Steelers’ Pouncey center of attention
LATROBE – Many times, when a player is injured, his teammates don’t necessarily want to be around him or have him around.
They’ve got a season to worry about and, quite frankly, some guys act like an injury is some kind of communicable disease they’ll catch if they’re not careful.
But the Steelers offensive line took a different tact with All-Pro center Maurkice Pouncey in 2015.
Not only did they keep Pouncey, who suffered a broken leg in the team’s third preseason game, in the loop with what was going on, they made a point out of having an offensive line meeting at his house once a week throughout the season.
They didn’t want their leader to feel left out of the process at any point.
“That’s why we went to his house on Thursdays,” said guard Ramon Foster. “He would still come to meetings and stuff because when you’re seeing your team have success, especially in the O-line group the way we did, you feel left out. You feel as if, ‘Hey, they’re going to move on without me.'”
The Steelers most certainly didn’t do that. And Pouncey hasn’t missed a minute of practice time at the team’s training camp at Saint Vincent College, just as he didn’t miss any time at OTAs or mini-camps.
When you’re coming back from an injury that required seven surgeries to fully correct, you realize what a blessing it is each day to be on the field.
“I’m smiling all the time,” said Pouncey.
“It feels good to be out there and hitting guys again. This is what I’ve done since I was six years old and it’s all I want to do.
“I’m not missing anything. I’m young. That was a bad setback but it was just bad luck. You can’t do anything about that.”
Pouncey suffered the injury in a preseason game against Green Bay when he was leading Le’Veon Bell around end on a running play and Green Bay safety Ha Ha Clinton-Dix rolled up his leg as he pulled Bell to the ground.
Initially, the Steelers placed Pouncey on injured reserve with a designation to return. But complications set in with the leg.
“I had seven total (surgeries),” Pouncey said, “three big ones and four others. It was light work. Anybody could do it.”
“When you have an infection, you can’t predict that. The medicine has to work. Everyone was hoping for the best. You can’t blame anyone.”
It’s been nearly a year since the injury occurred last Aug. 23 and Pouncey is champing at the bit to go against another team, ready to shake the injury-prone tag that has dogged him a bit in his career.
In his rookie season, a high ankle sprain forced him out of the Super Bowl in 2010. Then, he suffered a torn ACL on the team’s opening offensive possession of 2013 when guard David DeCastro attempted to cut block a defensive lineman and instead dove into Pouncey’s knee.
Some have tagged the four-time Pro Bowl player and two-time All-Pro as being injury prone. But neither he nor his teammates want to hear that.
“He doesn’t take it lightly being out there. I think to have those injuries and to watch us have the success we had last year, I really hope I don’t get into that situation of being injured man because you feel left out,” Foster said.
“He’s excited about it. I’m looking forward to seeing him in the first preseason game. I’m sure he’s going to be amped up, man. That guy’s career was almost ended. To be back in football shape and to be back on the field, he’s not taking it for granted at all.”
Odds and end zones
The Steelers on Friday signed wide receiver Cobi Hamilton and tight end Michael Cooper and released rookie wideout Canaan Severin and tight end Jake Fisher. … Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and some other select veterans were given the night off Friday as the team practiced at Latrobe Memorial Stadium in front of a crowd of 12,100. … Quarterback Landry Jones, who was taking first-team snaps with Roethlisberger out, got his foot stepped on in an 11-on-11 drill and had to leave practice for a while. … The Steelers will practice at 2:55 p.m. today at Saint Vincent College. It is open to the public.