When the third workout of training camp ended Saturday afternoon, nary a candidate for the starting center’s job was anywhere to be found on the UPMC Rooney Sports Complex practice field.
Rookie third-round draft pick Kendrick Green, who had been working with the first team, was excused from practice by coach Mike Tomlin because of a personal matter. Then, J.C. Hassenauer and B.J. Finney left with injuries that aren’t considered serious.
“It created challenges for those that remained,” Tomlin said. “That is the nature of this thing. It exemplifies the battles and challenges that the season provides us. This was a small sample size o that. I thought the offensive line largely did a nice job of adjusting and allowing us to finish the work.”
Undrafted free agents John Leglue and Anthony Coyle, who each are listed as tackles, handled the snaps for the remainder of practice.
“We always have projects going on the side,” Tomlin said. “If you’re not working four or five snappers, you’re less than professional.”
Starting left tackle Chuks Okorafor and left guard Kevin Dotson also didn’t practice, although Dotson wore his helmet for the first time in camp, an indication that he could be close to returning.
Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, adhering to the camp routine he has used in recent seasons, did not practice, but was present while Mason Rudolph, Dwayne Haskins and Joshua Dobbs took the snaps.
“This schedule allows Mason to get reps with ones, for Dwayne to go with the twos, Josh and Dwayne twos and threes,” offensive coordinator Matt Canada said. “The more reps the better. Obviously, this is the schedule that Ben has had for a long time and been very productive with.”
Tempers flare
Rookie fourth-rounder Dan Moore got extensive time at left tackle again Saturday while Chuks Okorafor nursed a minor injury.
Moore made his presence felt when he mixed it up with defensive linemen Isaiah Buggs and Cameron Heyward on consecutive snaps. In each instance, Moore had to be separated and pushed away from the scrum by teammates.
Tomlin didn’t sound happy with the rookie’s conduct, although he didn’t discuss the specifics of either incident.
“I’m not interested in coaching that,” he said. “We work our tails off to compete but keep it professional. We acknowledge sometimes tempers are going to flare, and that is going to happen, but we are not wasting one iota of our time coaching it. We’re putting together a rough-and-tumble football group, not an MMA squad, so we’re not coaching it.”
Depth chart released
Tomlin unveiled his initial camp depth chart, which is required per NFL policy and typically is indicative of nothing.
At center, where three players are competing for the starting job, Hassenauer is listed as the starter. That’s likely a deference to Hassenauer being the only returning member of the group. Green is listed as the backup, and Finney is considered third string.
The only rookie having a first-team spot on the depth chart is running back Najee Harris. On defense, Alex Highsmith is the first team right outside linebacker ahead of Melvin Ingram III. Cameron Sutton is the starting right cornerback, and second-year player Antoine Brooks Jr. is listed as the first-team nickel corner.
