Dec 4, 2014 4 min read

PITTSBURGH – Until Daniel McCullers stepped in at nose tackle a few weeks ago against the Tennessee Titans, the Steelers had not had a rookie defensive lineman start a game since Casey Hampton in 2001.

Now, it appears the team will have another rookie joining that exclusive club.

With Brett Keisel going on injured reserve on Monday with a torn triceps and Steve McLendon still questionable with a shoulder injury, rookie Stephon Tuitt is expected to make his first career start when the Steelers (7-5) travel to Cincinnati (8-3-1) Sunday.

“I prepare like I’m going to start anyway,” said Tuitt, noting that he might need to improve his stamina. “This is the time I’m going to start. I’m going to have my confidence level up and just play the way I know I can play.”

Some, including his teammates, have wondered what took so long.

“I thought (Tuitt and McCullers) were ready in training camp,” said nose tackle Steve McClendon, who returned to practice Wednesday after missing the past two games with a shoulder injury.

“When you get a chance to make the play, make the play. You can’t worry about making a mistake. We understand that they’re young. The only thing they can do is work hard. If you’re physical with a team for 60 minutes and play fast, you let people know you belong here. That’s all they have to do.”

If McLendon can return and Tuitt does indeed get the start, he would do so at the expense of veteran Cam Thomas, a free agent signing in the offseason.

“I’ve been happy with his performance in spurts,” Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin said of Thomas.

The same could be said of Tuitt to this point.

A second-round pick out of Notre Dame, Tuitt was viewed as a polished defensive lineman who might be able to play significant snaps for the Steelers throughout this season.

But after the 36-year-old Keisel was re-signed in late August, the rookie slid down the team’s depth chart. Though he’s been part of the team’s defensive line rotation throughout the season, he played sparingly until seeing 24 snaps each in wins over Houston and Indianapolis in late October.

Since that time, his playing time had dwindled again to the point where he played just four snaps in a win at Tennessee.

That changed significantly after the injury to Keisel. Tuitt got a season-high 29 snaps against the Saints.

“I feel like he’s had some positive improvements on the practice field over the course of this football season and really not a lot of an opportunity to show it,’ said Tomlin. “One man’s misfortune is another man’s opportunity. The injury to Brett Keisel I think is going to provide a platform for him to display that improvement, and I look forward to him doing it.”

While the addition of Keisel at the end of the preseason might have meant less playing time for Tuitt, the rookie said he learned a lot from the 13-year NFL veteran.

“Technique, attention to detail and listening to coach (John Mitchell),” said Tuitt. “Basically the way he does things.

“He’s been playing for a while, so some tricks to being a defensive lineman in the NFL.”

And the tricks to playing the defensive line for the Steelers, who expect their linemen to take on blockers to allow their linebackers to make plays.

“We have to, up front, be able to control the line of scrimmage to help everybody else out,” said Tuitt. “That’s what we’ve got to do.”

Odds and end zones

Both the Steelers and Ben Roethlisberger vehemently denied a report that surfaced on the internet Wednesday that said the quarterback suffered a fracture of the hamate bone in his wrist in the loss to the Saints. Roethlisberger, however, was held out of practice in a coach’s decision, though he did do some light throwing after the session. … In addition to Roethlisberger, tight end Heath Miller also was held out due to a coach’s decision, while safety Troy Polamalu (illness), right tackle Marcus Gilbert (ankle) and linebacker James Harrison (knee) did not practice Wednesday.