In addition to all that optimism that surrounds every training camp, there's the overarching feeling of negativity about practices and preseason games. Namely, the fear that players will get injured. And players will get injured. The Eagles have already lost Jeremy Maclin and the look of their offense has changed entirely. With that in mind, the Steelers have been relatively lucky through camp so far, not seeing any star players go down with injuries.
Not all is well though, as Matt Spaeth has a lisfranc sprain (Lisa Frank?) that will see him sidelined for the first half of the season, most notably overlapping with Heath Miller's knee rehab. Losing Spaeth effectively eliminates any semblance of depth at the TE position, as the rank and file behind him include David Paulson (who played a couple of games as a rookie), Jamie McCoy, who has a solid name but not a solid resume (one game), and a couple of undrafted free agents. With Heath's status in doubt to start the season, the Steelers may need to find help at the position in short order. Dallas Clark is available, you know, just in case, maybe they thought about checking free agency, I don't know.
EDIT: The Steelers claimed TE Michael Palmer on waivers and brought in undrafted rookie Nathan Overbay. They're scrambling to fill that spot on the depth chart.
In less urgent but more melancholy news, Plaxico Burress will have surgery for a torn rotator cuff on Monday. The soon-to-be-36-year-old may see his career end on that note, as he was slated to battle some quick, young rookies for the #4-5 spot on the depth chart. On one hand, losing Burress hurts the team's depth at wide receiver, and not many can replace his presence as a high target in the red zone. On the other hand, Burress being down for the count opens a roster spot for a young guy who needs to prove himself. Markus Wheaton was always going to make this team, but he might have a stranglehold on the #4 spot already, behind Brown, Sanders, and Cotchery. Now we can see a real competition for a real roster spot between Derek Moye, Justin Brown, Reggie Dunn, David Gilreath, Kashif Moore, and JD Woods.
