The Pittsburgh Steelers concluded their fourth training camp practice on Sunday, their final practice in the ramp-up period before the pads come on Tuesday. Sunday’s practice did bring an injury to starting LT Broderick Jones, as well as FB DJ Thomas-Jones, who left practice on a cart.
Jones did not work with the rest of the team during drills, as he had his helmet off and watched from the side, per Alex Kozora.
Kozora added that Jones didn’t work in team period and spoke to the head trainer. He was done for the day early.
Thomas-Jones got carted off with trainers looking at his left foot. The undrafted rookie free agent is looking to make the team as a fullback, but an injury would hurt his chances, especially with Thomas-Jones needing to show special teams value to make the 53-man roster.
Mike Tomlin described the injury to Jones as a soft-tissue one. WR Montana Lemonious-Craig also didn’t finish practice due to a soft-tissue injury, while Tomlin said Thomas-Jones’ injury might be more “significant,” per Brian Batko of the Pittsburgh-Post Gazette.
Tomlin said Lemonious-Craig and Jones can be classified as day-to-day with the soft tissue injuries in his press conference via the team’s website.
OLB DeMarvin Leal left practice and walked up the hill toward the team facility early with what appeared to be a heat-related issue, as Kozora reported Leal threw up.
OLB Jeremiah Moon didn’t practice after leaving yesterday on a cart. Mike Tomlin said Moon has a calf injury that was still being evaluated after practice yesterday.
S Quindell Johnson returned to practice after leaving early yesterday, but Kozora said Johnson was “very limited.” It’s unknown what he’s dealing with, but he’s competing for a backup safety job. The quicker he can get back to full participation the better his chances will be of making the 53-man roster.
OG Isaac Seumalo remains on the non-football injury list and out of practice. Kozora reported that Seumalo again did some light jogging as he prepares for his return.
RB Cordarrelle Patterson still has yet to practice, as he didn’t suit up at all on Sunday. After a veteran day off yesterday, OLB T.J. Watt, DL Cameron Heyward and CB Darius Slay all returned to practice.
The injury to Jones doesn’t sound serious based on how Tomlin described it, but it would be a blow for Thomas-Jones if his injury is indeed significant. Arthur Smith’s offense has had a fullback during his previous stops, and Thomas-Jones has a chance to win that role. Even with Jones suffering an injury that appeared to be minor, it’s still worth keeping tabs on as the Steelers don’t have a ton of depth at offensive tackle.
With the pads coming on Tuesday, we’ll see if Jones, Thomas-Jones and Lemonious-Craig are able to suit up, and it wouldn’t be a surprise if there are a few more bumps and bruises next week as the Steelers adjust to full contact.
