Tuitt Injured All of 2017

[NorthCoast]

Some of us were wondering why Tuitt's season was so far below his pace in 2016. Seems he played the entire season with a torn bicep. Really looking forward to him and Heyward becoming two man wrecking crew this season:


https://www.behindthesteelcurtain.com/2018/5/23/17382924/stephon-tuitt-admits-to-playing-the-2017-season-with-torn-biceps-tendon-pittsburgh-steelers-rumors

[pittpete]

............................................

[Buzz]

Hope this doesn't become a recurrent issue with him.

[Ernie]

I know this might sound crazy (coming off of the JAGS defeat), but the D-Line should be a strength this year.

[SanAntonioSteelerFan]

Hope this doesn't become a recurrent issue with him.

+1 ten char

[feltdizz]

Like I said earlier. Tuitt should be the contract we are worrying about when it comes to cap space.

He was terrible last year.

[Ernie]

Like I said earlier. Tuitt should be the contract we are worrying about when it comes to cap space.

He was terrible last year.

with a torn bicep, he should have been on IR

[NorthCoast]

with a torn bicep, he should have been on IRAgreed. Most players would be out for the season. Whether Tuitt should have been is a legitimate question.

[SanAntonioSteelerFan]

Not exactly a ringing endorsement of Big Dan's skill level is it, that the coaches thought he wasn't even as good as a broken winged Tuitt.

I wonder why they didn't play Alualu more ... couldn't he have subbed in? I thought he was pretty good.

[feltdizz]

with a torn bicep, he should have been on IR

Yup. Would not be surprised if it happens again.

Hopefully it’s fully healed.

[SanAntonioSteelerFan]

I know I'm missing something, but why even have Big Dan and Alualu on the roster if they can't play better than someone with a torn bicep muscle?

(Alualu has played pretty well for us in the past ... I'm really flummoxed as to why he didn't replace Tuitt ... is it a different position somehow though they are both DEs?)

[Slapstick]

Because they were paying Tuitt a $#!+ton of money and he was still capable of playing.

Also, Tuitt likely knew the defense far better than Alualu...McCullers may never have worked out at DE...

[Buzz]

Depth at DE is an issue. Let's hope one of the UDFAs they brought on board this year can help, or one of the ends carried over from last year steps up.

[RuthlessBurgher]

Depth at DE is an issue. Let's hope one of the UDFAs they brought on board this year can help, or one of the ends carried over from last year steps up.

Alualu and Walton are fine depth DE's behind Heyward and Tuitt. Frazier should be an upgrade backing up Hargrave as opposed to McCullers.

[Steel Maniac]

Not exactly a ringing endorsement of Big Dan's skill level is it, that the coaches thought he wasn't even as good as a broken winged Tuitt.

I wonder why they didn't play Alualu more ... couldn't he have subbed in? I thought he was pretty good.

In light of this, why is big Dan on the roster??

[Buzz]

Alualu and Walton are fine depth DE's behind Heyward and Tuitt.
Then why did Tuitt have to play all season with a torn bicep? Seems to me a "fine" backup would be preferable to a one-armed Tuitt.

[SanAntonioSteelerFan]

Then why did Tuitt have to play all season with a torn bicep? Seems to me a "fine" backup would be preferable to a one-armed Tuitt.


Yes, that was my question higher up as well. Why didn't Alualu play if Tuitt was so hurt with the torn bicep that he was playing poorly?

[RuthlessBurgher]

Tuitt played 571 snaps for us last season.

Alualu played 429 snaps for us last season.

[Buzz]

Why play Tuitt at all when he had torn biceps, when he's basically down to one arm (1-1/4 arms in his own words)? Can they not bring Walton over to spell Alualu if needed?

The fact that Tuitt played 571 snaps with that injury -- how can that speak well of our depth at the DE position?

[feltdizz]

On the first snap of the season?

Well, one thing I noticed is Tuitt revealed this injury and not team doctors and coaches.

This might be embellished a bit because Tuitt knows he underperformed last year.

[hawaiiansteel]

Stephon Tuitt, Javon Hargrave look to solidify Steelers defensive line

JOE RUTTER | Saturday, June 2, 2018

http://triblive.com/csp/mediapool/sites/dt.common.streams.StreamServer.cls?STREAMOID=UaOnS Vn4MvPVAoW4Wf2F2s$daE2N3K4ZzOUsqbU5sYtxEPMpMJSqRQu JpyF79M_AWCsjLu883Ygn4B49Lvm9bPe2QeMKQdVeZmXF$9l$4 uCZ8QDXhaHEp3rvzXRJFdy0KqPHLoMevcTLo3h8xh70Y6N_U_C ryOsw6FTOdKL_jpQ-&CONTENTTYPE=image/jpeg

In the laid-back atmosphere of voluntary offseason practices, where players take the field in helmets and shorts and no tackling is permitted, Steelers nose tackle Javon Hargrave has noticed a sense of motivation in defensive end Stephon Tuitt that belies the informal workout setting.

“That's what happens when you're hurt,” Hargrave said, “when you're banged up the year before.”

