The Pittsburgh Steelers are continuing their preparations at the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex as they approach their first regular season game against the New York Jets, which is more than a week away. Head Coach Mike Tomlin said the team is not yet focused on game-planning but is working on football conditioning, communication, and situational awareness.
“Another good day’s work, really the same agenda that we’ve had the last several days,” said Tomlin. “Just working on our football conditioning, communication, both verbal and non-verbal, skills relative to our positions and just trying to become more situationally aware.
“In certain circumstances, the rules of the game change, how you play, lines to gain and so forth. And so, we’ll always be chasing that in terms of working to capitalize on those moments and capitalizing on those moments is first understanding them and your roles in them. And so just from that perspective, I thought it was another good day.
“We’ve got guys continuing to work back to us that have been on some of those day-to-day lists and that’s a positive thing because the sand is running through the hourglass.”
Among those returning from injury are linebackers Alex Highsmith and Nick Herbig. Highsmith participated in practice Monday after missing time during preseason due to injury. He expressed confidence about being ready for Week 1 against the Jets.
“I like his level of competition and participation,” Tomlin said regarding Highsmith. “I think he was almost a full participant today, and so it’s moving n the right direction.”
Tomlin stated that Herbig’s status for Week 1 remains uncertain: “I don’t know yet,” he said. “We’ll know as we get closer to it.”
Rookie quarterback Will Howard did not play during preseason after sustaining a hand injury at training camp. Tomlin gave an update on his recovery process: “He’s had some positive reviews, meeting with the hand specialist,” said Tomlin. “We’ve increased his level of activity. We’ve altered the brace that you mentioned. And so, he’s moving in the right direction in terms of full participation very soon.”
The team faces a deadline Tuesday at 4 p.m. to reduce its roster size to 53 players as required by league rules. The coach reiterated his satisfaction with this year’s group.
“As I mentioned when we checked into Latrobe, I thought we had a really good 90,” said Tomlin. “And I think that’s the key component of having tough decisions. We felt really good about the 90. The 90 confirmed that with the quality of their play and competition day in and day out. So certainly, we’ve got some challenging decisions to make.”
