STEELERS 101

The Pittsburgh Steelers continued with training camp on Wednesday still without Pro Bowl wide receiver Mike Wallace in camp. Although, quarterback Ben Roethlisberger joined the parade of players who believe that Wallace will return to the fold sooner than later. For fans, the attitude seems to be, “we will believe it, when we see it."

On top of that, Roethlisberger opened some eyes when he admitted to having a partially torn rotator cuff, an injury he does not believe will affect him moving forward. According to Big Ben, he actually inured it in the second game against the Baltimore Ravens at Heinz Field and played the remainder of 2011 with the injury.

Now it should not be surprising that he played through an injury, as Roethlisberger is one of the toughest quarterbacks in the league. However, this revelation makes it even more interesting that head coach Mike Tomlin let him return so quickly after his severe ankle sprain. Performing at a high level with one injury in the NFL is hard; playing with two is incredible.  

On the injury front, safety Damon Cromartie-Smith, was activated from the physically unable to perform list (PUP) and returned to practice for the first time. While he returned, it was reported that linebackers James Harrison and Jason Worilds are still a couple weeks from returning to the field. In their absence, linebackers Chris Carter and Stevenson Sylvester took first team reps with LaMarr Woodley given the day off.

As one defensive back returned to the field, another, cornerback Terry Carter did not return to work after injuring his hamstring on Tuesday and he was joined on the sideline by another player fighting for a roster spot, running back John Clay (groin) and for a brief second center Maurkice Pouncey (ankle) who returned to action.

Offensively, fullback Will Johnson continued to open some eyes. The former 205-pound wide receiver at West Virginia University looks to have made a complete transition to the new position and embraced the physicality. This will continue to be one of the better battles in training camp. On special teams, Chris Rainey demonstrated his quickness off the edge and kick-blocking specialty by blocking a field goal attempt by rookie free agent kicker Danny Hrapmann. In college he was special teams dynamo, setting University of Florida and SEC records with six blocked punts over his career on top of his return skills.

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Tags: Ben Roethlisberger, Chris Rainey, Damon Cromartie-Smith, Football, John Clay, LaMarr Woodley, Mike Wallace, NFL, Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh Steelers, PUP, rotator cuff, Stevenson Sylvester, terry carter, Will Johnson

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