According to Scout reporter Jim Wexell, backup quarterback Bruce Gradkowski says he’ll be practicing today. At the time of this writing, there has been no official word from the team about his PUP status.
https://twitter.com/jimwexell/status/632967404776259584
Gradkowski began camp on the PUP list with a shoulder injury. He has been seen throwing more and more as of late though, so his return doesn’t seem surprising. We’ll find out for sure very soon.
Here is the offensive and defensive player participation data from last night preseason match versus the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Offense
| Pos. | # | Name | Snaps |
| WR | 10 | Martavis Bryant | 20 |
| TE | 83 | Heath Miller | 7 |
| LT | 68 | Kelvin Beachum | 17 |
| LG | 73 | Ramon Foster | 17 |
| C | 53 | Maurkice Pouncey | 7 |
| RG | 66 | David DeCastro | 17 |
| RT | 77 | Marcus Gilbert | 17 |
| WR | 11 | Markus Wheaton | 7 |
| WR | 84 | Antonio Brown | 7 |
| QB | 7 | Ben Roethlisberger | 7 |
| HB | 26 | Le’Veon Bell | 6 |
| WR | 14 | Sammie Coates | 44 |
| WR | 18 | C.J. Goodwin | 14 |
| WR | 88 | Darrius Heyward-Bey | 19 |
| TE | 80 | Ray Hamilton | 17 |
| LT | 78 | Alejandro Villanueva | 63 |
| LG | 74 | Christopher Hubbard | 24 |
| LG | 65 | Miles Dieffenbach | 39 |
| C | 61 | Reese Dismukes | 52 |
| C | 72 | Cody Wallace | 21 |
| RG | 67 | B.J. Finney | 63 |
| RT | 64 | Mitchell Van Dyk | 24 |
| RT | 69 | Kelvin Palmer | 39 |
| TE | 89 | Matt Spaeth | 14 |
| WR | 19 | Shakim Phillips | 43 |
| TE/WR | 81 | Jesse James | 40 |
| QB | 3 | Landry Jones | 73 |
| QB | 16 | Tyler Murphy | 54 |
| FB | 45 | Roosevelt Nix | 8 |
| FB | 46 | Will C. Johnson | 24 |
| HB | 13 | Dri Archer | 29 |
| HB | 49 | Jawon Chisholm | 30 |
| HB | 34 | DeAngelo Williams | 10 |
| HB | 25 | Josh Harris | 7 |
Defense
| Pos. | # | Name | Snaps |
| LE | 91 | Stephon Tuitt | 27 |
| NT | 90 | Steve McLendon | 12 |
| RE | 97 | Cameron Heyward | 14 |
| OLB | 55 | Arthur Moats | 19 |
| ILB | 50 | Ryan Shazier | 41 |
| OLB | 95 | Jarvis Jones | 19 |
| CB | 28 | Cortez Allen | 17 |
| FS | 29 | Shamarko Thomas | 36 |
| FS | 20 | Will Allen | 17 |
| CB | 22 | William Gay | 17 |
| LE | 79 | Ethan Hemer | 28 |
| LE | 65 | Joe Kruger | 17 |
| LE | 61 | Joe Okafor | 3 |
| NT | 64 | Mike Thornton | 16 |
| NT | 93 | Cam Thomas | 31 |
| RE | 69 | Matt Conrath | 21 |
| RE | 67 | Dominique Davis | 3 |
| RE | 78 | Leterrius Walton | 24 |
| OLB | 40 | Anthony Chickillo | 21 |
| OLB | 48 | Bud Dupree | 33 |
| ILB | 51 | Sean Spence | 45 |
| ILB | 56 | Jordan Zumwalt | 28 |
| ILB | 57 | Terence Garvin | 31 |
| OLB | 92 | James Harrison | 11 |
| OLB | 44 | Howard Jones | 16 |
| OLB | 49 | Shayon Green | 25 |
| CB | 30 | Kevin Fogg | 37 |
| CB | 41 | Antwon Blake | 17 |
| CB | 24 | Doran Grant | 28 |
| SS | 38 | Ian Wild | 25 |
| SS | 33 | Alden Darby | 14 |
| FS | 37 | Jordan Dangerfield | 36 |
| FS | 42 | Jordan Sullen | 15 |
| FS | 31 | Gerod Holliman | 16 |
| CB | 25 | Brandon Boykin | 13 |
| CB | 39 | B.W. Webb | 19 |
After last night’s 23-21 loss to the Jaguars, Coach Tomlin addressed the media. Here’s what he had to say.
“Not the outcome that we desired but there were some awesome situations for the group to be in. Some positive things, obviously, and some negative things. We played tonight and we will analyze tomorrow. I think the energy and effort of the guys…we just came up a little short.
