Following the four-game suspension the NFL handed down to Steelers wide receiver Martavis Bryant, it was widely believed that third-round pick Sammie Coates would "pick up the slack."So you would think.
But on Tuesday, Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger intimated and head coach Mike Tomlin confirmed, per the Post Gazette, that special teams player Darrius Heyward-Bey would serve that role and not Coates.
Sammie Coates, formerly of Auburn, is on the roster because the Steelers knew about Bryant's failed drug tests and the likely suspension that would result. The problem is, that replacement has not looked very good in the exhibition season.
He has the size, speed, and strength that are required of the position, but Tomlin believes that something extra is still missing, something he calls "football condition."
He was not alone among the youth on the roster to do without it recently.
Tomlin publicly criticized his younger players as a whole for what he viewed as their failure to get properly involved in the gameplan in the team's third preseason game, a 43-19 defeat at the Bills, referring to them as the "walking dead."
No names were named, but Tomlin could have easily directed those remarks at Coates, who failed to secure a reception that day.
The troubles don't end there, though. Heyward-Bey only had three receptions in 16 games last season, his first with Pittsburgh, for 33 total yards. Which likely leaves the Steelers relying more on two-tight end sets this fall than in putting too many drives in the hands of someone who hasn't been used much to this time.
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