Business is boomin’ with Antonio Brown’s return to Steelers training camp

A quad injury forced Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown to seek medical treatment on Aug. 3. Less than two weeks later, the superstar is back on the practice field.

In the Pittsburgh Steelers’ first preseason game in 2018, they were able to defeat the reigning Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles without Ben Roethlisberger and arguably the NFL’s top receiver, Antonio Brown. According to Sports Illustrated, Brown left practice at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe, Pennsylvania with a right quad injury a week prior to their preseason debut.

All reports remained consistent with his progress, as well as the initial prognosis. Brown wasn’t expected to miss much time with his current ailment. Those expectations were correct. In a report by the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, Brown returned to practice with his teammates right on schedule.

Needless to say, it appears Brown was missed at Steelers training camp.

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If that wasn’t enough evidence of the fan’s excitement, FanSided has more on a fan who dressed up as a Steelers player and even got on the field to challenge Brown in a drill. Needless to say, his endeavor didn’t go as planned.

Even though it’s common practice for NFL teams to bench their top stars in the first exhibition contest, the Steelers announced Brown would not dress against the Eagles while recovering. That gave other wide receivers more time on the field in hopes of either strengthening their skills or earning a spot on the 53-man roster. JuJu Smith-Schuster put his skills on display with a 77-yard touchdown catch from second-string gunslinger Landry Jones. Smith-Schuster, currently no. 2 on the depth chart, picked up where he left off in his dynamic rookie campaign in 2017-18.

Two new receivers to the black-and-gold both had impressive showings at Lincoln Financial Field Thursday. James Washington, the Steelers’ second-round draft pick at the 2018 NFL Draft, hauled in a big catch from a former teammate, rookie quarterback Mason Rudolph. Both Oklahoma State products did well in their Steelers debuts. It’s assumed that Rudolph and Washington will make the roster in a few weeks, but one receiver who wasn’t a guarantee caught a big touchdown, and he showed off his gymnastic skills.

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Damoun Patterson finished the game with six catches, 77 yards and a touchdown from second-year quarterback Josh Dobbs. Patterson, a Youngstown State product, didn’t have the notoriety Washington or Smith-Schuster had coming into the NFL. The 23-year-old can learn from someone like Brown, who’s been in the league for several years and is one of the best at his position in the NFL. Having Brown back at training camp will only help the young upstart.

Coming up next for the Steelers is a date with the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field on Aug. 16. As of this report, it’s unknown if Brown will dress for the Steelers. All indications point toward at least one quarter of action for the All-Pro receiver before the regular season kicks off in over three weeks.