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Steelers 2016 Training Camp Day 18 Recap: Team gets a "bone" with rain pushing practice indoors

The boys are back in town, and see what happened on Day 18 of work at St. Vincent College in Latrobe, PA as the Pittsburgh Steelers prepare for the 2016 NFL season.

By Jeff.Hartman
Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

Sometimes as a head coach you have plans which Mother Nature doesn't agree with. This was the case for the Pittsburgh Steelers as they headed to the practice fields for an open practice, but due to severe thunderstorms in and around Latrobe, PA, it forced fans off of St. Vincent College campus, and the Steelers inside.

Mike Tomlin referred to this as the players getting a "bone" as they received another day off after their Friday night preseason game against the Detroit Lions in the first week of the preseason.

So, what does an NFL team of 90 players do in a Division III gymnasium? The same as they were going to do outside, just without the contact.

The Steelers had a very light day without pads on as they walked through both offensive and defensive terminology, but still did compete in the '7 shots' drill. Coach Mike Tomlin stated the communication done indoors between both coach and player, and player and player, can be a huge advantage the team doesn't often get.

In other words, they made the best with what they had while being stuck inside. The team will return to practice Monday at 2:55 p.m. EDT, and the practice is open to the public.

Injury Report

The report after the Steelers' loss to the Lions was a good one, but Mike Tomlin did mention Jerald Hawkins, rookie offensive tackle who played Friday night, did reaggrevate a lingering shoulder issue which will have to be evaluated. The timetable for his return is unknown at this point.

Anthony Chickillo injured an ankle during the preseason game, and Tomlin did state they plan on testing the injury as the team approaches their second preseason game in Week 2 against the Philadelphia Eagles on Thursday night.

Tomlin also spoke about getting several players back on the field who missed the first preseason game. He mentioned L.T. Walton, Jarvis Jones, Bud Dupree and Artie Burns.

There was no update on Bruce Gradkowski's hamstring injury, or the MRI which was scheduled for Sunday.

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