Steelers left tackle Chukwuma Okorafor has been a less-than-full participant through two days of training camp, taking part in some individual drills, while sitting out most of the full-team periods.
Head coach Mike Tomlin said on Friday that the team does not have any significant injuries, but that Okorafor is one of several players that the team is ramping up more slowly this camp for precautionary reasons.
“Some guys, we’re just exercising some precaution,” Tomlin said. “He’s one of them. But nothing of any significance that would dictate any significant time missed.”
The Steelers have also been practicing without starting left guard Kevin Dotson, who Tomlin confirmed does have a minor, undisclosed injury. Right tackle Zach Banner has participating with limited reps in his first action since coming back from ACL surgery, giving a Steelers offensive line that is replacing or moving all five starters from the end of the 2020 season a mixed-up look in the early days of 2021 training camp.
But Tomlin said he’s also not concerned about any potential loss of cohesion with so many second-teamers in the mix, pointing out that none of the rest of then competition has even started practicing yet.
“We’ve got a lot of time, particularly relative to those that we compete against,” Tomlin said. “Most people have three preseason games. We have four. That’s not something that’s a big concern on our radar right now. We appreciate the additional time that we have, and we intend to utilize it.”
Linebackers Devin Bush and T.J. Watt are also among the players that are not yet participating fully.