Last year, it was Lawrence Timmons’ groin. This year, it’s Rashard Mendenhall’s hamstring. And none of it surprises Coach Mike Tomlin.
Last May, Timmons arrived as the team’s No. 1 draft pick, but after taking part in one full minicamp practice, he was injured and ended up missing the rest of the offseason program. This year, Mendenhall was the No. 1 pick, and after taking part in both minicamp practices on Friday, he missed both sessions on Saturday with what was termed a slight hamstring strain.
“It’s a precaution right now,” said Tomlin about the decision to sideline Mendenhall. “He has somewhat of a hamstring injury. It’s becoming somewhat commonplace for some of these high-round draft picks to have this situation happen to them during minicamp weekend. It happened to Lawrence last year, it happened to (No. 2 pick LaMarr) Woodley last year.”
It’s unlikely that Mendenhall will return to the field for Sunday’s finale, but Tomlin doesn’t expect his injury to linger as long as Timmons’.
