The good news is that Steelers running back Rashard Mendenhall says he’s right on schedule in his return from a torn ACL.
The bad news is that Mendenhall has no idea when that schedule might call for him to return to work. “No, none at all,” was Mendenhall’s response to the Associated Press when they asked when he would be getting back onto the field.
It has been seven months since Mendenhall suffered the injury and there doesn’t appear to be a return to the field in his immediate future. He hasn’t been testing the knee on the field yet and the team is in no rush to get him going. Some of that is practical, since the Steelers can’t put him on the PUP list to start the season if he’s practicing with the team at training camp, and some of it is precautionary.
The Steelers don’t want Mendenhall to re-injure his knee, a real worry for a running back who will have to cut hard and cut often once he’s back at work. That means taking things slowly and it seems likely that Mendenhall will miss some of the regular season in order to get back as much as possible before returning to game action.
