The Pittsburgh Steelers have activated wide receiver Sammie Coates from their PUP list on Wednesday and the former third-round draft pick is expected to participate in his first training camp practice later in the day.
Coates, who has missed the first few weeks of camp after needing a minor procedure done on one of his knees just prior to reporting to Latrobe, is now expected to play Sunday night in the team’s second preseason game against the Atlanta Falcons.
“It’s just a fact — I missed a lot, with injuries, with the offense,” Coates said a few days ago. “That catches up with people. You don’t get them reps, you can’t get them back. You missed them. You fall behind all through the season.”
On the surface, Coates is battling fellow wide receivers Darrius Heyward-Bey and Justin Hunter for a spot on this years 53-man roster. Last season, Coates had a strong showing in the team’s first five regular season games. A hand/finger injury, however, really seemed to hamper him moving forward and he ended the season being used mostly on special teams.
