The Pittsburgh Steelers got ahead of the Doppler with a 10 AM practice on Thursday, but after an intense first session in pads on Wednesday, the team didn’t put them back on for Thursday’s practice. WR Ben Skowronek sustained the only injury of note. Per Alex Kozora, he landed awkwardly after making a catch and got checked out by trainers.
He did return to practice, so whatever the injury was ended up being minor.
Our Timothy Rice posted a picture of Skowronek after he returned to practice.
In better news for the Steelers, OG Isaac Seumalo made his return to practice on Thursday after getting activated off the non-football injury list. However, he didn’t work in team sessions and was limited to just individual drills.
OT Broderick Jones was limited in practice on Wednesday with a groin injury, and he remained limited on Thursday, again only working in individual drills.
DL Esezi Otomewo, who was carted off during practice Wednesday with a knee injury, did not practice on Thursday. FB/TE DJ Thomas-Jones also did not practice for the second day in a row after being carted off with an injury on Sunday. DL Jacob Slade didn’t practice, and him DL Dean Lowry are also dealing with knee injuries, Mike Tomlin said after practice, per Joe Rutter of TribLive. All three are still being evaluated.
DL Cameron Heyward and OLB T.J. Watt both received veteran rest days on Thursday, their second full rest day of camp so far. It makes sense the two got today off with Friday Night Lights practice coming tomorrow, and the Steelers will want their full suite of talent out there in front of a packed house at Latrobe Memorial Stadium.
While Skowronek’s injury may have appeared to be more serious at first glance with him leaving the practice field, he was able to return and he seems as if he’s just fine, which is great news for the Steelers. He’s a core special teamer and a solid blocking receiver who will look to make an impact in multiple facets of the game this season.
Tomorrow night will be one of the more intense practices of the season, but hopefully the Steelers can remain relatively injury-free.
