Kevin Colbert told members of media at Steelers training camp today that Alameda Ta’amu has been activated off the PUP list and is returning to practice. This is great news for Ta’amu, who has missed all of training camp activities up to this point due to a hamstring injury. Ta’amu’s return should add an interesting twist to the competition for the backup Nose Tackle position.
The Steelers wrapped up the tenth day of camp today with a few more guys on the sideline than yesterday. Steve McLendon, Jason Worilds, Jarvis Jones, and Le’Veon Bell were back today, but on a limited basis. Curtis Brown was added to the list of DB’s who were not participating, along with already sidelined Cortez Allen, Terry Hawthorne and DeMarcus VanDyke.
The rest of the list of non-participants:
Troy Polamalu, Ross Ventrone, Curtis McNeil, Adrian Robinson, Matt Spaeth, Nick Williams, Larod Stephens-Howling, Larry Foote, and Lawrence Timmons were out today, as well. Timmons was out due to a death in the family. Coach Tomlin only commented on Troy’s absence saying, “He’s got a contusion to the birth certificate. He’ll be OK”.
The team started with a ‘get right morning’ AKA- the morning off. During afternoon practice, the team worked on various one on one drills, followed by 11 on 11’s. Today featured another day of live tackling, of which both Ben Roethlisberger and Baron Batch expressed the same sentiments during different interviews- ‘it will make the guys better in the long run’.
There were no changes to the first team offensive lines today. Mike Adams was at LT and Marcus Gilbert at RT for the third consecutive day. 2nd team looked like- Whimper, Cheadle, Malecki, Batiste, Beachum.
Ryan Clark had a scare today when he got his fingers caught in David Gilreath’s facemask. Fortunately, they were able to untangle before any significant harm was done.
While some people have raised alarms about Big Ben showing signs of a limp and getting it wrapped, he was said to be moving nimbly and scrambling about just fine during drills today.
The team reconvenes again tomorrow before having Tuesday off.
Le’Veon Bell told media this morning that he will return to practice today. Bell, who missed practice yesterday, told reporters that his absence from Saturday’s practice was just “precautionary”. Bell was one of several players who missed part or all of yesterday’s practice.
Here is a breakdown of the injuries and players who didn’t participate during today’s practice. Coach Tomlin didn’t provide any details or list the players who missed practice today, but these are the players who were listed through various reports.
Le’Veon Bell, Matt Spaeth, Brett Keisel, Jarvis Jones, Adrian Robinson, and Jason Worilds all did not practice today.
Le’Veon Bell had a wrap on his left knee. He reportedly bruised it while running into another player at practice on Friday.
Matt Spaeth told reporters that he had his right knee drained on Friday, and said it was ‘no big deal’.
Brett Keisel said he was out on a vet vacation day. Jarvis Jones was out and the reason was undisclosed.
Adrian Robinson had his right knee wrapped. Jason Worilds was out again nursing his toe injury.
Ed Bouchette also mentioned Lawrence Timmons and Steve McLendon among the players who did not practice today.
In addition to those mentioned, Ben and Redman did not participate in the goal line drills today. Ben reportedly had his knee wrapped towards the latter part of practice.
CB Terry Hawthorne still out with his injured knee, but he was said to be able to jog around.
The Steelers have signed veteran Tackle D’Anthony Batiste today and placed Offensive Lineman Nik Embernate on the Waived/Injured list. Embernate tore his ACL and MCL in practice on Thursday, so this move comes as no surprise. Embernate will go on the waiver wire, and if no team claims him (the odds of being claimed are little to none), then the Steelers will then be able to place him on IR, or work out an injury settlement. While on IR, he will not count towards the 90 man roster.
Batiste, who was scheduled for a workout, started 10 games for the Cardinals last season. He was rated last out of the available free agent Tackles by ProFootballFocus earlier this year.
The Jaguars were awarded Long Snapper Luke Ingram off waivers yesterday.
Link: Jaguars announce claiming Ingram off waivers.
Ingram, a UDFA out of Hawaii, was released by the Steelers Thursday to make room for the signing of Cornerback Buddy Jackson.
Former Steelers Tight End Leonard Pope signed with the Chicago Bears today.
https://twitter.com/ChicagoBears/status/363663873301168128
This spring, the Steelers signed former Bear (and Steeler) Matt Spaeth. Spaeth was ranked the best blocking Tight End by ProFootballFocus, and the second highest ranked free agent TE this year. Pope, who played under Todd Haley in Arizona/Kansas City and was familiar with his terminology last spring, made little impact here last season, and has historically had trouble blocking in the run game due to his massive height.
Viewing this as a roster swap of sorts, it’s hard not to cheer ‘Go Steelers!’ as the team clearly came out on top.
The team has announced that the “Bumble Bee” throwbacks will be worn during the Lions game this year. It is the only game that the Steelers will wear the throwbacks this season.
Photo H/T- mbell1975
The Steelers host the Lions on November 17th at 1:00 pm, and the game will be televised by Fox.
Nik Embernate, who was injured during yesterday’s practice, is reported to have torn his ACL and MCL. No surgery date has been given yet, but it’s safe to say that Embernate will not be playing this season. This is a very tough break for a kid who was getting second team reps at left Guard. Nicknamed “Embernasty” for his mean disposition, Nik was a fan favorite to make the squad.
Adam Caplan of ESPN reports that the Steelers will be hosting D’Anthony Batiste for a workout.
https://twitter.com/caplannfl/status/363441623671119872
Batiste is a free agent Tackle who started ten games with the Cardinals last season. Batiste is a 7 year veteran who has seen time on various teams, most recently the Cardinals, Broncos, and Redskins. He was ranked 43rd out of 43 available free agent Tackles by ProFootballFocus earlier this year.