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The Pittsburgh Steelers had two players suffer injuries on Tuesday and were unable to complete practice according to head coach Mike Tomlin. Rookie offensive lineman Kevin Dotson suffered a knee injury but walked off the field with the assistance of Ben Roethlisberger. Tight end Dax Raymond also rolled his ankle late in practice during the team session.
Tough day for G Kevin Dotson and TE Dax Raymond. Dotson suffered a knee injury. Raymond an ankle injury. That makes it hard on young guys. Both being evaluated. But the train will keep rolling. #Steelers #dkps
— Dale Lolley (@dlolley_pgh) August 18, 2020
Coach Tomlin addressed the injury situation of both players in his press conference following practice.
“Both guys are being evaluated,” Tomlin said. “I don’t know the extent of it. Kevin Dotson had a knee injury that’s being evaluated. He was able to walk off but he is been evaluated. Dax Raymond look like he rolled his ankle there at the end of a competition period. He’s been evaluated as well. Hopefully, we’ll get those guys back to us sooner rather than later. But we acknowledge that bumps and bruises unfortunately are part of this process. We’ve got to work our tails off and try to be as professional as we can in the effort to minimize as much as that as we can.”
Of course, details to the extent of either injury are not known at this time. But when it comes to Dotson, the injury appeared to be of a serious nature at the time. Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger apparently came over to check on Dotson and help him off the field. In his press conference following practice, Coach Tomlin was asked about Rothlisberger coming to the aid of Dotson.
“He’s a teammate,” Tomlin stated. “He’s been there. He’s been down on the field before. He knows the fear associated with that. Dotson’s a young guy trying to make this football team. Often times the fear of the injury is worse than the injury itself. He’s just doing what considerate, thoughtful leaders do in terms of helping him work through that. Obviously, the medical experts handle the injury itself, but a guy in his position can relate to some of the things maybe emotionally Dotson’s feeling when faced with what he was faced with today.”
As is the nature of the NFL, practice will go on tomorrow with or without either of the players being able to participate. Hopefully both injuries are minor and will not cost either player significant time.
Make sure you are tuning in to Behind The Steel Curtain for our 2020 Traing Camp Confidential for continued coverage of the Pittsburgh Steelers 2020 training camp.