PITTSBURGH (AP) ― Hines Ward is well aware of the milestones within his reach. The ones that could lead him to the Hall of Fame.
The Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver is 19 receptions away from 1,000. He’s 30 yards away from 12,000. He always imagined he’d reach both while playing for the only team that’s ever signed his paychecks.
Now, he’s not so sure. Not after spending most of Sunday’s 24-17 win over Cincinnati all dressed up with nowhere to go.
While Antonio Brown, Mike Wallace and Jerricho Cotchery sliced through the Bengals’ defense, the team’s all-time leader in every major receiving category stood on the sideline with his helmet on, a few steps away from coach Mike Tomlin.
Ward kept waiting for Tomlin to send him into the game. Tomlin only rarely looked the 14-year veteran’s way.
The 35-year-old Ward insists he didn’t take it personally, even if the coaches that have relied on him never bothered to let him know he’d spend a pivotal game doing more cheerleading than route running.
“They don’t owe me anything,” Ward said. “It is what it is. Whatever my role is, go out there and do the best job I possibly can.”
Even if what Ward’s role is at the moment remains unclear. He was bumped from his starting spot against the Bengals by Brown, and found Cotchery working as the third receiver in Ward’s normal slot position.
Though he sat out the second half of a loss to Baltimore the previous week following a helmet-to-helmet collision with Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis, Ward felt fine. He practiced twice leading up to the Cincinnati game and remains fresh.
“I’m healthy,” Ward said. “I never made excuses for injuries or anything ... it’s bigger than me, it’s really about the team. I’m going to continue being positive.”
While not exactly calling it a demotion, Tomlin didn’t exactly promise Ward will be back in his usual spot following Pittsburgh’s bye week. The Steelers (7-3) play at Kansas City on Nov. 27.
“We were just looking at some personnel groups and looking at ways we wanted to attack these people,” Tomlin said. “We’ll do that from week to week. It may not be any indication of his participation moving forward.”
Or it may be.
Brown is doing in his second season what Wallace did a year ago, developing into a legitimate downfield threat with a quickly improving set of hands. Emmanuel Sanders has shown glimpses before going down with a minor knee injury following a victory over New England on Oct. 30.
Cotchery, signed as a free agent during training camp, is finally healthy after being dogged by hamstring issues. He caught his first touchdown pass of the season against the Bengals, with another getting wiped out by a penalty away from the play.
