Slot corner Brooks a surprising cut
Maryland product, once candidate to be starter, foiled by nagging injury
Antoine Brooks, who opened training camp atop the depth chart at the crucial slot corner position for the Steelers, has been waived/injured. The team announced that move as part of five cuts they had to make to get down to 80 players by 4 p.m. Tuesday.
Also gone are running back Pete Guerriero, wide receiver Tyler Simmons, offensive lineman Aviante Collins and inside linebacker Calvin Bundage. But Brooks is the most notable one, and a surprise, too.
Steelers secondary coach Teryl Austin was asked Tuesday morning before practice if Brooks, who missed more than two weeks and two preseason games with an undisclosed injury, still had time to catch up and challenge for a meaningful role in 2021.
“Well, it’s hard to catch up if you’re not practicing, if you’re not out there,” Austin said. “It’ll all be determined on how fast he gets back and what he can do. The longer he’s out, the harder it is.”
Brooks — a 2020 sixth
-round pick out of Maryland — had been competing with veteran Arthur Maulet, signed this offseason, to replace Mike Hilton as the nickelback. He was drafted for his hybrid linebacker/safety skill set, but didn’t make the team out of preseason last year and was later signed back to the practice squad.
This summer seemed to be a better one for Brooks, until he got banged up after making a tackle at the line of scrimmage and recovering a fumble in the Hall of Fame Game in Canton, Ohio. Since then, he has been missing in action, often at practice but not participating. Coach Mike Tomlin initially referred to it as a minor injury that he hoped wouldn’t sideline Brooks for too long.
“Mike has known him a long time,” defensive coordinator Keith Butler said last month of Brooks getting firstteam snaps on defense. “His son went to Maryland and [Brooks] played at Maryland, so he knows of him. He’d seen him play in games before we drafted him and stuff like that. He’s still got a lot to learn, but we think he’s capable of doing it, capable of learning.”
Now Brooks will have to clear waivers. If he does, he’ll revert to the Steelers’ injured list, thereby keeping him in the organization but not on the active roster and likely not in the plans for this season. Either way, it’s a development that wasn’t expected for Brooks when the preseason began.
No news on Tuitt
Tomlin was asked about the ongoing absence of defensive end Stephon Tuitt, who hasn’t practiced since his brother was killed in a hitand-run in Georgia in early June.
“He’s doing great,” Tomlin said.
Tuitt’s coaches and teammates have spoken about the toll this offseason has taken on him. Tomlin, when the topic comes up, is quick to note that he doesn’t have to disclose injuries or reasons for missed practices this time of year, so he won’t.
This certainly would not have been an ideal day for the 6-foot-6, 303-pound Tuitt to return to the field. Temperatures exceeded 90 and it felt even hotter in the sun at UPMC Rooney Sports Complex on the South Side, where Tomlin acknowledged multiple players leaving practice early because of the heat.
“Not for me,” Tomlin said of the weather being a concern. “I was properly hydrated.”
Tomlin smiled, and it was hard not to notice that he was wearing a white shirt, rather than his usual all-black outfit. “I exercised reasonable precaution and I was hydrated, so it was a non-issue,” he said.