NFL PLAYER NEWS

Steelers’ Big Ben, Brown, Bell to play vs. Saints

The Sports Xchange

August 24, 2016 at 2:54 pm.

Ben Roethlisberger (7) will see his first preseason action Friday night against New Orleans. Photo Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

Ben Roethlisberger (7) will see his first preseason action Friday night against New Orleans. Photo Credit: Charles LeClaire-USA TODAY Sports

PITTSBURGH — Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin will play all of his healthy players in a game for the first time this preseason.

That means quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, All-Pro receiver Antonio Brown and running backs Le’Veon Bell and DeAngelo Williams are expected to play when the Steelers travel to face the New Orleans Saints on Friday night (8 p.m. ET). All four were held out of the first two preseason games.

“I feel like I could go into the regular season and do it, but I’d like to be to there because it’s a different speed,” Roethlisberger said. “You want to get out. I wouldn’t even mind getting hit once maybe after the ball’s gone, just a little tap from someone.”

Roethlisberger said it will be nice for all available offensive starters to get some quality work in during a preseason game before the regular season begins.

“It’s good for all of us,” he said. “For me to understand them and for them to understand me, how I work. For the new guys, to know how I communicate and how I play. Even for the linemen, to get back out there with everybody.”

Tomlin did not specify how much he would play his stars, but he was looking forward to watching his first-team offense perform for the first time. He also said he was interested to see how his first-team defense performs against veteran quarterback Drew Brees.

— Cornerback Senquez Golson is eyeing a November return after undergoing surgery to repair a Lisfranc injury in his left foot three weeks ago. Golson was expected to be the starting slot corner, but he was injured in the fourth practice of training camp.

“I’ll definitely be back this year,” Golson said. “I’m thinking sometime in November. For sure by the end of November, I’ll be full-speed back.”

NFL teams can bring one player back from injured reserve during the season. It remains to be seen if Golson will be that player.

In the meantime, the Steelers brought in former Saints corner Keenan Lewis for a physical. Lewis played for Pittsburgh from 2009-12 and could provide depth in a thin defensive backfield.

NOTES: LB Vince Williams, the top reserve at inside linebacker, signed a three-year contract Tuesday. Williams, who has 13 starts in his first three seasons, could project as a starter next season if the Steelers cannot come to terms with veteran starter Lawrence Timmons, who is entering the final year of his contract. … WR Markus Wheaton returned to practice this week from an undisclosed injury that kept him out the past two weeks. He is expected to play Friday against New Orleans and serve as the starter opposite Brown. … CB Artie Burns, the rookie first-round pick, returned to practice Wednesday after missing a couple of weeks with a quad injury. He is expected to see his first action of the preseason Friday against the Saints. The Steelers were hoping Burns would challenge Ross Cockrell for a starting job. Now he’ll look to make up for lost time and try to convince the coaches he can be part of the corner rotation.

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