WR Martavis Bryant sustained a shoulder injury in the first quarter. After being looked at by trainers, Bryant was taken to the locker room and will not return to the game. We’ll give an update about his injury when more is known.
Jordan Zumwalt sat out for the conclusion of practice today with his upper leg wrapped. According to Mike Tomlin, he was experiencing some tightness in his groin which will be evaluated. With the heavy rains in the area today, the field conditions were more conducive to potential groin pulls.
Martavis Bryant, who was sidelined yesterday with a groin injury, returned to full participation today. Le’Veon Bell sat out today due to tightness in his hamstring. With backs on backers out of the way, it wouldn’t surprise me if he were to return soon. CJ Goodwin also missed practice today due to a shoulder injury he sustained yesterday.
Coach Tomlin said the other men who are sidelined are working to get back soon. Alvester Alexander and Mike Mitchell had a good run with trainers this morning according to Tomlin.
Ramon Foster was expected to join the team today, but he did not attend practice today.
Rookie Wide Receiver Martavis Bryant has returned to practice today after missing yesterday due to a groin injury.
https://twitter.com/missi_matthews/status/493840961022484480
With today being the first day of hitting, it will be interesting to see how the tall rookie performs under pressure. We’ll have an update on practice participation later today, and a complete recap tonight.
None of the injury news today was as bad as David Snow’s foot fracture, but there are a few minor injuries to report.
WR Martavis Bryant did not participate in practice today due to a groin injury. RB Le’Veon Bell left practice early due to some tightness in his hamstring. Coach Tomlin said they are evaluating him. Lastly, WR CJ Goodwin sat out the end of practice due to a shoulder injury he received while landing on it during a catch.
Mike Tomlin said that he didn’t how much time, if any, the players would miss, and described them as ‘the necessary things that go on during this time of year’.
The Steelers wrapped up day 1 of mandatory mini-camp today. The men who missed all or most of voluntary OTA’s were in attendance today as expected. S Troy Polamalu, CB Ike Taylor, and LB Jordan Zumwalt were all present and accounted for. There was one rookie however who wasn’t present- Martavis Bryant.
Martavis Bryant, the Steelers 4th round selection, was reportedly home sick today after coming down with a virus yesterday. Markus Wheaton missed some of the final OTA practices, but participated fully today. Dri Archer, however, was sidelined about halfway through today’s practice with a bag of ice on his knee.
Hopefully Bryant’s illness doesn’t sideline him for the entire mini-camp. Rookies need every minute they can get, and as Coach Haley said earlier today, “he’s got a long way to go”.
“[Bryant’s] another rookie, so we’re not anointing him. He’s got a long way to go, because at the receiver position, there are a lot of subtle things that go on, but he’s big and fast and what sets him apart and should give him a chance to succeed is that he gets to top speed fast for a guy that big,” Haley said in an interview earlier today.
Mini-camp continues tomorrow and concludes on Thursday. The team then breaks until training camp begins July 25th.
According to Yahoo Sports reporter Rand Getlin, Steelers rookie receiver Martavis Bryant is expected to sign his contract today.
https://twitter.com/Rand_Getlin/status/476060155029626880
While these kinds of reports often don’t prove to be accurate, and should only be taken with a grain of salt, it’s not surprising. I’d expect any of the team’s remaining draft picks to sign at any time now. As I projected a few week’s back, Bryant’s four year contract should have a total value of roughly $2,723,198, and carry a 2014 cap number of $529,805. That will barely impact the salary cap due to displacement of the top 51.
Bryant, who was signed with the team’s fourth round pick, is accompanied by Stephon Tuitt and Dri Archer as the remaining unsigned draft picks. You can see their projected contract values here: http://thesteelersfans.com/2599/breaking-rookie-salaries-cap-implications/
Steelers rookie wide receiver Martavis Bryant was held out of practice this morning according to Coach Tomlin. The break from practice was described as a precaution, and Tomlin indicated that he could participate when practice resumes this afternoon.
The exact nature of the injury wasn’t disclosed by the team. Coach Tomlin said that Bryant fell while making a sideline catch during practice yesterday. Obviously it doesn’t sound too serious, but we’ll have to wait and see if he resumes activities today. While he wasn’t involved physically this morning, he did participate by taking “mental reps”.
Bryant is considered a very durable wide receiver. The only game time he missed in college due to injury that I’m aware of, was in 2012 when he missed 2 weeks due to a groin injury he suffered in the weight room. Stay tuned for updates.
Now that the draft is behind us, it’s time to take a look at the rookie salaries and there implications on the 2014 salary cap. Many teams are wasting no time getting their rookies under contract, but don’t expect the Steelers to follow suit. There is no rush to do so, and the team will have plenty of cap space to work with once LaMarr Woodley’s $8,000,000 salary comes off the books on June 1st.
The team has a little over $300K in salary cap space at the time of this writing. While they probably won’t sign any of their rookies in the immediate future, they could easily sign most of them without having much impact on the 2014 cap. Here’s a breakdown estimating their contracts, and the impact on the 2014 Steelers salary cap. Remember, these are estimates, but there isn’t too much room for change.
[table]
Player, Total Value, Signing Bonus, 2014 Cap Hit
Ryan Shazier, “$9,507,198”, “$5,234,328”, “$1,728,582”
Stephon Tuitt, “$4,607,953”, “$1,733,000”, “$853,250”
Dri Archer, “$2,906,784”, “$506,376”, “$571,594”
Martavis Bryant, “$2,723,198”, “$439,220”, “$529,805”
Shaquille Richardson, “$2,410,052”, “$190,052”, “$467,513”
Wesley Johnson, “$2,364,560”, “$144,560”, “$456,140”
Jordan Zumwalt, “$2,324,852”, “$104,852”, “$446,213”
Daniel McCullers, “$2,298,680”, “$78,680”, “$439,670”
Rob Blanchflower, “$2,279,400”, “$59,400”, “$434,850”
[/table]
As it stands right now, the team could sign all of their picks except for Shazier and Tuitt, without having too much impact on the 2014 cap space they have currently remaining. During the offseason, only the team’s top 51 cap charges count towards the salary cap. This is also known as the rule of 51. Right now, the team’s 51st highest cap hit is Derek Moye at $495,000. As you can see from the numbers above, 5 of the rookie signings wouldn’t count towards the top 51.
Expect the NFL to soon announce that the Steelers 2014 rookie pool allocation is just under $5.9 Mil, but due to displacement of the top 51, they won’t need nearly that much cap room to cover the signings. After all is said and done, the rookie pool will only have an impact of $2.2 Mil in 2014 cap space.
With the 118th pick of the 2014 NFL Draft, the Pittsburgh Steelers select former Clemson WR Martavis Bryant. Bryant is just shy of 6’4″ and weighs in at 211 lbs. Bryant played opposite Sammy Watkins in the Tigers offense. In 2013, he totaled 828 yards and 7 touchdowns. He has great top end speed for his size, which allows him to separate himself from defenders. Last year, he had 17 receptions for 20 yards or more.
Bryant wasn’t asked to run a full route tree at Clemson, so he has some developing to do in that regard. While he has drawn criticism for having a high amount of drops, I can tell you it’s overblown. While I did see some tough drops and double catches in the games I watched, he has decent hands and will make the “wow” catches look easy. He’ll need to develop, but he could develop into a legitimate number two receiver.
Wide receivers coach Richard Mann said that Bryant will be a great red zone threat. He also said that he believes Bryant would have been a first round pick had he stayed in school another year. The Steelers reportedly had their eye on him yesterday. The team issued a bio sheet to the media today, and it had him listed as their third round pick.