More than once during this Season of Covid, Mike Tomlin has said that the Steelers will have to be light on their feet.
That was especially true when their Week 4 game at Tennessee was canceled then rescheduled for what should have been a week off.
It’s even more-so this week with a handful of players on the Reserve/COVID-19 List, including the franchise quarterback, who were deemed to be in close contact with Vance McDonald who will miss Sunday’s game after testing positive.
And it’s not just Ben Roethlisberger who will be quarantined away from the facility until at least Saturday. Leading tackler Vince Williams and a pair of backups – Jaylan Samuels and Gerald Hawkins – will also self-isolate.
“Those guys will be working remotely throughout the week and tested daily,” according to Tomlin, who says they will continue to follow NFL protocol. “As long as they continue to test negative we are optimistic that all 4 will be made available to us Saturday (which would be the final walk-through before the Bengals game).”
In the meantime, who gets the QB reps?
“We’re gonna work both young quarterbacks,” says Tomlin, meaning Mason Rudolph and Josh Dobbs, “Mason’s going to get the bulk of the work (because) that’s the position he’s in, but we’ll play it by ear; I’m not opposed to playing anybody who gives us a chance to win.”
Tomlin’s veterans on offense don’t practice much – if at all - on Wednesdays but with Rudolph (and possibly Dobbs) getting the first team reps this week, it would seem prudent for JuJu Smith-Schuster and Diontae Johnson to put in a Wednesday appearance.
On defense, this opens up snaps for the newest Steeler, Avery Williamson, so Williams’ absence at least during the week isn’t the worst thing in the world, either.
“Yeah, he’s going to get a lot pf physical reps on the field with his teammates,” says Tomlin, “we’re looking forward to it.”
We’ll find out over the next few days is he’s looking forward to the results of further Covid tests.