Just about the worst thing that a rookie can go through, especially one toward the end of the roster, is to deal with injuries that keeps him off the practice field at training camp and in stadiums during the preseason. Among the Pittsburgh Steelers’ rookie draft class, that has so far been the story of sixth-round outside linebacker Sutton Smith.
Smith has missed quite a bit of time at training camp already, including sitting out the first preseason game, and he continues to work his way back. Head Coach Mike Tomlin was asked if the rookie out of Northern Illinois is falling behind because of the amount of time he’s been out with an unknown ailment, and he had a simple and pointed answer to that question: “yes”.