Butler undecided on man coverage

zones,” Butler said. “We playedsome single high man. We didn’t play what we call two-man under. That’s something we have to see what we can do. We have to see if our safeties are good enough, if our corners are good enough and if our linebackers are good enough to cover the tight ends and backs. We’re trying to determine that in training camp and see if that’s a viable coverage for us. If it is, it will certainly help us a lot. I want to be able toplay man-to-man.”

That makes the next couple of weeks of training camp and the final three preseason games vitally important for those injured defensive backs. Sutton returned to practice Sunday on a limited basis, but Golson and Mitchell remained out. Butler’s plans for man-to-man coverage depend on their participation in the comingdays and weeks.

“Our young guys, we have to see what we have in the secondary,” Butler said Sunday afternoon, two days after his defense did not allow a touchdown in the preseason opener against the Giants. “We have to get those guys back and see what we can do in camp in terms of the coverages we plan on playing. I don’t know what we can do. I don’t know about Cam Sutton. I don’t know about him. I don’t know about Senquez Golson. I have an idea of Mike [Hilton]. He’s playing well for us.”

Butler said time could be running short for Golson, the Steelers’ second-round pick in 2015, to make the team. This is the third consecutive year Golson has missed most of training camp. He had a shoulder injury in 2015 and a foot injury last summer. He injured a hamstring two weeks ago on the first padded practice of camp and hasn’t beenon the field since.

“Senquez was doing pretty good until he got hurt,” Butler said. “If he continues to do this. … There is a pattern there. If you get hurt and can’t remain on the field you can’t play in the NFL. That’s theplain fact of the matter.

“LaMarr Woodley is the perfect example of that. He was a great player for us, an All-Pro player. He got to the point where we never could keep him healthy, and he was making a good salary. The economics tells us if they’re not on the field playing you can’t pay them and keep them. The same goes for Senquez. If he can’t stay on the field we can’t keep him. That’s just the fact of the matter. That’s not threat or anything like that. That’s just the fact of the matter. It’s just the wayit is for all of them.”

Sutton, this year’s thirdround pick, is in a different situation. He’s not in danger of being cut, but how much playing time he sees this season will depend on how effective he is upon returning from his injury. Butler went through a similar situation with Burns last year. He couldn’t practice much in camp because of an injury and didn’t end up earning a starting job until midway throughthe season.

“We don’t know what he can do yet,” Butler said. “Anytime they miss camp they don’t get the reps they need. In this setting, playing with their teammates is the big thing. They learn to play together. They have communication. You get the communication problemsout of the way.

“I told Mike Mitchell the same thing two years ago when we went down to New England. It was his first game back. He hadn’t practiced or played with the first-team [in training camp]. He got a baptism by fire. I don’t want that for these guys. I want them to beready to play.”

Watt’s up?

Butler does not have many starting jobs up for grabs, but he does have an interesting decision to make at right outside linebacker. Rookie firstround pick T.J. Watt is giving Butler some options in how hedeploys his strong stable of outsidelinebackers.

Watt had a strong showing in the preseason opener against the Giants with five tackles,two sacks and a batted ballat the line of scrimmage.

The performance was not asurprise to Butler.

“We wanted to see what he could do, how he’d perform,” Butler said. “We felt like he would perform well because he had done well in practice. He hadn’t made many mental mistakes. Mike [Tomlin] calls him a one-play guy because he learns after one play. He usually doesn’t make the same mistake twice. Usually good football players learn from their mistakesand don’t repeat them.”

The other option at right outside linebacker is veteran James Harrison, who is 39 and might be better served if he played fewer snaps at this stage of his career. That puts Watt squarely in contention for a starting assignment if hecontinues to play well.

Bud Dupree is the starter at left outside linebacker and Anthony Chickillo and Arthur Moats are the top reserves. Butler said he and outside linebackers coach Joey Porter are having a dialogue on the starting assignmentand how the reps will be distributedamong the group.

“We’re talking about it now,” Butler said. “We’ll do our evaluations as we go along. We’ll make a decision before the first game as to how we want to use them, who will start and who will play this muchand that much.

“There are a lot of outside guys. We’re probably as deep