PITTSBURGH (93.7 The Fan) – At times he really showed some flashes in his rookie camp and now his season is over. Corner Corey Trice, Junior is out for his first season after a knee injury suffered in practice Tuesday.
Several draft boards had Trice higher but injuries in college seemed to allow the 6’3”, 210-pounder from Purdue to slide down to the Steelers in the seventh round. Tomlin called the injury unfortunate, but it’s football and life.
Other injuries
· S Damontae Kazee remains out due to an ankle injury
· S Keanu Neal is being evaluated with an undisclosed injury
· DL DeMarvin Leal had ‘a minor ankle or something’ that caused him to miss time
· WR Diontae Johnson ‘the normal bumps and bruises that occur this time of year’
Roster moves
Along with putting Trice on season-ending injured reserve, the team waived injured running back Alfonzo Graham. He severely injured his shoulder at practice a couple of days ago. That freed up a pair of spots on the 90-man roster to add the following players:
· Safety Trenton Thompson-was on the Giants practice squad for most of last season after being an undrafted free agent. He dressed for one game in 2022. In 57 games at San Diego State, he finished with 191 tackles (125 solo), 23 pass breakups, four interceptions and 12 tackles for loss. As a special teamer, he blocked a pair of field goals in college.
· Cornerback Isaiah Dunn-another undrafted free agent, signed by the Jets in 2021 and played in 12 games with eight tackles and two pass breakups. He would play five games with Seattle in 2022 before being lost to injury the last 11 games of the 2022 season. He played 33 games (26 starts) at Oregon State with 115 tackles and 18 passes defended.
Kwon impression
Noticeable during the team’s first day in pads on Tuesday and again on Wednesday, linebacker Kwon Alexander was right when he said after signing he came to hit. The nine-year veteran has fit right in to the mindset the Steelers are trying to set.
“Man, I tell you, he’s a veteran,” Tomlin said. “He might be new to us, but he’s not new to environments like this or professional football. It’s showing. It’s showing in a hurry.”
Alexander has 590 career tackles, 413 solo.
O line
Tomlin typically downplays the performance of a rookie. When asked about how first-round pick Broderick Jones has done, Tomlin said ‘so far so good’.
As for the play of the offensive line?
“Competition makes us better, familiarity makes us better,” Tomlin said. “Not only familiar in what we are doing, but with each other. We got some continuity to build upon. We got stiffer competition which brings the best out in all of us.”
RB battle
It doesn’t get the attention of the left tackle competition or how the secondary will play out. One position open with Benny Snell not re-signed is the third tailback. That position comes with playing a lot of special teams, which he will have to show in preseason games. So far, he’s done well when given offensive chances.
“Looks like a guy that has been in this environment and he has,” Tomlin said. “The consistency. Often times we talk about splash and splash gets a lot of attention. One of the points we are trying to drive home is professionals make routine plays routinely. That’s what’s been getting our attention with him-the option route, the ball in the flat, the flare. He is doing routine things very well and that’s important.”
McFarland’s rookie season impacted by COVID, second year by injury and spent his third season on the practice squad.
He’s in the final year of his contract and this battle might not just be for this season, but an NFL career.