6 players mentioned by Mike Tomlin after Wednesday’s practice

The Pittsburgh Steelers 2021 Training Camp is winding down as it was the last day of practice in front of fans. As is expected, head coach Mike Tomlin once again spoke to reporters following practice. Even though it was brief yet again, which is becoming a trend towards the end of camp, there was still enough to look at the players mentioned by Coach Tomlin during his media time. Remember these are current players where a specific question was asked during the Q&A period.

Chase Claypool & James Washington

With Chase Claypool missing Wednesday’s practice with what is now known as a minor ankle injury, James Washington got more snaps with the first time offense. Coach Tomlin was asked about Washington stepping up with the absence of Claypool.

“It has nothing to do with whether or not Chase practiced or not. James always plays hard and well, when he does.”

In a later question, Coach Tomlin was asked about what value the Steelers have with James Washington.

“He’s a good receiver. That’s the value in James Washington.”

Ben Roethlisberger

The Steelers veteran quarterback is scheduled to see his first action of the 2021 preseason this Saturday. Coach Tomlin was asked about the benefit of getting a couple of series from Roethlisberger this week.

“If he was in the same system of offense that he’d been in, he probably wouldn’t play. We’ve taken that approach in the past. But we think it’s good for him to get in the stadium and communicate with Matt (Canada) and do some of the things that the quarterback has to do from a dry-run perspective, before we step in the regular season stadium.

Kalen Ballage

After missing the Steelers matchup last Thursday against the Philadelphia Eagles, running back Kalen Ballage was back on the field at practice on Wednesday. Coach Tomlin was asked what he seen out of Ballage so far this training camp.

“I thought he’s had some good moments. We’ll be excited to get him back out there. He’s missed a block of time that’s obviously significant in this process, but he’s still got some time to make up ground and it’s good to have him back out there working.”

Arthur Maulet & Cam Sutton

There still seems to be some questions around who will emerge as the Steelers slot cornerback come Week 1 of the regular season. Coach Tomlin was asked if Arthur Maulet has emerged as the front runner after an interception return for a touchdown on Wednesday. In his response, Coach Tomlin mentioned that Cam Sutton worked in the slot for the first time in training camp.

“I’m not ready to discuss that. We’ve got a lot of guys working there. We’ve got options there that haven’t been working there to be quite honest with you. I think today was the first day we put Cam Sutton inside, for example. So what you looking at might not be the only candidates.”

A replay of Mike Tomlin’s interview can be seen on the Steelers YouTube channel HERE.