Looking ahead to the session …
• What: Steelers practice
• When: 1-3 p.m.
• Where: Rooney Sports Complex
• Early media availability: 9:30-10 a.m.
3:42: Joe Haden said he was back as a full participant in practice today and estimated he's at 85 percent in terms of how well he has healed from a fractured fibula he suffered last month in a win over Indianapolis.
But, he said he's ready to play Monday when the Steelers travel to Houston for a Christmas Day game.
"I'm a lot better than I was last week," said Haden, who was a game-time decision to play last Sunday against the Patriots. "I tried but I couldn't make it happen. I was trying to practice and it just wasn't ready to go."
Rookie Cameron Sutton made his first career start in place of Haden.
3:36: Marcus Gilbert was back at practice today after serving a four-game suspension for violation of the league's PED policy.
Gilbert, who has missed all but five games this season because of the suspension and an earlier hamstring injury, said he's ready to go after spending the past four weeks in Florida working out with a trainer and offensive line coach.
"A lot of guys are excited to have me back and I'm just excited to be back my damn self," Gilbert said.
Gilbert refused to address what happened with his positive PED test but said he chose not to fight it rather than possibly miss a postseason game. He also watched the Steelers on TV, something he is unaccustomed to doing.
Suspended players are not permitted to have contact with their teams.
"It terms of watching what we watch upstairs and the TV copy, it's a lot different," Gilbert told DKPittsburghSports.com. "I could follow along with what Ben (Roethlisberger) was saying. I could follow along with what was going on in the game, even if I don't hear the call, I could follow what the play is. From that perspective, it was kind of a cool thing. But I'd much rather have been here with my guys."
1:09: We just had J.J. Watt on a conference call from Houston. Watt, of course, is on injured reserve for the Houston Texans, who host the Steelers Monday.
Here are some of the highlights:
On younger brother T.J. Watt: "I wish I was out there playing with him but I very much look forward to seeing him play."
On the possibility of putting T.J. on Rob Gronkowski last week: "Some of the things they do with him, an outside linebacker like that, there’s a lot more zone dropping vs. man-to-man coverage, so I’m not totally shocked that wasn’t the case. Of course, being his older brother and having a little bit of bias, I was like, ‘Yeah, let’s see what he can do.’ Maybe he can, maybe he can’t. One of my favorite plays of his this year wasn’t even a sack. It was a pass breakup on (Green Bay’s) Jordy Nelson. That’s a cool thing, being able to cover one of the best wide receivers in the league. That’s really cool."
10:22: During last night's episode of "Inside the NFL" on HBO, Mike Tomlin was overheard on the sideline telling offensive coordinator Todd Haley to have another play ready to go if the Steelers' second-down play from the New England 10 was tackled in bounds.
“If it’s in the field of play, we got to play. You follow me? You got me?," Tomlin said, telling Haley to have a play ready.
Tomlin is then seen telling Haley to give Ben Roethlisberger a play after Darrius Heyward-Bey is tackled in bounds at the 7.
"Give him a play. He can’t clock it. Give him a play," Tomlin yells.
The Steelers snapped the ball with nine seconds remaining. What we don't know is if Haley did, in fact, relay a play to Roethlisberger.
We do know that Haley was telling Roethlisberger not to spike the ball in that situation. So the communication lines were open. And the Patriots got the ball back with five seconds remaining following Duron Harmon's interception of Roethlisberger in the end zone.
We also know from this video that the Steelers were lined up and ready to snap the ball with 14 or so seconds remaining:
PICKED! ??? #NEvsPIT pic.twitter.com/4OerTkMB5c
— NFL (@NFL) December 18, 2017
That should have been enough time to run a n0-huddle play. Instead, Roethlisberger ran the fake spike to Eli Rogers and was intercepted.
All Roethlisberger would say about it Wednesday morning was that, "I don't remember because it was so long ago."
10:15: In addition to Stevan Ridley, whom the Steelers signed Tuesday to replace James Conner when he was placed on injured reserve, DKPittsburghSports.com has learned the Steelers also worked out former East Carolina running back James Summers.
A rookie, Summers (6-3, 210) spent time with the Arizona Cardinals this season.
THE SETUP
Reminder: We can’t report what we see in NFL practices, per league guidelines. So we’ll always just use this space for any allowable updates, as well as a quick repository for news after the practice and media availability.
It's Wednesday, so the Steelers will return to the practice field for the first time and Ben Roethlisberger will address the media today. I'll put any immediate news of note here on this live file, then I’ll have full coverage later. Because the Steelers play on Monday, there will not be a practice report issued by either team today.