Steelers’ Hawkins injured in OTA practice
PITTSBURGH 鈥� Jerald Hawkins, the man being groomed to replace Chris Hubbard as the Steelers鈥� swing tackle, went down in Wednesday鈥檚 OTA practice with a left knee injury that has teammates fearing the worst.
鈥淗opefully it鈥檚 something minor,鈥� said right tackle Marcus Gilbert. 鈥淏ut when you scream like that, it can鈥檛 be that good, right?鈥�
According to teammates, Hawkins鈥� cleat stuck in the ground while he was pass-blocking 鈥渙n air,鈥� as Gilbert called the drill which perfects technique.
鈥淗e heard a pop,鈥� Gilbert said. 鈥淚t can鈥檛 be good.鈥�
鈥淜ind of freakish,鈥� said right guard David DeCastro. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 how it happens, man. It sucks. He was playing well, too.鈥�
Hawkins is being viewed as the replacement for the departed Hubbard as the Steelers鈥� third tackle, or tackle who can swing to either side in case of an in-game injury. Hawkins saw his first regular-season action last season as a mop-up tackle and third tight end after Hubbard was promoted to the starting line.
Hawkins was a fourth-round draft pick in 2016 out of LSU.
鈥淗awk was really coming along,鈥� said Gilbert. 鈥淔rom the first week to this week he made a big jump. Yesterday in practice he was, like, wow.鈥�
鈥淗e was playing really well,鈥� said DeCastro. 鈥淚 was just talking about him. I was like, 鈥楳an, he鈥檚 looking good.鈥� That鈥檚 how it goes, huh?鈥�
Even though Hawkins remained on the ground and was helped off slowly, no prognosis had been made as of press time.
Could Hawkins have just been more scared than injured?
鈥淗e could be,鈥� DeCastro said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 happened before.鈥�
If Hawkins is out for a lengthy period of time, third-round draft pick Chuks Okorafor is expected to move into the No. 3 tackle spot.
A 39-game starter at Western Michigan, Okorafor is primarily considered a left tackle because of his mobility and long arms on his 6-6, 320-pound frame. But he also played right tackle at WMU, which turned out high draft picks Willie Beavers and Taylor Moton, also tackles, the previous two drafts.
鈥淗e鈥檚 coming along,鈥� Gilbert said of Okorafor. 鈥淗e鈥檚 learning real fast. He鈥檚 probably the most ready rookie that we鈥檝e had, talent-wise.鈥�
Okorafor moved to Detroit from Botswana at the age of 12. The first football game he watched was Super Bowl XLV between the Steelers and Green Bay Packers. He began playing as a junior in high school and the Steelers spotted him at WMU in 2016 while scouting teammates Moton and Corey Davis.
Okorafor has a thick accent but Gilbert said it hasn鈥檛 hindered his ability to communicate.
鈥淗e鈥檚 learning. He鈥檚 getting there,鈥� Gilbert said. 鈥淗e鈥檚 doing everything we鈥檙e asking him to do right now. He鈥檚 doing it and he鈥檚 getting better. Of course there are going to be a couple slip-ups, but he鈥檚 just working his behind off, staying humble, keeping quiet.鈥�
The Steelers added 6-6, 320-pound tackle Jake Rodgers on May 2. It鈥檚 the third time he鈥檚 been signed by the Steelers. Rodgers has been with five other teams since being drafted in the seventh round in 2015 out of Eastern Washington.
Another possible tackle is current second-team guard Matt Fieler, who played tackle in college at Division II Bloomsburg.
Tight end Jake McGee, a member of the practice squad last season, was helped off the field later in practice. Medical details were not made available. It caused Mike Tomlin to hold the team after practice to discuss proper etiquette.
鈥淓verybody just stand up and practice like professionals, not try to hurt each other,鈥� Gilbert said of the talk. 鈥淕uys are finishing a little too hard. Just be professional out there, don鈥檛 try to hurt anybody, stay on your feet, don鈥檛 trip the athletes. All that good stuff.鈥