The Steelers continued their preparation for Sunday night’s game against the Miami Dolphins and quarterback Kenny Pickett remains a full participant.
Pickett is on concussion protocol after Sunday’s win against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers but will be able to train this week.
“We assume how things are told to us,” said offensive coordinator Matt Canada. “We will function accordingly. Everything was clear and everything is running, so that’s how we work. We are only taking the normal steps you would take in this situation.”
Receiver Diontae Johnson likes what he saw of Pickett.
“He looked good,” Johnson said. “He didn’t seem like there was anything wrong with him. He seemed locked in, ready for this week. Just a normal Kenny out there who brought the same energy that he brings every day. He looked good. It didn’t seem like nothing threw him away like he was fine throwing the ball.
Tight end Pat Freiermuth was also fully involved on the second day. Freiermuth missed the Bucs game in concussion minutes and his presence will make a difference this week.
“Pat is a gun,” Canada said. “We play a really good defense every week. We’ve played two really good defenses in the last two weeks. We have another one this week. Everyone has a different scheme of how they cover people. They have different strengths. Having Pat back adds another really viable weapon to be aware of. How they go about marking it will determine where the ball should go and who it should go to. The more guns we have out there, the better. We have good weapons. But we have back tapping is awesome.”
Receiver Steven Sims (hamstring) was the only player not to train because of an injury. Defensive tackle Cameron Heyward sat down, but it just gave him calm. Cornerback James Pierre was included on the injury report due to a hip injury.
And the good news: everyone else who was on the injury report was a full participant, including defensive endman Larry Ogunjobi (knee), who didn’t train on Wednesday.
In related news, safety Damontae Kazee returned to practice Thursday for the first time this season.
Kazee was on the reserve/injured list after injuring himself against the Detroit Lions in the preseason. He is now scheduled to return and the Steelers have a 21-day window to place him on the 53-man list or he remains on the reserves/injured list for the remainder of the season.