PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – There is no question Najee Harris will be the Steelers starting tailback in 2021. Mike Tomlin also left no doubt that his first round pick will play Thursday in the Hall of Fame Game.
“Really there is nothing to juggle,” Tomlin said. “He needs the process of game preparation and then ultimately play. We have four opportunities for him to do that. We are going to make sure he participates in all four of those processes.”
Tomlin was vague on how many snaps or how long Harris or really any of the players will go against the Cowboys Thursday.
“We haven’t too much into a division of labor,” Tomlin said Tuesday. “We haven’t spent a great deal of time discussing the division of labor and how much those that we designate to play are going to play. Really won’t address that until they finish practice today (Tuesday).”
Even if Harris only plays a few snaps, Tomlin says there is value in pushing him to be ready.
“We will determine how much he plays, but the preparation process is something those young guys need regardless of their potential roles for us once the regular season starts,” Tomlin said. “I want to get them into as many stadiums and watch them prepare and watch them establish routines that make them comfortable that maximize their ability in a game-like setting.”
Tomlin said the game plan will be basic, saying he wants to be more fundamentally based. That will allow the players to play more freely.
Mason Rudolph will start at quarterback with Dwayne Haskins behind him and then expect Josh Dobbs for the entire second half. Tomlin described Haskins as ‘growing by leaps and bounds’.
Ben Roethlisberger won’t play, neither will Cam Heyward and Joe Haden. He said we could probably guess as to other veteran players who won’t go.
“It’s a great opportunity for us to get a litmus of where we are,” Tomlin said. “We’ve been competing Steelers vs. Steelers for several weeks now it’s going to be great to see some new people. We are excited about watching them in in-game circumstances, watch people be able to think and adjust and think.”
Ultimately, the goal for Tomlin is to walk out of the stadium knowing more about his team than he did going in. And doing so without injuries.