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When news broke of Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Sammie Coates requiring knee surgery, fans immediately wrote off the former third round pick. Coates, who was having a career year in 2016 before injuring his hand, was reportedly going to miss anywhere from weeks to months with the knee injury, and as he reported to training camp Thursday, he shed some light on the topic.
See what was said as Coates rolled into the dorms at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe, PA:
Sammie Coates says it will be "a couple weeks" before he is ready to practice after having surgery to address a longstanding knee issue.
— Chris Adamski (@C_AdamskiTrib) July 27, 2017
Coates says his knee locked up running in the offseason, had to get it scoped immediately. He expects to be PUP-listed.
— Jacob Klinger (@Jacob_Klinger_) July 27, 2017
What was truly interesting was how Coates told reporters this wasn’t the first knee scope he has had this offseason. The first was immediately after the season, and now immediately before training camp.
WR Sammie Coates has had two knee scopes since end of @Steelers season. Second was to clean up debris, expects to be ready in couple weeks.
— Aditi Kinkhabwala (@AKinkhabwala) July 27, 2017
Either way you look at it, two knee surgeries over the course of six months is never a good thing, and Coates will have to battle his way from behind the proverbial eight-ball to ensure he still has a spot on the team’s roster after the final cut down day later this summer.
Stay tuned to BTSC for the latest on training camp!