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Harris: Steelers' Timmons waits out injury - Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

excerpt:

Pacing impatiently on the sideline at Steelers' South Side practice facility Thursday, linebacker Lawrence Timmons, the team's first-round draft pick from Florida State, watches and waits for his pulled groin to heal.

The injury he suffered in his first workout at the team's minicamp two weeks ago has kept him out of action -- and otherwise out of mind.

Timmons sat out his seventh consecutive workout yesterday -- a total that includes the four minicamp workouts he's missed since joining the Steelers.

As the wait continues, so does Timmons' frustration level, linebackers coach Keith Butler said.

"I know he's frustrated. I know he's getting impatient," Butler said. "All his teammates know he's the No. 1 pick, and they're looking to see him do something to help this football team. He wants to earn the respect of his teammates. You can't do that on the sideline, and he knows that.

"To play this game, at this level, at this speed, it's easy to go in there on the blackboard and say what you should do in this situation, what you shouldn't do in that situation. Taking it from the blackboard to the grass is a little bit harder for some people. We don't know if it'll be harder for Lawrence.

"He's taking mental reps every time he's out there. He's listening to the calls; he's attentive, asking questions. He needs the reps to be able to think fast in order to play the defense. Out here, everything speeds up. When it becomes slow for him out here, that's when he's going to really improve, where he can play fast."

The worst thing that Timmons can do at this point, Butler said, is give in to frustration and rush back onto the field.

Not that the Steelers would give him the chance.

Timmons' injury, suffered in the first hour of his first NFL workout, is severe enough to limit his physical activity and prevent him from playing at full speed.

"I don't think he can go out there right now, to be honest with you," Butler said. "The thing we want to be sure we don't do is have this be an ongoing problem, with him coming back too quick and repulling it.

"We're hoping he'll be ready to go out there next week, but we'll see. It's a day-to-day thing."

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