The Pittsburgh Steelers will close out their 2017 preseason Thursday night with a road game against the Carolina Panthers and if you’re hoping cornerback Senquez Golson will finally make his NFL debut in that contest, you are about to be disappointed yet again.
Golson, who has missed considerable time again this summer with a hamstring injury suffered during the team’s first padded practice of training camp, made it pretty clear on Monday to Jacob Klinger of pennlive.com that he isn’t likely to play in the Steelers preseason finale against the Panthers.
“I missed too much time,” Golson said, “to let a hammy set me back, you know what I’m saying? So I’m going off of according to how I feel. And that’s just what it is. It’s about how I feel and if I feel like I can go, I’ll go.
“But I’ve had too many setbacks, I’ve missed too much time to be letting something as simple as a hamstring – but how nagging it can be – linger throughout the season.”
Additionally, Golson let it be known that he’s ready to move past the Steelers should he eventually be cut by them in the coming days.
“I’m going to play football this year. I’m going to play football this year, whether it’s here or wherever, I’m going to play,” Golson said, per Klinger. “I’m being just extra cautious [with my hamstring rehab] because that’s just what I need to do, make sure I get everything.”
If Golson’s not fully healthy by the time the Steelers make their final cuts, the team will likely have to waive him injured. They could always place him directly on their Reserve/Injured list, but if they do that, he wouldn’t be eligible to return later in the season if he isn’t first included on the team’s initial 53-man roster. That’s very unlikely to happen, however.
“I don’t want to go nowhere,” Golson said. “I definitely don’t want to be on IR, I definitely don’t want to be there, but if that’s that what happens then that’s what happens.”
Golson, the Steelers second-round draft pick in 2015, has yet to play in an NFL game and that includes preseason contests. His rookie season was wiped out by a shoulder injury while his second season was lost due to a foot injury that he suffered early during training camp in 2016.
At this point, it’s hard to imagine that Golson will even land on the Steelers 10-man practice squad and especially if he isn’t fully healthy.
