Regardless of the player or coach, one of the reasons the Steelers feel their defense can be even better in 2020 than it was in 2019 is because of the return of Stephon Tuitt.
Tuitt was limited to six games in 2019 because of a torn pectoral muscle. But prior to that injury, the veteran, now entering his seventh season, was having perhaps his best season.
Tuitt was performing arguably as well as anyone on the defense, recording 22 tackles, including six for a loss, and 3.5 sacks before being injured early in the first quarter of the team's Week 6 win at Los Angeles against the Chargers.
Now, he's back. Because of that, despite the loss of nose tackle Javon Hargrave in the offseason, the Steelers are optimistic Tuitt will more than help pick up the slack.
"I think the heart grows fonder when you’re away," fellow defensive lineman Cam Heyward said. "For Tuitt, personally, he’s itching to go. He’s ready to go. I understand we lost Javon Hargrave. We won’t be able to replace him completely. Having a heavy veteran like Tyson Alualu, big Dan (McCullers) coming into shape and having Tuitt there, we can more than enough sustain that. We just have to stay healthy, continue to be a cohesive unit."
Getting consistent nose tackle play out of Alualu and McCullers will be nice. But having a home-wrecker such as the 27-year-old Tuitt available could help the Steelers improve on last year's defensive numbers. The Steelers finished fifth in the league in total and scoring defense, while leading the league in sacks for the third-consecutive season and topping the NFL in takeaways with 36.
"We've got a good group of veteran guys that've been here, played long enough to understand the defense to be able to pick back up where they left off at," Tuitt said Wednesday as the Steelers continued their training camp at Heinz Field. "I'm just going to keep coming back and doing what I've been doing so far and inserting my role back into my position and working hard to be acclimated with the defense."
Keeping him on the field will be critical.
Tuitt missed two games with a sprained elbow in 2018. He missed four games and parts of others in 2017 after suffering a biceps in Week 1 at Cleveland. Sprained knees cost him time in both 2015 and 2016.
All told, the 2014 second-round draft pick has missed 20 games since appearing in all 16 games as a rookie, the only time in his career he's played in every game.
His latest injury, which he said he potentially could have returned from for the playoffs had the Steelers advanced there in 2019, was certainly a setback. But he's leaned on Heyward's experience with the same injury in 2016 to help get him through this.
"Cam went through the situation within a couple of years ago," Tuitt said. "He's been a great, reliable resource for me to be able to talk to and understand from a recovery standpoint how to handle my injury."
What they haven't talked about yet -- nor, according to Tuitt has anyone on the team addressed -- are any kind of issues with the national anthem before games this season.
Tuitt was very outspoken a few weeks ago, saying that as the grandchild of an immigrant, he will stand for the anthem no matter what given how much it meant for his grandmother to come to the United States.
Also I’m not kneeling for the flag and screw anybody who have a problem with that. My grandmother was a immigrant from the Carribean and age worked her ass off to bring 20 people over the right way. She had no money and educated herself to be a nurse. She living good now.
— stephon tuitt (@DOCnation_7) July 27, 2020
"That’s just pertaining to me and how I feel morally on the subject,” Tuitt said. “That’s just my beliefs and what I want to do.”
That could lead to some issues when it does come time for the Steelers when they do talk about any potential things they might choose to do during the national anthem. The Steelers have never had a player take a knee during the national anthem as others have done to show their displeasure of any social issues.
But Heyward said earlier this year that no matter what the team does decide to do, it will do as a team.
“I think we want to stay united in what we do and what we want to accomplish," Heyward said. "Coach (Mike Tomlin) has always told me if we win the Super Bowl, that’s not enough in the city of Pittsburgh. We want to leave lasting change among the community as well. For us, we’re going to have those opportunities to branch out and be individuals and affect our community.”
As Heyward said, winning a Super Bowl would offer everyone a platform to do different things or make their feelings known about societal issues.
A healthy Tuitt could go a long way toward helping the team do that.
"When he’s on the field, you can’t double team everybody," defensive line coach Karl Dunbar said. "He’s a big human being who can move. He’s trouble to block."
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