Steelers looking for healthy bodies to play safety when they open preseason at Tampa Bay
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Based on the players who practiced — and the ones who didn’t suit up — Wednesday, the Pittsburgh Steelers will be depleted at safety when they open the preseason in two nights at Tampa Bay.
Keanu Neal and Damontae Kazee, who are listed as co-starters on coach Mike Tomlin’s initial depth chart, are nursing injuries and will miss the preseason opener Friday. Tre Norwood, who moves around to various spots of the secondary in subpackages, also won’t play because of a leg injury.
Tomlin said Wednesday that all healthy players “are scheduled” to play against the Buccaneers, which, by extension, would rule out anyone who has not practiced recently.
Because of the attrition, Tomlin might have no choice but to start All-Pro Minkah Fitzpatrick at free safety. Fitzpatrick only returned to Saint Vincent College on Saturday after missing more than a week because of an excused absence. Tomlin said, if healthy, Fitzpatrick will play against Tampa Bay, but he doesn’t know for how long.
“I wish we had all of our pieces out there,” Fitzpatrick said Wednesday, “but it is what it is.”
Fitzpatrick’s playing partner is another question. In recent sessions, he has lined up with third-year pro Kenny Robinson manning the other safety spot. The Wilkinsburg native and former West Virginia player has worked with the starting defense because of the injuries to Neal, Kazee and Norwood.
Robinson began training camp as the third-team free safety behind Fitzpatrick and Norwood.
“He’s a guy who has positioned himself to take the reps,” Tomlin said. “I talk to these guys about reporting into an environment like this highly conditioned because it positions you to take advantage of opportunity when it presents itself. It’s obvious that he’s in good shape because the lines have gotten short at that position.
“He’s been able to absorb additional snaps, and because he is in great shape, he’s made good use of those snaps.”
Candidates to fill in at strong safety against Tampa Bay are Miles Killebrew, who served as a special teams captain last season, and newly signed Trenton Thompson and Jalen Elliott. Elijah Riley is listed as a safety but has taken snaps this camp as a nickel cornerback to increase his versatility.
“Some of the guys we’re just getting to know, to be quite honest with you,” Tomlin said. “Trenton just got here a short number of days ago. Some of that is on-the-job training or getting to know (them) while competing. Thankfully, some of those guys have been in NFL environments before, so it makes you a little bit more comfortable, allowing them to play, although you might not have a very good knowledge of the capabilities of what they might be able to do.”