Cornerback Ike Taylor continues to wear a cast on his broken left thumb, but that won't stop him from playing against the Baltimore Ravens on Sunday.
Taylor suffered the injury in the Steelers first preseason game against the Washington Redskins and had surgery on it. Taylor hasn't played since then, but* *he has not missed much practice time.
"Oh, no question," said Coach Mike Tomlin when asked after Sunday's practice if Taylor would play. "I think he's going to get his pin removed on Tuesday. And in Ike Taylor fashion, he hasn't missed much work in the midst of all of this anyway.
"He's going to have his pin removed on Tuesday and we will proceed with the week. We expect him to play."
Taylor came off of the practice field on Sunday and echoed his coach's viewpoint.
"I will play on Sunday, no question," said Taylor. "The only thing on my mind is football."
Currently Taylor is wearing a cast, but come Sunday he is likely to wear something smaller to make playing easier.
"I don't know what I am going to wear on it, and I don't care," said Taylor. "Whatever they put on me I will go out and play with it."
One thing he does know is it won't be the same lime green his current cast is.
"I think I will have to wear something black or white," said Taylor with a smile. "I can't wear the green. They will probably fine me with the green."
Tomlin confirmed that Doug Legursky will start at right guard on Sunday after winning a battle that went on all through training camp and the preseason. Legursky and Tony Hills both started in the preseason, but Hills was released on Saturday when the team got down to the 53-man roster.
"It feels good to work so hard for a starting job with this team and finally see it come to fruition," said Legursky. "It feels nice to get the job done. This is just the start of the journey. We have a long season ahead and hopefully we'll get a lot of wins."
Sunday was the first practice with the 53-man roster intact and Tomlin liked what he saw on the field.
"We were excited about getting out there today and taking a look at our football team," said Tomlin. "I like a bonus day like today. It was the first opportunity for us to look at the 53, collectively on the field, and even minus the practice squad guys.
"I think it's important as we push into week one, traveling to Baltimore, that our guys work together, sweat together and get a sense of who they are working with. From that standpoint, today was productive."
The roster did not take on any major overhaul, with Legursky the only real change to the starting line-up and Willie Colon returning to his tackle position after being out injured all last season.
"I feel comfortable as I sit here today, but we proceed with the knowledge that things can change, and they usually do," said Tomlin. "That's the nature of this journey that we are embarking on and I think those of us that have any experience understand that."
The only player held out of practice on Sunday was rookie linebacker Chris Carter with a hamstring injury.
