Mike Tomlin gives injury update, explains veteran rest philosophy for Steelers training camp

Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin shared a number of roster updates with reporters on Saturday as training camp rolls along. Altogether, the Steelers are generally quite healthy.

On top of a positive bit of news around quarterback Russell Wilson, Tomlin shared that tight end Rodney Williams is dealing with what appears to be an injury to his AC joint in his shoulder. Outside of that, there aren’t any notable injuries, Tomlin said.

“Rodney Williams fell on his shoulder, looks like an AC joint,” Tomlin said. “Usually those characterize as a number of days but we’ll get that definitive here and maybe I’ll have a little bit more information in the next couple days or so. The rest are just kind of bumps and bruises associated with play, maybe some fatigue as we get acclimated and get in football condition. Nothing that’s going to slow the train down.”

Tomlin was asked about one player, offensive lineman Isaac Seumalo, who sat out of practice. Tomlin explained that was a veteran rest day.

“That’s just maintenance,” Tomlin said. “We start rotating our veteran off days in an effort to preserve but also to get exposure to young people. It’s twofold. You’ll Cam [Heyward] and TJ [Watt] and others who have been at it a while and are familiar with this environment get some days off and it’s about preserving them, giving them what they need to be ready and quite frankly, sometimes experienced guys need less than others. But also provide an opportunity for the young guys to get additional reps and elevated reps against more experienced competition in some instances.”

Tomlin shared an update on Wilson

Wilson missed his third straight day of team practice, although the new Steelers quarterback is going through some individual drills in training camp.

Steelers coach Mike Tomlin said he’s holding back Wilson as more of a precaution than a necessity.

“We’re starting to work Russ back,” Tomlin told reporters after Saturday’s practice. “He’s doing some individual work, we’ll continue to do (that). Again, we’re proceeding in extreme caution, man, because we’re afforded that, this time of year, particularly because I’m just getting to know him.

“So when you don’t have a background or relationship with someone, man, when you’re in my position it’s just prudent when given the opportunity to be a little bit cautious to make sure a small problem doesn’t become a big one.”