Thursday’s Pittsburgh Steelers practice was eventful. The team saw the return of running back Jaylen Samuels as a full participant and tight end Vance McDonald returned but was limited. Samuels has been dealing with a groin injury but could play Sunday. McDonald is still in the concussion protocol so his availability is more up in the air.
Pittsburgh also saw another full participation day from running back James Conner. But keep in mind we saw this before as Conner continues to struggle with his shoulder injury. He came back too soon, re-injured it and has been out ever since. If I’m the Steelers coaches, I don’t count on Conner to be 100 percent.
One guy who was limited on Thursday was wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster. He’s struggled to get back from his knee injury. Offensive coordinator Randy Fichtner spoke after practice and seemed optimistic despite Smith-Schuster being limited.
“I hope so. He’s been giving great effort in trying to get back. I hope it for him,” Fichtner said. “I don’t think those determinations get made until later in the week, so I’m just excited about him being out here. He has all the enthusiasm and energy and want-to.”
The Steelers offense has taken strides since Devlin Hodges took over at quarterback. As much as we’d love to see Conner and Smith-Schuster back, there’s no need to rush when things are going well and both could be needed later on.
