Xavier Grimble was in particularly good spirits the other day as he was sitting at his locker stall. At least for a little while.
He was more than happy to talk about what he's learned from the teammates ahead of him on the depth chart and eager to tell about the development of those behind him.
The one subject he wouldn't broach was the elephant in the (locker) room: The big, bulky cast that's been covering his surgically-repaired right thumb the last two weeks.
"Please, no questions about injuries," he said.
Well, at least Grimble participated in that morning's walkthrough and was sprinting between periods in practice later in the afternoon.
Across the room from him, Jesse James was declaring himself good to go for practice after leaving the third preseason game against Green Bay with a back contusion.
That's a lot more than Vance McDonald could say. The Steelers' biggest acquisition on offense last season was still walking gingerly around the Rooney Complex and hasn't participated in a practice since suffering a foot injury July 29, during the first week of training camp back in Saint Vincent.
And that group, folks, are your 2018 Pittsburgh Steelers tight ends, the only three still on the roster after Saturday's cutdown day.
Bucky Hodges, who pulled in a 36-yard catch from Josh Dobbs in Thursday night's win over Carolina in the preseason finale, was among the whacked along with Pharoah McKever and Christian Scotland-Williamson, a British rugby player who will stick around town only as part of the NFL's International Player Pathway program. He, like Hodges was signed back to the team's practice squad Sunday.
Those were the guys that Mike Tomlin was talking up before Thursday's game but, apparently, two men's misfortune was not enough opportunity for Hodges, McKever or Scotland-Williamson to "lean forward." Or something like that.
Still, the coach insisted he had no concerns about the tight end position.
Any concerns now? One week before the start of the regular season?
If there aren't, maybe there should be.
Obviously, a lot can happen over the next few days as free agents look to latch on to new teams and the Steelers could very well be in the market.
But, as is, the 24-year-old James is not only the longest-tenured member of the tight ends room, he's also the youngest and the only one healthy. The McKeesport native has played in 41 straight games dating back to his rookie year and rarely, if ever, misses practice. And he wasn't about to last week.
"We're not healthy right now, so we need the guys to come back and get out on the practice field so we can see what's going on," James was telling DKPittsburghSports.com. "We know we have three solid guys who have been veterans here, who've played some good football for us. When we're healthy, we feel really good about it."
Indeed, beyond James, the tight end position is a question mark for Week 1 in Cleveland and possibly beyond. The hope is that Grimble will be ready in time to face the Browns, though that remains to be seen.
The far more concerning injury is to McDonald. His plantar fasciitis, a painful heel injury, doesn't look like it's going to allow him to return anytime soon.
But, if we're being honest, the tight end situation has been a concern since the retirement of Heath Miller three years ago. As good as he was, the two-time Pro Bowler was at his best serving as a security blanket of sorts for Ben Roethlisberger. If Roethlisberger needed a short or intermediate route down the middle, Miller was the guy.
Despite their best efforts, the Steelers are still looking for that guy.
In 2016, they brought in big-ticket free agent Ladarius Green from San Diego at a cool four years and $20 million.
It was hoped he would be the modern big pass-catching tight end that had been lacking in the Steelers' arsenal. But after six games, he was out of the league due to lingering concussion issues and a pre-existing foot condition.
Then, last Aug. 29, two weeks before the start of the regular season, the Steelers sent their 2018 fourth-round pick in exchange for McDonald and a fifth-rounder from the San Francisco 49ers.
Though he had just 14 catches and 188 yards receiving in the regular season, McDonald certainly showed some flashes, including in last season's divisional round loss to Jacksonville when he set a career-high for receptions (10) and receiving yards (112) in a game.
But he's also proven to be injury-prone both here in Pittsburgh and in San Francisco, the team that drafted him in the second round in 2013.
Last season, McDonald missed a half-dozen games due to assorted knee, back, ankle and shoulder injuries. That, after finishing two of the previous three seasons on IR with the 49ers.
There was some speculation at the end of last season that the Steelers might walk away from McDonald and his contract which carries a cap hit of $2.13 million this season and then $5.827 million in 2019. There had been some talk that the Steelers would use a draft pick on a tight end this year. But neither of those happened.
Instead, the Steelers are pretty much where they were a year ago with McDonald unable to get in some much-needed practice time with Roethlisberger to develop the kind of chemistry he had with Miller.
That leaves James. Despite seeing the Steelers bring in Green and McDonald to take away his playing time, he's outlasted and outplayed both.
While not as flashy as a Rob Gronkowski or Travis Kelce, James has developed into a solid two-way tight end. His blocking has come a long way and he's been quietly productive since entering the league as a 2015 fifth-rounder out of Penn State.
James has 90 career receptions for 766 yards, to go along with seven touchdowns -- and one infamous non-TD last season vs. New England. Last season he played in 81.92 percent of all offensive snaps, compared to just 24.5 for McDonald and 15.28 for Grimble.
While Grimble has decent athleticism, he also had all of five catches for 32 yards and one TD last season.
More concerning for the Steelers and first-year coordinator Randy Fichtner is how the injuries could impact how he uses his tight ends.
While 11-personnel (one back, one tight end, three wide receivers) is the de facto base offense -- the Steelers employed it 69 percent of all plays last season -- they did use some two tight-end sets -- 12 personnel -- and had been hoping to incorporate more under Fichtner.
According to Pro Football Focus, the Steelers used 12-personnel 11 percent of the time in 2017 to rank tied for last along with Houston and Green Bay. The league average was 19 percent with Baltimore leading the way at a whopping 35 percent. As the Ravens proved last season, two tight end sets don't necessarily translate into success.
But as the Steelers have found out this injury-plagued summer, it's hard to even plan for two tight end sets, when you've only got one.
"We'll see who is ready to rock when we go into Cleveland, but I know I'll be ready," James was saying. "We'll see what happens with everyone."