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Pittsburgh Steelers OTAs Day 8 Recap: There might not be much of a kicker competition

The Pittsburgh Steelers went bowling for Day 7 of OTAs, and were back on the field for Day 8 on Tuesday. See what went down as the team prepares for minicamp.

By Jeff.Hartman
Jason Bridge-USA TODAY Sports

After spending their 7th day of OTAs in the bowling lanes, the Pittsburgh Steelers were officially back on the practice field Tuesday as they continue their march to minicamp, and ultimately training camp at the end of July. Get a quick rundown of what went down at the Rooney UPMC Practice Facility on the South Side of Pittsburgh Tuesday.

Really a competition at kicker?

One of the more surprising topics among Steelers fans since 2015 ended has been the team's placekicking situation. After the horror which took place early last season, it wasn't until Chris Boswell saved the day that fans were able to put the thoughts of Josh Scobee in their rear view mirror.

The debate has been what the team will do with Shaun Suisham and Chris Boswell. Both are under contract for the 2016 season, and Boswell is a reliable option for a fraction of the cost. Most fans love to talk about the competition to ensue in Latrobe, PA at St. Vincent College, while others strictly want Suisham traded to escape his contract and possibly snag a new draft pick for the 2017 NFL Draft.

However, there might be a problem with both of those plans. The problem being Suisham is not 100-percent after tearing his ACL in the Hall of Fame Game against the Minnesota Vikings in the 2015 preseason. In fact, Suisham has not even started kicking yet, and might not even be prepared for training camp,  per Mark Kaboly of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.

What does this mean for the alleged "competition"? Well there might not be much of a competition at all, if Suisham can't prove himself worthy as the team prepares for the 2016 season. Fans should want Suisham to be fully healthy, not just to try and win his job back, but to prove he is still capable after his surgery if the Steelers try and shop him on the open market.

As of now, there isn't much actual competition to talk about...

Another "tissue" issue

Last week Senquez Golson had to undergo an MRI due to a "soft tissue" problem. The problem turned out to be labeled as a "short-term" injury, and now the Steelers have another player with a tissue issue (sorry, couldn't resist).

Per Jeremy Fowler of ESPN, Steelers OLB Bud Dupree said he has a 'tissue' injury that has kept him out of organized team activities, but he hopes to be back by minicamp next week, training camp at latest.

Dupree has missed the past few workouts, but like Golson is being more precautionary in hopes of being prepared for his second training camp.

"I'm good. Got some small things," Dupree told Jason Mackey of DKPittsburghSports.com. "I just don't want to risk getting hurt for training camp."

Dupree will hope to not just be healthy by training camp, but be a force on the outside and help stabilize the outside linebacker position for 2016 and beyond.

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