LATROBE, Pa. -- The fear of the worst is over. Antonio Brown was back to his regular practice routine Saturday as the Steelers returned for their final few days of training camp here at Saint Vincent College.
Out of action for more than a week and a half with a quad injury, Brown looked to be his normal self Saturday, lining up and beating pretty much whoever tried to cover him in one-on-one drills.
That changed, however, when the team went to 11-on-11.
"C'mon coach, you can't be double teaming me in practice," Brown somewhat jokingly pleaded to defensive coordinator Keith Butler.
"You're on the field," Butler replied. "We've got to double you."
As do most teams in the NFL.
The Steelers sent Brown home for nearly a week after his initial injury to force him to rest and to keep the sidelined star from disrupting practice. When Brown was initially held out of practice two Wednesdays ago, he was deluged with autograph requests from fans on the sideline, causing disruptions to practice.
Now that he's back, the only disruptions that came Saturday were in the Steelers' secondary, though Brown did run to the snow fence after catching a touchdown in a one-on-one drill to talk to a young fan.
It was a pleasant surprise to see him back on the field after he looked pained when he first returned here Tuesday to work with the team's trainers. Brown did a number of exercises on an adjacent field earlier this week, then proclaimed to a trainer that his leg still "really hurt."
Because of that, Mike Tomlin said the team will continue to monitor Brown's progress as the Steelers continue to prepare for their regular season opener Sept. 9 in Cleveland.
"We're going to manage it," Tomlin said of Brown's time. "It's the appropriate thing to do. It's August and we're going to be smart in terms of how we work him back in."
Translation: Don't expect to see Brown suit up Thursday night when the Steelers travel to Green Bay for their second preseason game.
This was Brown after practice:
? #CampLife pic.twitter.com/2ABrl3wboj
— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) August 11, 2018