“On the injury front, we got out pretty injury free. Josh Harris has a foot. Don’t know the extent of that but we take a look at it. Lawrence Timmons didn’t play in the game because he hurt his toe after we met the other day in practice. We held him out of the football game. We will watch that and hopefully it’s a day-to-day thing as opposed to a week type thing.
“Largely, I liked some of the things that were displayed on the field. Obviously, it would have been nice to finish the game out, but we didn’t. We take responsibility for that. We have a lot of things to learn from and got a good look at a lot of different guys in a lot of different circumstances.”
So, the good news is that there appear to be no serious injuries coming out of last night’s game. Hopefully Timmon’s toe is indeed just a minor ‘bump and bruise’ type of injury. Here’s what Tomlin had to say when asked about late game adjustments last night.
“The game situations presented that. It was great to be in a good, close game and be challenged in the way we were challenged. Special teams produced a turnover when we needed one. The offense was able to follow it up.
“Obviously, we were not able to stop those guys from going down the field. We helped them some, we were penalized some but as were they. That is a sign of this time of year. I’m sure neither one of us is happy with the penalties, but that is life.”
On whether he needs to see more from the first team offense.
“Absolutely. Shoot, they only played a drive or two of football. We have to play 60 minutes of winning football. We are going to go through this process and work to that. I like the start to that, but it was just a start.”
The team has today off. They’ll break down the tape from last night’s game and resume practice tomorrow to begin the last week of training camp.
The Steelers kickoff in Jacksonville at 7:30 tonight. Here some things to keep an eye on during tonight’s game.
No injuries. The end. Thanks for reading. Seriously though, let’s just get through tonight (and all of preseason) without losing another player to a serious injury.
Jarvis Jones
I’m not the guy to beat the drum that is that somewhat tired narrative, but I’m as anxious as anyone to see how JJ looks this year. It’s hard to predict how much playing time he’ll see tonight, but I’m looking forward to seeing how he looks.
Le’Veon Bell
Bell had an amazing season last year, and by his own accounts and shared photos, he’s in even better shape now. The star running back will likely only be in for a couple drives at best tonight, but I wouldn’t be surprised if broke a couple ankles. According to his Twitter profile, he plans on putting on a show. (I don’t know why he uses the hashtag “Juice” so much).
https://twitter.com/L_Bell26/status/632222720961351680
Dri Archer
Speaking of running backs, Dri Archer showed improvement during the Hall of Fame game last Sunday. While he certainly made some mistakes, I’m hoping to see him build on last week’s showing.
Cam Thomas
OK, hear me out. I was one of his biggest detractors last season, but honestly, he looked like a different player last week. I can think of some possible reason as to why that was the case, but I’ll reserve my opinion until I see more.
Garrett Hartley
We get to see what the new guy can do. He did well in practice on Wednesday. Obviously tonight will be a big test for him. Obviously.
Doran Grant
Grant didn’t see any defensive playing time last week. Tonight we should get a look at how the rookie responds to live game action. Knuckle up.
Jesse James
The young tight end had some pretty grotesque drops last week. Maybe it was jitters. Maybe the death of his friend did have an impact on his focus as some reports suggested. Either way, we’ll see if he can bounce back tonight, or if he continues raising questions about his hands.
Multiple news outlets are reporting that super-agent Drew Rosenhaus, who represents Antonio Brown, will be meeting with team officials Friday in Jacksonville. The agent just finished arranging a $65Mil extension with $39Mil in guarantees for TY Hilton in Indianapolis this morning. Rosenhaus hopes tomorrow’s meeting will result in a reworking of Antonio Brown’s contract.
https://twitter.com/AdamSchefter/status/631807273426415616
The Steelers are arriving in Florida tonight as they prepare to face the Jaguars for Friday night’s preseason matchup.
Antonio Brown is one of the best receivers in the NFL. In 2012, the Steelers signed him to a 6 year, $41.7 Mil contract extension. Since then, he’s grown into one of the most productive receivers in the league. Brown was the league leader last year with 29 receptions and totaled 1,698 yards- both of which were team records.
Compared to his counterparts in the league, AB is relatively low paid, especially for his production. He averages just under $8.4 Mil/year- the 12th highest among NFL receivers in terms of APY. The Steelers have restructured Brown’s contract twice already. His remaining cap hits are $9,787,500, $12,037,500, and $10,797,500 respectively.
Should the Steelers give Brown more money right now? The answer is going to vary depending on who you ask, but if you’re asking me, the answer is ‘nah’, and the Steelers aren’t going to. Why would they? There’s really no incentive for the team to do so. At this juncture, they are just being polite and are keeping the conversation lines open with Brown’s camp. ‘We know you want more money’, ‘We know you’re playing above your contract’s value’, ‘Be patient and keep up the good work’.
