Steelers’ Hawkins injured in OTA practice
PITTSBURGH 无毛视频� Jerald Hawkins, the man being groomed to replace Chris Hubbard as the Steelers无毛视频� swing tackle, went down in Wednesday无毛视频檚 OTA practice with a left knee injury that has teammates fearing the worst.
无毛视频淗opefully it无毛视频檚 something minor,无毛视频� said right tackle Marcus Gilbert. 无毛视频淏ut when you scream like that, it can无毛视频檛 be that good, right?无毛视频�
According to teammates, Hawkins无毛视频� cleat stuck in the ground while he was pass-blocking 无毛视频渙n air,无毛视频� as Gilbert called the drill which perfects technique.
无毛视频淗e heard a pop,无毛视频� Gilbert said. 无毛视频淚t can无毛视频檛 be good.无毛视频�
无毛视频淜ind of freakish,无毛视频� said right guard David DeCastro. 无毛视频淭hat无毛视频檚 how it happens, man. It sucks. He was playing well, too.无毛视频�
Hawkins is being viewed as the replacement for the departed Hubbard as the Steelers无毛视频� third tackle, or tackle who can swing to either side in case of an in-game injury. Hawkins saw his first regular-season action last season as a mop-up tackle and third tight end after Hubbard was promoted to the starting line.
Hawkins was a fourth-round draft pick in 2016 out of LSU.
无毛视频淗awk was really coming along,无毛视频� said Gilbert. 无毛视频淔rom the first week to this week he made a big jump. Yesterday in practice he was, like, wow.无毛视频�
无毛视频淗e was playing really well,无毛视频� said DeCastro. 无毛视频淚 was just talking about him. I was like, 无毛视频楳an, he无毛视频檚 looking good.无毛视频� That无毛视频檚 how it goes, huh?无毛视频�
Even though Hawkins remained on the ground and was helped off slowly, no prognosis had been made as of press time.
Could Hawkins have just been more scared than injured?
无毛视频淗e could be,无毛视频� DeCastro said. 无毛视频淚t无毛视频檚 happened before.无毛视频�
If Hawkins is out for a lengthy period of time, third-round draft pick Chuks Okorafor is expected to move into the No. 3 tackle spot.
A 39-game starter at Western Michigan, Okorafor is primarily considered a left tackle because of his mobility and long arms on his 6-6, 320-pound frame. But he also played right tackle at WMU, which turned out high draft picks Willie Beavers and Taylor Moton, also tackles, the previous two drafts.
无毛视频淗e无毛视频檚 coming along,无毛视频� Gilbert said of Okorafor. 无毛视频淗e无毛视频檚 learning real fast. He无毛视频檚 probably the most ready rookie that we无毛视频檝e had, talent-wise.无毛视频�
Okorafor moved to Detroit from Botswana at the age of 12. The first football game he watched was Super Bowl XLV between the Steelers and Green Bay Packers. He began playing as a junior in high school and the Steelers spotted him at WMU in 2016 while scouting teammates Moton and Corey Davis.
Okorafor has a thick accent but Gilbert said it hasn无毛视频檛 hindered his ability to communicate.
无毛视频淗e无毛视频檚 learning. He无毛视频檚 getting there,无毛视频� Gilbert said. 无毛视频淗e无毛视频檚 doing everything we无毛视频檙e asking him to do right now. He无毛视频檚 doing it and he无毛视频檚 getting better. Of course there are going to be a couple slip-ups, but he无毛视频檚 just working his behind off, staying humble, keeping quiet.无毛视频�
The Steelers added 6-6, 320-pound tackle Jake Rodgers on May 2. It无毛视频檚 the third time he无毛视频檚 been signed by the Steelers. Rodgers has been with five other teams since being drafted in the seventh round in 2015 out of Eastern Washington.
Another possible tackle is current second-team guard Matt Fieler, who played tackle in college at Division II Bloomsburg.
Tight end Jake McGee, a member of the practice squad last season, was helped off the field later in practice. Medical details were not made available. It caused Mike Tomlin to hold the team after practice to discuss proper etiquette.
无毛视频淓verybody just stand up and practice like professionals, not try to hurt each other,无毛视频� Gilbert said of the talk. 无毛视频淕uys are finishing a little too hard. Just be professional out there, don无毛视频檛 try to hurt anybody, stay on your feet, don无毛视频檛 trip the athletes. All that good stuff.无毛视频