Tuitt's 2017 season, the one that was supposed to signify his status as one of the NFL's top defensive linemen after he signed a six-year, $61 million contract 24 hours before the season opener, turned into one medical mishap after another.

First, it was a biceps tear on the second snap of the season that took him off the field for essentially three full games. Then there was a back injury that kept him out of the lineup for two more games at midseason.

Finally, Tuitt injured his elbow during the week leading up to the AFC divisional playoff game against Jacksonville. With Tuitt and Hargrave, who had tweaked his back that week also, not at 100 percent, the Steelers gave up 164 yards rushing in the 45-42 loss that ended their season.

“He had some things to deal with, but he's healthy this year, he's eager to start the year, real hyped to get out there,” Hargrave said. “It's his fifth year, and he has to show what he can do.”

Hargrave wouldn't be surprised to see Tuitt make the same kind of ascension defensive end Cam Heyward made last season. In 2016, Heyward was limited to seven games — the first injury absence of his career — and spent the second half on injured reserve with a torn pectoral muscle. He rebounded to lead the Steelers with 12 sacks and become an All-Pro for the first time.

“The same thing happened with Cam, and he came out and had a great season,” Hargrave said. “It's just really feels like Stephon has that chip on his shoulder.”

Tuitt admitted the injuries that followed his signing such a lucrative contract were frustrating and that his return to health has brought a renewed spirit to his offseason workouts.

“It feels good to use my arm again,” Tuitt said. “I've been working all offseason to get my strength back.”

Although Tuitt returned for the fourth game of the season and missed no others because of the biceps tear, the injury never truly healed and affected his play. He finished with three sacks and 25 total tackles, each career lows since he became a starter in 2015.

“It was hard,” Tuitt said. “I could lift only 20 pounds with my arm. I just didn't have any strength in it.”

Hargrave enters the 2018 season in a similar situation, perhaps not with the expectations that Tuitt has, but an urgency to make amends for a disappointing finish.

Hargrave is entering his third year as a starter, first winning the job as a rookie in 2016. But because of the Steelers' reliance on subpackages, Hargrave often came off the field on third downs, and he has yet to play more than 47 percent of defensive snaps in a season.

Pro Football Focus rated Hargrave as the NFL's No. 55 interior defensive lineman in 2017. By comparison, Heyward was ranked 10th, and in spite of his injuries, Tuitt graded out at No. 18.

“It's just about me getting better,” Hargrave said. “Some of the things I'm already good at, but it's coming in here and getting better at my skills.”

General manager Kevin Colbert and coach Mike Tomlin thought enough of the defensive line to leave it intact for 2018, even bringing back little-used nose tackle Daniel McCullers. Seventh-round draft pick Joshua Frazier, a backup at Alabama, was the only significant offseason addition on the line.

In a bit of irony, Tuitt and Hargrave, the two players injured at the end of last season, have been the only full participants at the first two weeks of organized team activities. Heyward and backups L.T. Walton and Tyson Alualu have attended but not participated because of unspecified injuries that are believed to be minor.

Hargrave expects the Steelers to be playing with a full deck of linemen when training camp opens in less than two months. Beyond that is anybody's guess. NFL.com listed its top eight defensive lines for 2018, and the Steelers were not included.

“We can be great,” Hargrave said. “We've got the right pieces. We can all go. We all bring a little something to the table. I think we can be a great group. We just have to show up and prove it.”

Mindful of the distractions that dogged the Steelers last season, Tuitt concurred.

“We have to keep our mouths closed,” he said, “and get ready to step on the field and do it.”

http://triblive.com/sports/steelers/13709835-74/stephon-tuitt-javon-hargrave-look-to-solidify-steelers-defensive-line

[SanAntonioSteelerFan]

Stephon Tuitt, Javon Hargrave look to solidify Steelers defensive line

JOE RUTTER | Saturday, June 2, 2018...“It was hard,” Tuitt said. “I could lift only 20 pounds with my arm. I just didn't have any strength in it.” ...


That's just crazy, a starting DLman who can't life more than 20 lbs.

Why wasn't he subbed out by Alualu?

[RuthlessBurgher]

That's just crazy, a starting DLman who can't life more than 20 lbs.

Why wasn't he subbed out by Alualu?

Once again,

Tuitt played 571 snaps for us last season.

Alualu played 429 snaps for us last season.

[SanAntonioSteelerFan]

Once again,

Tuitt played 571 snaps for us last season.

Alualu played 429 snaps for us last season.

I'm missing the logic in what you're saying, sorry.

My point is that it's hard for me to understand why Tuitt was on the field and Alualu on the bench in that last game when Tuitt said he couldn't lift more than 20 lbs … and the quality of his play did not suggest he was lying.

[RuthlessBurgher]

Jeremy Fowler
ESPN Staff Writer

No matter what moves the Steelers make, the numbers remind the defense is built from the inside out. The defensive end duo of Cam Heyward and Stephon Tuitt -- with their matching $60-million contracts -- created 102 quarterback pressures last year, according to Pro Football Focus, the third-highest clip in the league for an interior tandem.