Rookie might make first start
CB Sutton splits practice time with Haden
Less than a month ago, the Steelers activated rookie cornerback Cameron Sutton to the 53-man roster after he spent the first half of the season on injured reserve. Sunday afternoon at Heinz Field against five-time Super Bowl champion Tom Brady, Sutton could make his first NFL start.
Talk about a baptism by fire. Making your first start against the defending Super Bowl champion New England Patriots in a game that likely will decide the No. 1 seed in the AFC presents another storyline in a week full of them.
Sutton said after practice Friday that he split reps with the first-team defense with veteran Joe Haden, who was limited in practice this week with a leg injury. Haden has missed the past four games with a fractured fibula and practiced on a limited basis Wednesday through Friday.
Haden is listed as questionable along with Coty Sensabaugh.
Does Sutton expect Brady to target him?
“I anticipate them following their game plan and throwing to guys and just playing their game, not just targeting me,” Sutton said. “They’ll have their plays, their moments. You just have to be ready and locked in and makeplays on the ball.”
Drafted in the third round, Sutton missed most of training camp with a hamstring injury. He was not activated until Nov. 21 and played in his first NFL game less than two weeks ago in Cincinnati. He ended up playing most of the second half against the Bengals after A.J. Green caught two touchdowns against Sensabaugh in the first half.
Sutton shut out Green in the second half, but was beaten by him for a long touchdown that was called back due to a holding penalty.
Sutton and Sensabaugh rotated against the Ravens, and, with Sensabaugh nursing a shoulder injury this week, Sutton is expected to have a more expanded role.
Sutton said the playing time against the Bengals and Ravens helped prepare him for the Patriots.
“It definitely prepared me,” Sutton said. “A.J. has been doing it in this league for a long period of time. Just going up against a guy of that caliber definitely prepares you. He’s a guy who does great things with and without the ball. Week in and week out, you learn from the receivers you go against and you kind of have something to carry over to the next game.”
Starting a rookie, much less one who spent half the season on injured reserve, is less than ideal against Brady, but the Steelers might not have much choice if Haden does not play.
“I don’t know if you can accelerate,” defensive coordinator Keith Butler said. “The only way you can accelerate is to let them play. So that’s the best thing for him is to let him play and get the experience playing.
“He’s a smart kid, but playing in the NFL is different than anything else that he has done before, so we’ll see how he goes.”
“It really doesn’t matter,” Sutton said, when asked his thoughts on his first start coming against Tom Brady. “I’ve been getting the same reps. I’ve been contributing, helping the team win. That’s all I care about.”
Smith-Schuster iffy
Rookie receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster is questionable with a hamstring injury. He tweaked his hamstring in practice Thursday and was limited the past two days. Smith-Schuster missed the Tennessee game with a hamstring injury and the Ravens game due to suspension.
The practice Wednesday was a walk-through, so Smith-Schuster was injured in his first full practice in more than a week because he was not allowed to be with the team during his suspension.
That brings up the NFL’s misguided rule for suspended players not being allowed at the team’s facility. It’s something the NFLPA should address when the collective bargaining agreement expires.
“There is no debating with those guys until the CBA comes,” said center Maurkice Pouncey, one of the team’s union reps. “They’re going to have as much ammo as possible for the things they want and the things we want. It’d be pointless to even say something. Unless they have something to give us that we really want, and we have something to give them, it’s not going to work out.
“It’s business. They made the rules. People signed off on that CBA. You just have to abide by it. The next time the fight comes we have to know to fight harder. Make sure guys save their money and do the right thing.”
Patriots’ DT out
Patriots defensive tackle Alan Branch has a knee injury and won’t play against the Steelers. Branch is the Patriots’ best run-stopping defensive lineman.
They list 10 players as questionable.
Davis fined
Steelers safety Sean Davis was fined $18,321 for his late hit out of bounds in the third quarter of the Ravens game. He was not fined for his other personal foul in the game. That was the only fine from the game.