The Pittsburgh Steelers were back at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe, Pa., on Sunday as the team conducted its 13th training camp practice of 2023. After the session ended, head coach Mike Tomlin briefly updated the health of the team, mentioning a few players.
“Nate Herbig went down with a shoulder in practice, he’s gonna be evaluated,” Tomlin said. “Obviously, we had bumps and bruises associated with play. Keeanu Benton went down in the game with an ankle that could be described as day-to-day. We’ll see how that leads us. Some other guys obviously were limited or did not participate. Cam Heyward’s not here today. He’s sick and so we thought we’d allow him to get right and maybe protect some of the others in the process.”
It will be interesting to see the next update on guard Nate Herbig, who played quite extensively in the Friday night preseason opener and at three different positions on the interior portion of the offensive line.
As for Benton, the rookie defensive tackle played well Friday night but had to exit the Steelers’ 27-17 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the second half with what appeared to be a minor ankle injury.
According to our very own Alex Kozora on Sunday, inside linebacker Nick Kwiatkoski (shoulder) and cornerback Duke Dawson (knee) also both failed to practice earlier in the afternoon after sustaining injuries Friday night. Additionally, safety Tre Norwood (leg), who failed to play against the Buccaneers, remained out on Sunday.
Defensive tackle Larry Ogunjobi (foot) also failed to practice on Sunday, and he has a boot on his right foot. He also was held out of the Friday night preseason game.
Limited on Sunday for the Steelers were cornerback Joey Porter Jr. (ankle), safety Keanu Neal (undisclosed), and running back John Lovett (undisclosed) as they were involved in just the individual drill portion of practice. All three of those players did not play in the Friday night preseason opener.
According to Kozora, safety Damontae Kazee (ankle) was back practicing fully on Sunday and that’s great news. He was injured early in training camp. He did not play in the preseason opener so hopefully he will be good to go Saturday night when the Steelers host the Buffalo Bills.
As for more in-practice ailments on Sunday, cornerback Isaiah Dunn (knee) and outside linebacker Toby Ndukwe (hand/wrist) both needed to be evaluated for injuries during the session, per Kozora.
The Steelers have Monday off and their next training camp practice will take place on Tuesday.
