NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- When you're a high draft pick, you can have an injury here or there as a rookie and still have your roster position be safe.
When you're a lower-round or undrafted guy, an injury can be the difference between you earning a roster spot or moving on with your life's work.
Injuries are unavoidable when playing football. But the Steelers' rookie draft class has been hit hard by them at training camp. First-round pick Devin Bush sat out last week's game against the Chiefs with a shoulder issue. Third-round selection Diontae Johnson missed the opening preseason game and is likely out for Sunday's game against the Titans here at Nissan Stadium because of nagging injuries. Running back Benny Snell also likely won't play in this game because of a groin injury. And fifth-round pick Zach Gentry sat out the game against the Chiefs, though he is expected to play against the Titans.
They're all lucky, though, when compared to linebacker Sutton Smith, the first of the Steelers' three sixth-round draft picks this year. Smith, a product of Northern Illinois, hasn't been healthy enough to play in either of the Steelers' first two preseason games, missing 17 consecutive days of training camp practice with an abdominal injury.
Smith returned to practice earlier this week. And to say that he's champing at the bit to see his first preseason action against the Titans would be an understatement.
"Oh yeah. This is going to be fun," Smith told me. "It sucks being injured. It's not fun. But you've got to take the right precautions on some injuries. You hate it, but you've got to do it."
Being patient with his injury might have been something Smith had to do. But he most certainly didn't like it.
And being out that long has left him with a much bigger task to accomplish. He has just two remaining preseason games with which to show the coaching staff he deserves a spot on the team.
Smith looked good in OTAs, enough so that the team also took a look at him at fullback. Before moving to defensive end at Northern Illinois, where he recorded 29 sacks in his final two seasons, Smith, all 6-foot-1, 231 pounds of him, was a running back.
But the injuries derailed any chances of him earning a spot as a dual-position player.
"Since I got hurt, I had to back off a bit," he said. "We'll see what happens. You never know."
That's why this game against the Titans will be critical. The Steelers are without backup Ola Adeniyi, who got his knee scoped last week, and figure to play starters Bud Dupree and T.J. Watt at least a little bit. But Anthony Chickillo has been dealing with a minor injury and might not play much, meaning Tuzar Skipper and Smith could get a lot of snaps in this game.
That's just fine with Smith.
"Getting those realistic reps are key and vital to what I've got to do," Smith told me. "I want to go hard and give max effort on every play because the adrenaline out there is going to be a little different than a practice. It just always is. Coach (Mike) Tomlin talks about it. In-game scenarios are different than practice scenarios with the adrenaline rush and the overall play of the game. Sometimes you play a little slower because you don't know exactly what you're doing and you don't want to make a mistake. But I'm just going to go 100 miles per hour because I need to make something happen."
He also knows he'll need to do that not just on defense, but on special teams, as well.
Throughout the spring and early portion of training camp, every time Smith would walk past special teams coordinator Danny Smith, the coach would ask the young linebacker what his duties or keys were on a certain play or formation.
Did Danny Smith do that with everyone?
"I'm not sure about everybody," Sutton Smith told me. "I'm just always trying to get into his head and find out what he knows. I need to know what he knows, and I need to know the on-field situational stuff because it's only going to better me on special teams. I try to ask a lot of questions and I try to be near him a lot of the time. As a rookie, that's going to be one of our positions mainly, for this first season. I'm going to try to give everything I've got to that and work my way into the rotation.
"I feel like I've just got to do my job and then, on top of that, go make some plays. As long as he can trust me and see that I know what I'm doing. I haven't been on the field for 17 days. This is my first week back. I was doing visual snaps in my head with Danny. So I think that helped me a lot, seeing everything. Now, I've got to take that to the field."
THE ESSENTIALS
• What: Preseason Week 3
• When: 8 p.m.
• Where: Nissan Stadium
• Radio: 102.5 WDVE, ESPN Pittsburgh
• Satellite: SiriusXM 88, Internet 826
• Forecast: 75 degrees, scattered thunderstorms
• Lots open: 3 p.m.
• Will call open: 2 p.m.
• Gates open: 5 p.m.
• Boxscore: NFL Game Center
• Odds: MyBookie.AG
TEN TO WATCH
1. James Washington -- Washington is off to another hot start to a preseason. He entered this weekend's games with eight receptions for 162 yards and one touchdown. His 162 yards are second in the NFL in the preseason. But he performed this way last preseason, as well. He'll get some work with Ben Roethlisberger in this game. Can he take advantage of it?
2. Zach Gentry -- Gentry, No. 81 on offense, missed last week's preseason game against the Chiefs with a abdominal injury. If the fifth-round tight end hopes to push for a roster spot, the time to make a move is now.
3. Sutton Smith -- Like Gentry, Smith, No. 42 on defense, has missed a lot of time at training camp -- 17-straight days -- including each of the first two preseason games. A sixth-round draft pick, if he hopes to have any kind of chance to make the 53-man roster, he's got to make a splash in this game.
4. Mason Rudolph -- The second-year quarterback has completed 15-of-23 passes for 168 yards and two touchdown passes in the preseason. That's a passer rating of 115.9. Mike Tomlin has refused to officially name a No. 2 quarterback, but if Rudolph plays well again, he could show the coaching staff he deserves to be second on the depth chart.
5. Kameron Kelly -- Tomlin challenged Kelly to show he can be a solid tackler at the safety position this week. "I want to see you strike someone, 38, not drag them down around the waist." At 6-foot-2, 205 pounds, Kelly has the size to play safety in the league. Does he have the demeanor? He's passed Marcus Allen everywhere but on the official depth chart. So, Kelly needs to show some nastiness at the safety position -- at least as much as that's still allowed in the NFL.
6. Vince Williams -- Williams has missed a bunch of time at training camp with a hamstring injury. He'll play in this game and needs to show he can still be a factor on early downs. The team is intent on using newcomers Mark Barron and Devin Bush in its nickel and dime packages. Williams can still have an impact in the base defense.
7. Diontae Spencer -- Spencer is averaging 16.8 yards per punt return on eight attempts in the preseason. At 5-foot-8, 170 pounds, Spencer (No. 82) is tiny and likely wouldn't play a lot of offense, but if he breaks another long return, the Steelers could be prodded into keeping him as a return man.
8. Jordan Berry -- Berry is averaging 45.2 yards per punt this preseason, but somehow people think he's had a bad first two games. Perhaps that's because the other punter, Ian Berryman, has a name that's so similar. There are other punters sure to become available in the next week, so Berry continuing his solid preseason would help settle some nervousness about the position -- at least among fans.
9. Devin Bush -- Bush didn't play last week because of a minor shoulder issue, but he should be ready to go in this one. He had 10 tackles in the preseason opener. Can he follow that up with another strong effort?
10. Bud Dupree -- Dupree had a pair of sacks last week against the Chiefs. Another good game would alleviate some concerns about the defense in 2019.