As he enters his second NFL season with the Pittsburgh Steelers, Kevin Dotson is content getting his initial snaps of training camp with the second-team offense.
Despite being a projected starter after the departure of the team’s top two guards, Dotson didn’t expect to be thrown immediately into the mix with the first-team offense. That’s particularly true considering an ankle injury kept him from doing any type of team activities for the first two weeks of camp.
So it surprised the 2020 fourth-round draft pick when coach Mike Tomlin’s declaration that Dotson had done “nothing” to earn playing time on the first team rippled through social media with suggestions the Steelers were dissatisfied with Dotson’s inactivity.
“I think it was just a statement,” Dotson said Tuesday. “I haven’t legit done anything. There’s nothing to look at for a body of work. I have not practiced once except yesterday. He wasn’t lying. It just read differently on Twitter.
“Reading it sounds worse than it is.”
Here is what Tomlin said Sunday when asked about Dotson’s return to practice participation in team activities:
“He’s done nothing to earn first-team reps. What are we talking about? He’s a second-year guy that hadn’t worked.”
Dotson agreed: “I still have to prove myself. I’m not a No. 1 proven guy.”
Tomlin offered a vague response Tuesday when asked if there is any dissatisfaction in the level of conditioning Dotson did in the offseason or the preparation and rehabilitation that kept the 24-year-old guard off the field for the first two weeks of camp.
“I didn’t have direct eyes on what he was doing with trainers,” Tomlin said. “Like in most instances, I focus my energy on those that are working, because we have people assigned to those that are less than available. They do a great job of driving them and making sure they are having positive days on the road to recovery.
“I was pleased with the reports that I got from people who had direct hands on him.”
After missing the preseason opener against Dallas, Dotson could get some snaps Thursday night when the Steelers play the Philadelphia Eagles. Tomlin indicated roles won’t change from the first to second games, which means any playing time Dotson gets likely will be with the backups.
Even if he doesn’t play, Dotson has a month before the regular season opens Sept. 12 at Buffalo.
“I feel like I can catch up,” Dotson said. “One thing I didn’t want was to go out and hurt it more. If I was hurt and looked bad, it would hurt my reputation. If I’m hurt and they put me up against Cam (Heyward), it’s going to make me look worse. So I took as much time as I could to get right.”
Dotson started four games and played in 13 last season, showing promise on an offensive line that was overhauled in the offseason after the Steelers finished last in rushing. He didn’t view that work as giving him an upper hand this season.
“I think they go year by year,” he said. “It’s a what-have-you-done-for-me-lately type of thing. You can’t go off last year. You have to go off this year.”
While dealing with his ankle injury, Dotson said he received two platelet-rich-plasma injections in his ankle to expedite the healing process. Free-agent signee Rashaad Coward, a converted defensive lineman, has received first-team reps at left guard in Dotson’s absence.
“There’s a frustration of not being able to prove yourself,” he said. “You have to watch your teammates do run drills and one-on-ones and some of my favorite things. Another aspect was walking around the locker room and facility and people asking me, ‘Are you all right?’ They are doing it every day, and it feels like it was dragging me and made me want to come back earlier even though I’m really hurt.”
Dotson can’t wait for a chance to prove himself again — be it Thursday in Philadelphia or Aug. 21 against Detroit.
“Any game I play in I’m going to treat it like my personal Super Bowl,” Dotson said. “I want to win, and I want to be the reason we do good, the reason we have all the rushing yards. I want to be the reason.”
Joe Rutter is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Joe by email at jrutter@triblive.com or via Twitter .