Injuries happen. That's part of every sport. Cam Heyward knows that. Heyward knows, too, that it's how each team handles those injuries that proves to be the biggest part of that process.
A hamstring injury caused Heyward to miss the first football game of his career at any level, and the Dolphins took advantage of that, amassing 222 yards rushing, in what wound up being a 30-15 setback for the Steelers.
In that sense, the Steelers defense didn't handle Heyward's injury correctly.
"That’s part of the game. You exploit everybody’s weaknesses," Heyward told reporters gathered in front of his locker Monday at the Rooney Sports Complex. "I think they tried to run the outside a couple of times and they had success. They just got us off rhythm from the get go."
Knowing that, it would be easy for the veteran defensive end to throw himself back into the mix and speed through the injury process. But he knows that's not the answer either.
"Every week there’s a different problem. If we learn to play through this, it’ll benefit us down the road. There’s a lot more confidence when guys have played before," Heyward said. "We have to get through these bumps and jump over these hurdles in times of need."
The growing list of injuries for the Steelers will likely continue to include Heyward this week as he told us that "if we played today, I wouldn't play." That list, too, is likely to include quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, who had surgery on his left knee this morning.
Times of need, you say? How about hosting the Patriots this weekend with a fired-up Tom Brady back in uniform?
Still, Heyward and Co. know that sulking over any injuries won't help anything. Rather, Heyward even pins some of the loss to the Dolphins on himself, although he didn't play. Having to watch his defense give up more than 200 yards rushing — and 204 to one guy — was the second hardest thing for Heyward to do, besides watch the clock tick down to a 15-point loss.
"I wish we could have done more during the week. We’ll look at it today and make sure it never happens again," Heyward said.
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In the meantime, while his injury heals, Heyward will go from a terrorizing defensive end to an extra set of eyes, ears and lips on the sideline for the guys in his place, whether it be free-agent acquisition Ricardo Mathews or rookie Javon Hargrave.
Until he's 100 percent again, he knows he's no help on the field.
"I’m going to do whatever I can to get back to 100 percent. That’s all I can do. In the meantime, the guys have to work and try to get ready," Heyward said. "The first thought is that I want to get back as soon as possible. No matter if it was a win, I would want to be back. I’ve got to be smart about this. I can’t rush this and I can’t put myself at a disadvantage by doing that.
"Injuries happen. Every team goes through injuries," he added. "There’s plenty of teams going through it right now. It’s about guys stepping up."
GOING GREEN?
Tight end Ladarius Green says he's inching closer and closer to a chance to get back on the field, a topic that he said he'll discuss with the coaches later today.
After being sidelined again with complications in his ankle, one he had surgically repaired back in January, there's a chance that Green could be activated this week, if the coaches feel he can play.
"I really don’t know. That’s for the coaches," Green said about his chances before offering up his take on the situation. "I feel pretty good. It’s been awhile since I’ve played; it’s been awhile since I’ve even practiced. I’m excited to get back out there and see what I can do."
This is the first chance that Steelers would have to activate the tight end, and he can be activated as late as Saturday and still be able to play in Sunday's game at Heinz Field against the Patriots. Since he's inactive, his status won't show up on any practice lists until he's activated.
As our Mark Kaboly pointed out back in late September, the Steelers have a five-week window in which to allow Green to begin practicing. From the day the player begins practicing, teams have an additional 21-day window in which to decide whether to activate Green to the 53-man roster.
After he was signed to a four-year, $20 million free agent contract in March, Green has yet to even practice since being put on the preseason physically unable to perform list and then to the regular-season PUP list.
"It feels like it’s been forever. It feels like I retired and came back or something," Green said of the layoff, the longest stretch of not practicing or playing in his career.
In the meantime, Green has had his nose in the playbook and his eyes on the field in hopes of making the most of any chance afforded to him.
"It’s been real frustrating but the guys have been helping me out a lot. They’ve been telling me to go through the process, just take my time, learn the offense, learn the playbook," he said. "I’m still just trying to make the team, really. I’m new and the tight ends have been playing so good so far."
Mental reps can only go so far, though.
Physically, Green said he's been able to run routes and workout. The last part of that process, he said, was just trying to get a spring back in his step.
"I had a problem jumping and getting a spring off this ankle," he said. "It’s come a long way."
TO THE POINT
Sammie Coates' injured index finger, which includes a laceration to the webbing between his fingers on his left hand, no doubt had an effect on the receiver's performance Sunday in Miami. In a game in which he was targeted just four times, Coates failed to haul in anything.
"I play wide receiver and I hurt my hand," Coates told me. "That’s something I use to play wide receiver."
Straight to the point.
MORE STEELERS
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