Steelers Injury Updates: Okorafor, Freiermuth, Ebron Return to Practice

PITTSBURGH – The Pittsburgh Steelers brought back a trio of key contributor on the offensive side Saturday, as left tackle Chukwuma Okorafor and tight ends Eric Ebron (elbow soreness) and Pat Freiermuth (shoulder) all returned to the practice field.

Okorafor had been dealing with a soft tissue injury, and made his first appearance of training camp with the starters in team drills on Saturday.

Ebron had missed five-straight practices and last Thursday’s Hall of Fame game with the elbow ailment, while Freiermuth seems to have recovered from the shoulder injury suffered last Tuesday. He also did not participate in the first preseason game.

Running back Kalen Ballage was a new absence following his strong showing in the Hall of Fame game. His counterpart Benny Snell remained inactive Saturday, as he spent the majority of the session riding the stationary bike and working individual drills with the athletic training staff.

Slot corner Antoine Brooks Jr. did not participate in Saturday’s practice either. Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin said that Brooks is dealing with a minor injury, and that the hope is he can play against the Philadelphia Eagles on Thursday.

Second-year guard Kevin Dotson was not a part of the team and scrimmage portions of practice, but did participate in individual drills.

The Steelers are still taking things slow with outside linebacker T.J. Watt and defensive end Stephon Tuitt.