Cornerback Joe Haden continues to work his way back from an ankle contusion that has kept him from practicing for the past two weeks.
Haden doesn’t expect to dress Sunday when the Pittsburgh Steelers play at the Tennessee Titans in their third preseason game, but he reiterated he will be ready for the Sept. 8 season opener at New England.
Coach Mike Tomlin expects most other starters to take the field Sunday at Nissan Stadium.
“We are not removing anybody from participation in this game,” Tomlin said Friday.
That extends to members of the draft class.
First-round draft pick Devin Bush expects to play after missing the second preseason game against Kansas City because of a minor shoulder injury. Tomlin withheld Bush from the game as a precaution.
“I can’t wait to play again,” Bush said. “I love to play football games. The time you put in during the week, you want to get the time to showcase it.”
Wide receiver Diontae Johnson, running back Benny Snell and tight end Zach Gentry are other members of the rookie class who have missed practice time in the past week. Gentry also didn’t play against Kansas City. Injured linebacker Sutton Smith also could make his preseason debut.
“We weigh this element of the evaluation heavily, so we leave the light on for those guys,” Tomlin said. “We won’t eliminate any of those guys. Maybe even a couple guys will have workouts at the stadium in order to give them an opportunity to participate.”
