The Pittsburgh Steelers resumed practicing on Wednesday and there was no announcement from the team on defensive end Stephon Tuitt resuming practice, so it looks like it’s going to be a while longer for him.
Even if Tuitt had resumed practicing on Wednesday, and thus had his 21-day window opened as a designated-to-return player from the Reserve/Injured list, he still likely wasn’t going to play Sunday night against the Seattle Seahawks.
So, this all means that the earliest that we’re likely to see Tuitt play for the Steelers would be after the team’s bye week. Tuitt is not likely to do much of anything next week with the team on their bye so assuming he gets the green light to resume practicing in Week 8, odds are probably good that Week 10 would be the earliest he would see the field.
Our very own Dr. Melanie Friedlander weighed in Wednesday evening on Tuitt not resuming practicing earlier in the day.
“At this point, I really have to wonder if he had a complication following his surgery that has slowed his recovery,” Friedlander tweeted on Wednesday. “Would have expected him back at practice this week if he was running with a brace last week.”
Tuitt was photographed on the field last week while wearing a big brace on his right knee. That picture from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette created a lot of speculation that Tuitt might have his 21-day window opened by the Steelers this week and on Wednesday specifically.
Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin was not asked about Tuitt during his Tuesday press conference. Tuitt has presumably been dealing with a knee issue that required some sort of medical procedure way ahead of the start of the regular season. He was placed on the team’s Reserve/Injured list ahead of the team’s Week 1 game after not fully participating in any training camp practices or playing in any preseason games this past summer.
For now, the Steelers will continue to carry six defensive linemen on their active 53-man roster in defensive tackle Cameron Heyward, defensive end Chris Wormley, defensive end Isaiah Buggs, defensive end Henry Mondeaux, defensive tackle Carlos Davis, and defensive end Isaiahh Loudermilk. Davis, who has been sidelined with a knee injury since Week 1, resumed practicing on Wednesday, albeit in a limited fashion. On Sunday night against the Seahawks, it’s a good bet that Davis will be the one inactive defensive lineman for the Steelers.
