Tuitt, Gilbert itching to return
going down. Football is a physical game. I had a lot of snaps. Sometimes, it was bound to happen. I was one who got hit.”
Tuitt pushed himself hardin practice Monday. He saidhe ran 19 miles per hour in a workout in the off week and expected similar results Monday when he checked in with the training staff.
“I have no restrictions,” he said. “Monday was ‘Go out there and see how it is.’ It felt great. I ran full speed, had power, get off was great. It just felt great to be back to my old self again.”
Gilbert hopes to return to the lineup against the Colts as well, but his injury is trickier. He already tried to return to the lineup once and had a setback, so coaches and trainers will monitor his progress this week before making a decision about Sunday.
“My hamstring feels good,” Gilbert said. “The bye came at the right time. Unfortunately, I had a setback [against the Chiefs]. The bye week was much needed. I took advantage of it. I went back home, got some treatment, saw my trainer. I’m feeling more confident than I did before. I’m taking it slowly. I’m going to gradually build up my reps during the week. By the end of the week I should be fine.”
Gilbert injured his right hamstring in the second game of the season against the Vikings. He missed the next three games. He started against the Chiefs, but left that game early and didn’t play again after that.
“I never had a hamstring injury before,” Gilbert said. “I kind of rushed back because I felt so good. I tweaked it again. I tried to come back again. I didn’t handle it the right way.”
Hamstring injuries don’t usually happen to offensive linemen. After the setback, he sought out the advice of some skills position players who had dealt with hamstring injuries. He said the advice paid off.
“I took some pointers from the younger guys,” he said. “This is not a big-guy injury. This is a small man’s injury. I got some advice from those guys and I took the right steps to get back onto the field.”
Bryant expects to play
After the Steelers won in Detroit eight days ago, coach Mike Tomlin was asked if he was confident receiver Martavis Bryant would help the team down the stretch. His reply: “I’m not.”
Bryant said he isn’t worried about what Tomlin said.
“It’s not my business to worry about what someone else says,” Bryant said. “Even though he’s the coach, I still have to go out and prepare and show what I’m capable of. You have to prove yourself to him. I wasn’t down on myself about what he said.”
Bryant took some snaps with the first-team offense Monday, a couple of weeks after Tomlin disciplined him for remarks on social media. Bryant was benched for the Lions game and played on the scout team in the days leading up to that game.
Bryant said he expects to play Sunday.
“I’ve been running with the ones today, so I assume I am,” he said. “But I haven’t been told anything. I’m just going to see what happens, come here on Wednesday and go from there.”