Devin Bush does plenty at 1st padded Steelers practice, but others still held back

The handful of Pittsburgh Steelers starters who’ve been limited so far during training camp for the most part continued to be so Wednesday. But a notable exception during the first padded practice was Devin Bush.

The inside linebacker recovering from a torn ACL took part in a significant portion of the team drills Wednesday at Heinz Field. That contrasts with another player who suffered the same injury early last season – starting right tackle Zach Banner – who mostly was held out of the session in front of the fans marking the sixth practice of camp.

“It was status quo on guys that were limited, (but) some guys are crawling back to action,” coach Mike Tomlin said. “Devin Bush was live-action; we didn’t give Banner much. (Defensive end) Stephon Tuitt and others, we continue to ease those guys back into the process.

“It’s not about those guys or about their lack of participation for us, it’s about the increased opportunities for guys we know less about. We’re really focused on getting some guys quality reps…. That’s been our focus.”

Tomlin in particular pointed to rookie Dan Moore, who has manned the first-team left tackle spot virtually the entire first week of camp in lieu of Chuks Okorafor, who’s nursing an apparent minor injury.

Players who Tomlin acknowledged suffered injuries Wednesday were tight end Eric Ebron (elbow discomfort) and reserve offensive lineman Anthon Coyle (a “stinger”).

Outside linebacker T.J. continues to sit out drills and instead work on his own.

A day after being absent from camp for excused personal reasons, Ben Roethlisberger threw extensively in individual drills and took a regular turn in 11-on-11 and 7-on-7 work.

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