Eight months after his late touchdown run gave Georgia Tech the ACC championship, Jonathan Dwyer is in danger of not making the Pittsburgh Steelers roster.
The 2008 ACC Player of the Year, who ran for 1,395 yards in each of his sophomore and junior seasons, could end up on the practice squad or injured reserve, according to media reports out of Pittsburgh.
Dwyer did not play in Saturday's preseason game against the New York Giants due to a shoulder injury. Earlier in camp, he missed time with a hamstring strain.
"The reality is that he's not on the field so he's not helping himself," coach Mike Tomlin said last week.
Ed Bouchette, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette writer who covers the Steelers, went further.
"After watching spring practices, I thought Jonathan Dwyer had a chance to become the No. 2 back," Bouchette wrote on Friday. "After watching camp, I don't think he'll make the team."
It would be another setback for Dwyer, who left school early to enter the NFL. Despite his heralded career at Tech, the former Kell High School star wasn't drafted as high as many analysts expected, falling all the way to the sixth round.
Bouchette called out Dwyer for not focusing during a 7-on-7 drill, saying he "had his head in the clouds" and "actually turned his back on the plays a few times as he low-dee-dowed it.
"Not a good sign for an injured rookie sixth-round draft choice already on the hot seat," Bouchette added. "As I watched, I remember something backfield coach Kirby Wilson told me early in camp, that Dwyer has to learn that football is important to him all of the time, not just once in a while."
Dwyer is behind Rashard Mendenhall, Mewelde Moore and Isaac Redman, and possibly fullback Frank Summers, in the battle for what will likely be four backfield spots.
The Marietta native played in the preseason opener against Detroit, running six times for 8 yards. The Steelers have two more preseason games, Saturday at Denver and Sept. 2 against Carolina, for Dwyer to make an impression.
Pittsburgh media raved about Dwyer during the spring minicamp, then criticized him for showed up to training camp overweight. Listed at 5-11, 229 pounds, Dwyer seemed to be gaining ground until suffering the shoulder injury against the Lions.
"Of course I'm a little frustrated, but I'm not mad or anything," Dwyer told the Tribune-Democrat of Johnstown, Pa., last week. "My shoulder's getting better, but it's not to the point where I can be the running back I know I can be."
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