Steelers rookie guard Kevin Dotson leaves practice with knee injury
Kevin Dotson, the rookie fourth-round guard from Louisiana, suffered one of the first medical setbacks of Pittsburgh Steelers training camp when he left practice Tuesday with a knee injury.
Tight end Dax Raymond, an undrafted free agent signed by the Steelers in July, rolled his ankle and didn’t finish practice, coach Mike Tomlin said.
The Steelers got through their initial padded practice Monday without any injuries.
“We acknowledge that bumps and bruises are unfortunately part of this process,” Tomlin said. “We have to work our tails off to be as professional as we can in an effort to minimize as much as we can.”
The 6-foot-4, 310-pound Dotson is considered the team’s top guard prospect. He is competing for a spot behind starters Matt Feiler and David DeCastro. Dotson started 52 consecutive games at Louisiana. Dotson was not invited to the NFL Combine, but he starred at the East-West Shrine all-star game.
Although Tomlin said Dotson walked off the field, the rookie was assisted by quarterback Ben Roethlisberger.
“He’s a teammate, man,” Tomlin said of Roethlisberger. “He’s been there. He’s been down on the field before. He knows the fear associated with that. Dotson is a young guy trying to make this football team. Often times, the fear of an injury is worse than the injury itself.”
DeCastro missed a second consecutive day with what the official pool report described as a veteran day off. Wide receiver James Washington was in shorts and caught passes but did not do any work in team drills.
As part of his mission to “rotate out” veteran players so he can evaluate younger talents, Tomlin gave left tackle Alejandro Villanueva and tight end Eric Ebron the day off. Cornerback Joe Haden also received a day off, according to the pool report.
“It’s good for all parties involved,” Tomlin said of his decision to sit certain veterans. “It aids in the evaluation process for us.”
Center Maurkice Pouncey returned to practice after being excused Monday for personal reasons.
Hey, Steelers Nation, get the latest news about the Pittsburgh Steelers here.
Joe Rutter is a TribLive reporter who has covered the Pittsburgh Steelers since the 2016 season. A graduate of Greensburg Salem High School and Point Park, he is in his fifth decade covering sports for the Trib. He can be reached at jrutter@triblive.com.
Remove the ads from your TribLIVE reading experience but still support the journalists who create the content with TribLIVE Ad-Free.