LB Dupree healthy and improving
reinstatement.
“Hopefully the league will let him go, let him get out here with his teammates, where he needs to be and should be,’’ Roethlisberger said.
Bryant is allowed to attend meetings and has been working out on an adjacent field while his teammates practice at Saint Vincent College.
“Goodness, he’s done everything the league has asked,’’ Roethlisberger said. “I’m not really sure why they keep holding him out from being out there with the guys. To me, the best is for him to be out there with his brothers. I’m not really sure what the holdup is but I know he’s doing everything he can to be out there.”
Meantime, Roethlisberger said he and Bryant had that long talk that Bryant said he wanted to have with his quarterback to clear the air about comments Roethlisberger made when his big-play receiver was suspended.
Roethlisberger did not want to elaborate about the conversation, but said: “We talked a few days ago now. It was a good one. If he wants to expand on it he can, I will not. We were never really off the same page. It appeared that way to outsiders, but between us there was never an issue.”
Roethlisberger said he just wants to have Bryant back on the practice field and hopes it is soon. He just doesn’t know when that will be.
“I don’t, other than talking to him and hoping. I keep asking him, Is it going to happen today? And he keeps telling me he’s hoping so. I don’t know whether it’s the league or a doc or what’s going on. Goodness, he’s paid his dues.” And when he does return? “He’s a great athlete,” said rookie receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster, who returned to practice Wednesday. “As soon as he comes back and all the guys get together we’re going to have an unstoppable team.”
Dupree healthy, eager
Despite drafting one on the first round in three of the past five years, the Steelers haven’t had an outside linebacker other than James Harrison lead the team in sacks since Jason Worilds had eight in 2013.
And they haven’t had a linebacker register doubledigit sacks since Harrison had 10½ and LaMarr Woodley 10 in 2010, the last time they made it to the Super Bowl.
With so much emphasis placed on the position — the most important in a 3-4 defense — it has not been encouraging that Harrison, who is 39, has led all outside linebackers in sacks the past two years. And he had only five each in 2015 and 2016.
The Steelers are hoping Bud Dupree, their No. 1 pick in 2015, can change that.
“This year will be a big year for me, but not only me but the defense as a whole,” Dupree said. “I feel like we will take a whole new step and be back in the conversation as a top defense.”
Dupree missed nearly all of training camp and the first nine games of the 2016 regular season with a sports hernia. But it was in those final seven games he showed the impact he can have on the defense, registering 4½ sacks to finish second on the team behind Harrison. That included 2½ sacks and six tackles in his first start of the season in the snow in Buffalo.
Dupree, who is a muscular 255 pounds, is hoping he can remain healthy and build on what he did in a short time last season.
“Just being back out here, I know how Cam [Heyward] feels, when I got my injury I felt the same way — you want to go out there and let someone hit you just so you can feel the impact to get back in the groove,” Dupree said. “Once you get hit and hit a few or three people and see where you are and the progression you made you feel better.”
Part of the reason the sack numbers have been lower, Dupree said, is because the Steelers ask their outside linebackers to drop into coverage more than a lot of 3-4 teams. Dupree prefers to rush the quarterback, but if he can make an impact in coverage he is fine with that. As long as he keeps making improvement.
“I saw that I was ahead from rookie year when I came back [last season],” Dupree said. “I want to get better every day, get better than yesterday. Like tomorrow, I want to be better than today. Just keep going.”
Rookie WR listens to Ward
Smith-Schuster, their No. 2 pick, made several outstanding catches in his first day practicing in pads, including a diving two-handed grab on the sidelines.
But what excited him was being able to be tutored for the day by the Steelers alltime receiving leader, Hines Ward, who was at camp helping with the wideouts. It was especially curious because the Steelers receivers were doing blocking drills — Ward’s specialty — during practice.
After practice, Ward ran with Smith-Schuster and talked.
“I was asking him about what he did to get to this level and how he was able to be one of the greatest guys to come through this organization,” Smith-Schuster said. “It’s super valuable. You take a guy like that, you keep picking at his ear and his brain — what can I do? He tells us great information.
“It’s more motivation for me to come out here knowing Hines Ward is out here and knowing were doing blocking, which is what he’s known for, you kind of put it on the line.”
Injury report
Defensive end Cam Heyward and wide receiver Antonio Brown were excused from practice after each became a father again Tuesday.
In addition to Smith-Schuster, inside linebacker Vince Williams and rookie outside linebacker Keion Adams returned to practice. Quarterback Landry Jones, safety Mike Mitchell, inside linebacker Ryan Shazier and running back James Conner did not practice. Coach Mike Tomlin said Conner has a shoulder AC sprain but will return soon.
Orndoff waived
Rookie tight end Scott Orndoff, who played at Seton LaSalle High School and Pitt, was waived and replaced on the roster by tight end Jake McGee. Orndoff was an undrafted free agent who was listed as having a “soft-tissue” injury by Tomlin after Sunday’s practice.
McGee (6-5, 252) played at Virginia and Florida and was signed as an undrafted rookie by the Carolina Panthers in 2016. He also spent time with Oakland and San Diego but never made a roster.