The Pittsburgh Steelers entered Week 8 of the 2021 regular season with defensive end Stephon Tuitt still on the team’s Reserve/Injured list, and based on what head coach Mike Tomlin said on Tuesday, he will not resume practicing this week.
“Yeah, no update on him,” Tomlin said of Tuitt on Tuesday during his weekly press conference. “His return is not imminent this week, I don’t anticipate it. But although it’s going well, he’s progressing, but not close enough for participation.”
So, that’s a pretty good sign that Tuitt, who apparently needed some sort of knee procedure performed ahead of the start of the regular season, won’t have his 21-day practice window opened by the team on Wednesday, barring any sort of a huge surprise.
Assuming that Tuitt doesn’t resume practicing this week, it’s hard to imagine him playing in the team’s Week 9 and Week 10 games against the Chicago Bears and Detroit Lions, respectively. In short, it certainly is beginning to look like that the earliest we might see Tuitt back on the field would be in Week 11 against the Los Angeles Chargers.
In addition to dealing with some sort of knee injury prior to the start of the regular season, Tuitt has also been dealing with the sudden and tragic death of his younger brother this past summer. His brother was killed in a hit-and-run accident in Georgia, and his mother unfortunately witnessed it as well.
The Steelers restructured Tuitt’s contract earlier in the offseason to free up some salary cap space. He has been on the team’s Reserve/Injured list since being placed there in Week 1. A few weeks ago, a picture of Tuitt doing some work on the field of the team’s practice facility surfaced on Twitter. That picture showed a healthy-looking Tuitt sporting a brace on his right knee.
Nobody really seems to know when and if indeed Tuitt will resume playing this season. If he does play again this season, it’s not likely to be until after Week 10. Stay tuned.
