The Pittsburgh Steelers were back on the practice fields of Saint Vincent College in Latrobe Saturday for their twelfth training camp practice of 2018 and wide receiver Antonio Brown (quad) joined his teammates for the session.
Brown, who has missed the last several training camp practices with a quad injury, was reportedly a full participant on Saturday just like head coach Mike Tomlin indicated last Tuesday he might be.
Tomlin said after practice was over that the team will manage him some moving forward as he works himself back from his injury.
“We’re going to manage it,” Tomlin said. “It’s the appropriate thing to do. It’s August, so we’re going to be smart in terms of how we work him back in.”
While Brown was back practicing on Saturday, Steelers outside linebackers T.J. Watt (hamstring) and Bud Dupree (concussion) remain sidelined with their injuries although it is worth noting that the latter just became a father recently. Also still out is tight end Vance McDonald (foot), who has been sidelined as long as Watt has been.
“We’re getting some guys working their way back and out of a rep management,” Tomlin said. “And that’s an important thing this time of year. You like guys to work and work freely. It’s difficult to gain some of the experience and betterment when you’re continually managing reps from a health standpoint. So, to get some of those guys out of that caution area is significant so that they can move on and really focus on the play itself.”
Centers Maurkice Pouncey (undisclosed) and B.J. Finney (quad) also sat out Saturday. Finney reportedly suffered a quad contusion during the Steelers Thursday night preseason opener against the Philadelphia Eagles. Pouncey might just have a day off.
“B.J. Finney has a contusion, we’ll follow his progress, but it shouldn’t be a lengthy period of time,” Tomlin said after Saturday’s practice.
Also sitting out on Saturday were tackles Marcus Gilbert (undisclosed) and Kyle Meadows (undisclosed). Gilbert become a father several days ago. Safety Sean Davis (groin) and tight end Xavier Grimble (thumb) also sat out or failed to finish Saturday.
“We gave Sean Davis a day on a groin. We had Xavier Grimble wasn’t able to finish with a thumb injury being evaluated,” Tomlin said.
