Cushenberry praised for debut
The postgame attention Monday night was understandably placed on receiver Jerry Jeudy and cornerbacks Michael Ojemudia and Essang Bassey after their NFL debuts, Jeudy because of his two dropped passes and Ojemudia/ Bassey because of their increased roles caused by A. J. Bouye’s injury.
But another rookie, center Lloyd Cushenberry, merited praise for his play against the Titans.
Cushenberry, who bounced between the first- and secondteam offenses during training camp, played a clean game against the Titans.
“I thought Lloyd did awesome,” right guard Graham Glasgow said before practice Thursday. “On the actual mental side of things, the things the center needs to get done and needs to call, I thought he played almost a perfect game mentally.”
Cushenberry was part of an offensive line group that allowed no sacks and committed no penalties.
“I thought he did a good job,” offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur said. “The thing that concerns me for a rookie starting his first game is if it’s too big for him. It certainly wasn’t.”
Lindsay out again. Running back Phillip Lindsay ( turf toe) and inside linebacker Mark Barron ( hamstring) did not practice. Limited were left tackle Garett Bolles ( elbow) and receivers Courtland Sutton ( shoulder) and Tyrie Cleveland ( hip).
Coach Vic Fangio said Sutton did “fine” in Wednesday’s practice but is “questionable” for Sunday’s game.
Chickillo acquired. The Broncos signed defensive end/ outside linebacker Anthony Chickillo off the New Orleans Saints’ practice squad. The move will be official Friday once Chickillo takes his physical. A sixthround pick by Pittsburgh in 2015, Chickillo had 97 tackles and 7 ½ sacks in 65 games for the Steelers.
Fangio said there is “probably” too little time left in the week to get Chickillo ready to play on Sunday.
Happy with trade. In April 2019, the Steelers moved up 10 spots ( No. 20 to No. 10) in a trade with the Broncos to select Michigan inside linebacker Devin Bush, whom coach Mike Tomlin said he’s been very happy with.