Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin and his team returned to the practice field on Monday fresh off their bye week and in first place in the AFC North at 6-2.
The bye was a much-needed one for the Steelers, who have dealt with a number of injuries in the first half of their season. Thirteen players are currently on the Reserve/Injured List, while a number of other players, such as outside linebackers Alex Highsmith and Nick Herbig, offensive linemen Isaac Seumalo and Zach Frazier and running backs Jaylen Warren and Cordarrelle Patterson all have missed significant amounts of time without going on injured reserve.
But with the bye week now over, the Steelers find themselves preparing for the start of the second half of their season and a meeting with the 7-2 Washington Commanders with many of their injured players very close to a return.
"It was also a good week for those who are leaking a little bit or lack 100-percent health to regain some of that and get on a moving train," Tomlin said. "We got a lot of guys who've been out who have a chance this week, and we'll be watching their participation on a variety of levels to determine whether or not they'll be included or not."
Those players would include cornerback Cory Trice and linebacker Tyler Matakevich, both of whom have been on the Reserve/Injured List, and Frazier, Herbig and Patterson, who have missed multiple games without being on injured reserve.
"We'll see where their participation leads us and what roles we might carve out for them," Tomlin said.
Tomlin also said the Steelers need to figure out how to incorporate defensive back Cameron Sutton into the defense.
Sutton, suspended by the NFL for the first eight games of this season for violation of the league's personal conduct policy, was signed by the Steelers in the offseason following his release by the Detroit Lions.
The eight-year veteran spent the first six seasons of his career with the Steelers before signing with Detroit in free agency in 2023. He has experience at nickel and outside cornerback as well as safety in the Pittsburgh defense.
"It's been a big week spent pondering those possibilities, how to better divide up labor as we get capable people back to us," Tomlin said. "But I don't view that as a problem. That's a first-world problem. If that's a problem having guys that are capable and guys that have ascended and performed well in their absence and the complications of infusing them back into the fold again is a problem that I welcome, if you want to describe it as that."
In the meantime, with so many injuries and players in and out of the lineup, Tomlin and his coaching staff have found out a lot about the roster that could come into play down the stretch.
And his team has shown the ability to persevere through some injury issues that might have otherwise derailed things.
This team has stayed focused on the task at hand.
That has been its identity.
"Oftentimes your day-to-day decisions in the short term are affected by current circumstance, and so the larger body of time that you look at, the more true that statement is," Tomlin said. "And oftentimes eight games can be or cannot be enough of a sample size to legitimately address where you are after a game. I've learned not to over analyze it. To be quite honest with you, there's an axiom and coaching that you are what your record is, and so I don't waste a lot of time pondering, to be quite honest with you, I'm just trying to focus on number seven (wins)."
Defending Daniels: Washington rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels is a clear-cut favorite to win the NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year award. He's completing 71.5 percent of his passes with nine touchdowns and two interceptions, while also rushing for 459 yards and four more scores.
Tomlin has been impressed with what he's seen on tape.
"It doesn't matter what tape you put on third down, red zone operation, his mobility is a major factor, whether it's by design or by ad lib play extension escape," Tomlin said. "It is something to be reckoned with. It's one of the core components of why they are a dangerous group."
The Steelers face Baltimore's Lamar Jackson every season and will do so again for the first of two meetings with the Ravens next week.
The Steelers are 25-6 against rookie quarterbacks and are 3-1 against Jackson in games he's started under Tomlin. They've also allowed just 56 rushing yards to quarterbacks this season, second-fewest to Minnesota.
But Tomlin doesn't necessarily put much stock in that.
"I think we've done some nice things, but I think that particularly when you face quarterback mobility and the ability to extend plays, that really gets challenged," Tomlin said. "And so stay tuned, particularly over the next couple of weeks, you'll get a good example of where we are in terms of some of that."
