Kevin Dotson returns to practice for Steelers, but works with second-team offensive line

Kevin Dotson, the projected starter at left guard for the Pittsburgh Steelers, took his first reps in team drills during practice Sunday at Heinz Field.

Dotson, though, got his work in 11-on-11 periods with the second team instead of the first.

Rashaad Coward, a free agent signed in the offseason, continued to work with the first team.

Coach Mike Tomlin was matter of fact about the reason Dotson didn’t slide in among the starters.

“He’s done nothing to earn first-team reps,” Tomlin said. “What are we talking about? He’s a second-year guy that hadn’t worked.”

A fourth-round pick from Louisiana, Dotson made four starts among 13 appearances last season as a rookie. With Matt Feiler leaving via free agency, Dotson was expected to be the front-runner for the starting left guard.

But Dotson had a setback entering training camp and mostly was a bystander during the first two weeks of practice. He did not play in the Hall of Fame Game against Dallas.

Coward started at right guard against the Cowboys, but he was back on the left side for the past two practices.

“He’s done an excellent job,” Tomlin said. “He has the mannerisms and demeanor of a veteran, and that is needed, particularly when you are going through the transition we are with that group.”

Coward played defensive tackle at Old Dominion, and he was converted to guard during his three-year tenure with the Bears. He has made 15 starts in 30 games, including five last year when he played in all 16 games.

“When you’re missing some guys or work with that group, his level of maturity and experience is showing,” Tomlin said. “It’s an asset to him and to us.”

Working his way back

Chuks Okorafor was back at left tackle for the second day in a row after he also was held out of the preseason opener because of an injury.

Okorafor said he was “50-50” to play against Dallas.

“I talked to the trainers and coaches, and it didn’t make sense to rush back,” Okorafor said.

Pieces of the starting offensive line are starting to take shape, particularly if Coward continues to get first-team reps. Zach Banner took some first-team reps Saturday, but he did some limited work Sunday. Joe Haeg got the bulk of the first-team work in team drills.

“It’s slowly coming, we’ve got a long way to go,” Okorafor said. “Most of the guys are somewhat young. We need time to jell.”

The Steelers have three remaining preseason games in order to build some cohesion prior to the Sept. 12 opener in Buffalo.

Injury update

Running back Benny Snell did not practice again, but he ran sprints in the end zone, an indication he’s working toward participating in practice before the Steelers play the Philadelphia Eagles on Thursday. Another running back, Kalen Ballage, also did not practice for the second day in a row after being injured in the preseason opener.

Others who did not practice were slot corner Antoine Brooks Jr., defensive end Calvin Taylor, wide receiver Cody White, wide receiver Ray-Ray McCloud, defensive end Stephon Tuitt and outside linebacker T.J. Watt.

Wide receiver James Washington left practice early and had his right knee bandaged for a while.

Roster move

Given the injuries to Snell and Ballage, the Steelers signed former Monmouth running back Pete Guerriero, the 2019 FCS running back of the year. He gained 1,995 yards rushing and scored 20 touchdowns that season.

Guerriero is 5-foot-10, 190 pounds and was on the New York Jets roster in the offseason. He was waived in May and recently had workouts with the Seahawks and Packers.

The other healthy running backs on the roster behind starter Najee Harris are Anthony McFarland, Trey Edmunds, Jaylen Samuels and Tony Brooks-James.

Remembering Bobby

Tomlin’s first-ever draft pick, linebacker Lawrence Timmons, played at Florida State for Bobby Bowden, who died Sunday at 91.

His interactions with Bowden, who coached 34 seasons at the school and won 377 games and two national titles, dated to the early 2000s when Tomlin spent five years as Tampa Bay’s defensive backs coach.

“I worked in Tampa with Derrick Brooks and Warrick Dunn and I had an opportunity to meet coach, but his legacy lives on not only in his wins and losses, but in the lives and impact of guys like those two I mentioned,” Tomlin said. “His football legacy is cemented. I extend condolences to his family and equally important to his football family because I know how Derrick Brooks and Warrick Dunn felt about that man, and it speaks to his greatness.”