There’s no reason to think Brown won’t have another very productive season, and after the season is over, I wouldn’t be surprised if the Steelers are ready to entertain more serious negotiations which result in netting Brown more guaranteed money.
As expected, the Steelers have placed K Shaun Suisham on Injured Reserve, officially ending his season before it began. RB Cam Stingily, who also had knee surgery yesterday, has been waived/injured. He’ll go to IR, too, after clearing waivers.
With the two available roster spots, the Steelers signed RB Braylon Heard and WR David Nelson.
Heard, 5′, 9″, 198 lbs, was with the Kentucky Wildcats last year after transferring from Nebraska. A situational back at UK, Heard is quick footed, but is often taken down easily. The UDFA RB rushed for 366 yds with 4 TD’s and had 108 yds on 21 receptions.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1VI8KT6RV3Q
David Nelson is a veteran wide receiver who spent his first 3 years in Buffalo, and his last 2 in NY with the Jets. The Jets released him last year after they traded for Percy Harvin. Predominately used as a role player throughout his career, the 6’5, 215 lb receiver had his best season statistically in 2011, where he had 5 TD’s and 658 total receiving yards.
The Steelers head to Jacksonville to play the Jaguars Friday night. Coach Tomlin said in a brief press conference earlier today that the game will feature veteran players who are healthy enough to play. “Our intentions are that all healthy men will play in the football game,” said Tomlin.
This is a marked contrast from the Hall of Fame game, which had several vets watching from the sideline. As you’d expect for the real preseason opener, many of the veteran headliners won’t get a lot of playing time. Ben Roethlisberger will get somewhere around 10-12 snaps, and the other QB’s, Jones, Murphy, and Boyd, will share the remaining playing time.
Tomlin also ruled out some players for Friday’s match up. Aside from the players still on PUP, Vince Williams (hamstring), McCullers (hamstring), Ventrone (ankle), and Golden (knee) will all be sidelined due to their respective injuries.
The Pittsburgh Steelers have moved quickly in finding a replacement for kicker Shaun Suisham. The team announced Tuesday that they had selected kicker Garrett Hartley, 29, to join the team.
https://twitter.com/GHartley5/status/631273015410565120
Hartley was signed as an undrafted free agent in 2008 by the Denver Broncos. Later that year he served as the placekicker for the Saints. His NFL career started strong, as he set an NFL record (no longer standing) for the most consecutive successful field goals in the start of a career. He also was the first kicker in NFL history to convert three field goals over 40 yards in the Superbowl (XLIV). He would go on to sign a contact extension making him the highest paid kicker in the game.
2011 was a rough year for Hartley though, who missed the entire season after a he sustained a hip injury during preseason. After returning to the Saints in 2012 and 2013, he struggled with consistency issues, and was consequently replaced in 2013.
The Browns signed Hartley in 2014 as a replacement for Billy Cundiff who was off on a knee injury, but he never saw much gameplay. He was waived by the Browns in March 2015.
By the numbers-
In 2012, Hartley was 18 for 22 (81.8%). 22 for 30 (73.3%) in 2013. He was 3 for 3 last year in Cleveland during the two cold weather games he played in.
Here’s a video Hartley posted to vimeo a few days ago. It contains some of his warmups and some trick shots showing off his leg strength.
After practice yesterday, Coach Tomlin was asked about Hartley.
“He’s an established guy,” Tomlin said. “He’s a been-there-done-that guy,” continuing, “We’ll get to know him along the way.”
Will Hartley be a long term answer, or will the Steelers be shopping the waiver wire in a few weeks? Steeler fans will have to wait and see if Hartley displays his early career reliability over his later career inconsistencies.
The Steelers have waived/injured QB/WR Devin Gardner.
https://twitter.com/steelers/status/631184314185576453
Gardner was signed by the Steelers in May as an undrafted free agent. The team transitioned the former Michigan Quarterback to wide receiver this summer. Gardner was in for 22 plays against the Vikings Sunday night, though did not leave with an injury. No immediate word on the nature of his injury.
James Harrison is practicing in pads at St. Vincent for the first time this summer.
https://twitter.com/Teresa_Varley/status/631176966155145216
Harrison was often seen donning a sweat-soaked grey sweatshirt for the first 11 practices. Coach Tomlin told media members last week that the veteran linebacker would be wearing pads with his teammates this week, and here he is as expected.
https://twitter.com/krislancaster25/status/631177375338876928
https://twitter.com/Teresa_Varley/status/631180327025836032