine throwing him into a game.
Even if he returns after the game, the third game will be reserved primarily for the starters, and quite frankly, the Steelers have a lot of young cornerbacks that they are already counting on that they want to see perform. He may not even be able to get on the field for Saturday’s game.
Under a best-case scenario, Golson could be looking at just one preseason game in which he will have the opportunity to state his case for a spot on the 53-man roster, but barring injuries to those around him, it’s possible that that may not be enough due to the depth this year. At the very best, his time is rapidly running out—but has it effectively already done so?
