Oct 12, 2016 4 min read

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I spoke with Sammie Coates today and he told me he had seven stitches to repair his injured left hand, not 17 as was reported by another outlet.

How does that happen?

Well, somebody from that outlet thought they heard someone say Coates needed 17 stitches. And they ran with it.

Of course, it has now become nearly a fact, as I’ve seen and heard that number regurgitated all over the place. But it’s simply not true.

Think about it. Seventeen stitches is an awful lot. The doctors basically could have reattached his finger with 17 stitches.

But in today’s rush to be first with something, that other news outlet didn’t think about what it was printing.

• Ben Roethlisberger reiterated today that he thinks the team’s practices are too physical and are leading to injuries.

When asked about it, he said he doesn’t get hit himself but is only standing up for his guys.

That’s all well and good, but the Steelers really only hit in practice for about the first week, week and a half, of training camp. After that, there’s no more tackling done other than in preseason games.

That’s still more than other teams do. National writers I’ve spoken with marvel when they come in and watch that first week of training camp practice because few, if any, teams have live tackling drills.

But I have my doubts that it leads to any more injuries. In fact, you could make the argument that the lack of live tackling around the league has not only made tackling a lost art but also led to more of the injuries to which Roethlisberger refers.

How is your body supposed to prepare for the rigours of an NFL game if you don’t get any live tackling in? And given how little most teams now play their starters in the preseason, that certainly isn’t going to get them prepared.

• The Steelers signed running back Karlos Williams to their practice squad.

Typically, I wouldn’t comment much, if at all, on a practice squad player since they are just around so that the team can, you know, practice.

But Williams is a different case.

First, he’s the brother of linebacker Vince Williams, who has had back-to-back monster games subbing for Ryan Shazier.

Second, he’s a talented runner, having gained 517 yards and scored seven touchdowns on just 93 carries last season as a rookie in Buffalo. He’s certainly way more talented than David Cobb, the guy he replaced on the practice squad.

But he also failed drug tests leading to his suspension for four games by the NFL.

In addition, he showed up for training camp this year for the Bills way out of shape.

Now, Vince Williams has been a standup player for the Steelers. And perhaps he vouched for his brother.

But you’d better believe this is a one-strike deal for Karlos Williams, talented or not.

• Shazier, I’m told, could possibly return this week but there’s a good chance the Steelers try to wait one more week so that they have him on the field when they play New England.

• As for some of the other players on the team’s long injury list, I look for Robert Golden, Coates and Eli Rogers to make a strong push to return. DeAngelo Williams also should be OK to go this weekend.

Marcus Gilbert will be iffy and the Steelers will see if he can get back out on the practice field this week.

• Ladarius Green will be eligible to return to practice next week and said he plans to do so, but I don’t expect him to be on the field for the Steelers before their bye week.

Green would be eligible to play in two weeks against the Patriots, but that’s unlikely to happen. Remember, his next practice with the Steelers will be his first one. So it’s highly unlikely that he’ll start practicing next week and be in the lineup six days later against New England.