FOXBOROUGH, Mass — The Pittsburgh Steelers are a team that requires a lot of preparation, as they can make plays on all areas of the field. And on Thursday, all three coordinators spoke with reporters, detailing how they are looking to get a win at home on Sunday.
Here's what we learned on Thursday:
TreVeyon Henderson is ready to go
Henderson, who returned to practice on Monday for the first time since injuring his ankle at practice on Aug. 24, has made it clear that he intends to play this weekend.
"I'm ready to go. Thank God I'm healed up now," Henderson told reporters on Thursday. "I'm excited to be back out here with my teammates."
"I wanted to be out there [last week] pretty bad," he added. "It was a good matchup, good game, I think we competed really hard."
Getting him back
on offense will be a huge advantage for the offense, but it also brings into question whether he will go back to contributing on special teams, specifically with the kick return.
"Every week, I have a group of guys that I prepare like they are the starters - running backs, receivers, DBs that all can return the football. They're all going to get reps because I think that's very important. After all, injuries are going to happen," special teams coordinator Jeremy Springer said. "So all those guys are going to be preparing like they are the starters, and then by the time we get down to the 48, who are the two guys that we feel best with each week, depending on the scheme, and then we'll go from there."
Josh McDaniels says teams have more tape to plan for Drake Maye
Offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels acknowledged Drake Maye's struggles in the season opener, explaining that teams now have a lot more information to use to plan for the young quarterback.
“I would say there was no film on him and our offense prior to Week 1 last year,” McDaniels said. “And so you go through the process of playing a season and 21 games or whatever the number was, and now there’s evidence of things he does, things he does in our offense, things we use him to do, how we use our players, et cetera. I think there’s a natural progression in this league because the coaches on the other teams, the players on the other teams are so talented. And when you have a year like Drake did last year, there’s going to be a reaction and a response to that."
However, McDaniels is confident that he, Maye, and the offense will be able to change things up and still surprise opposing teams.
"I think we’ll see a development from him as he sees how people play him now differently," he added. "But this is an extremely exciting opportunity for us to live through this and to see the differences and then mature, grow, and continue to get better.”
Namdi Obiazor ready to build off impressive debut
Namdi Obiazor wasted no time making a big impact on special teams, finishing the game with three tackles.
"Just taking advantage of his opportunities," special teams coordinator Jeremy Springer said. "I think Coach Vrabel says that all the time. He was the guy that got picked to put on the 48-man roster for that game, and he took advantage of his opportunities. And I hope that he continues to do that and progress. And there will be ebbs and flows of a football season where he'll have to learn as a young guy, and I just hope that he's on the more successful part of that than the poor side."
His first tackle came on the opening kickoff, with Obiazor bringing down a Seahawks returner, Rashid Shaheed, at Seattle's 22-yard line. His second was also on Shaheed, bringing him down at the Seahawks' 29-yard line in the third quarter, and then he had one more in that same frame after Mitch Wishnowsky had to punt the ball from the Patriots' own end zone, with Shaheed catching it on the 50, but only getting nine yards on the return before being brought down by Obiazor and Elijah Ponder.
"It felt good. It was my first real test in an actual regular-season game, so I was just trying to go out there and put good stuff on tape," he told Patriots Wire on Thursday. "I showed myself that I'm able to do it, and then now, it's time just to do it repetitively and get consistent."
Gabe Jacas
"I saw growth, and that's what's most important," said Patriots defensive coordinator Zak Kuhr. "There's improvement, and again, there's going to be bumps and bruises along the way, and he's going to get some good experience. And we just got to look through the bumps and bruises and make sure it's not the same mistakes. And I thought you played hard, played physically, played fast. Just got to clear some details and technique, and we want this week to look better than the last."
Can the Patriots replace A.J. Brown?
In the loss to Seattle, A.J. Brown suffered an ankle injury that will sideline him for four to six weeks. And that means Romeo Doubs, Mack Hollins, DeMario Douglas, Kyle Williams, and Efton Chism will be tasked with stepping up and filling in the void on the offense.
"Look, there’s not one person replacement for a guy like that. You know, he’s a special player, and he does things that other guys haven’t done,” McDaniels said. “And so, you try to take everybody that you have available to you and put them in positions to do things they do well. And if somebody can’t just replace the things that we might have done with A.J., then maybe we don’t do them. Or maybe we find things that suit the guys that we have a little bit better. That’s how we’re going to do it.”
“We have a great group of guys in all those skill rooms,” he added. “So, we’ll hopefully put together a nice plan that’ll allow us to do the same things with that group.”
Stephon Gilmore will retire as a Patriot
NEWS: Stephon Gilmore will be returning to Gillette Stadium tomorrow to officially retire as a Patriot pic.twitter.com/UHqgXfatom
— Sophie Weller (@sophieewellerr) September 17, 2026
Stephon Gilmore will be back in Foxborough on Friday to officially retire as a member of the Patriots. The cornerback played with New England for four seasons, from 2017 to 2020, earning numerous accolades including being named a Pro Bowler three times, a first-team All-Pro twice, as well as the NFL Defensive Player of the Year in 2019. He finished his Patriots career with 11 interceptions, 52 pass breakups, and 185 tackles.
Practice attendance
The Patriots could be without a key presence in the secondary on Sunday as cornerback Carlton Davis was sidelined for the second straight day of practice. The wide receiver was spotted at Monday's media-attended portion of practice, but it's unclear how much he took part in. If he's out, New England will likely turn to Charles Woods to play opposite Christian Gonzalez.
"If that happens, it's always been a next man up mentality," defensive coordinator Zak Kuhr said. "We got all the trust in the world, and the next person up, whoever, whatever position is... I think those guys have bought into that, and they all prepare as a starter, as we always teach them. And when that happens, we just don't skip a beat."
Offensive tackle Dametrious Crownover was also absent. Dre'Mont Jones, who was listed as a limited participant, was out for the start of practice on Thursday.
Extra points
- Romeo Doubs ready to put last week behind him: “I have a ton of confidence in myself. I look forward to keeping my humility sane and doing what I do.”
- The difficulty of facing a Patrick Graham defense: "Supremely well coached. He's really talented. They have got a great set. I have a ton of respect for Pat. Tons. Very smart, tough, physical game plan approach to each week... They'll have a plan for us that's very unique. It may be wildly different with elements of what we've seen, but it's certainly going to be the plan he thinks is best to use against us." —Patriots OC Josh McDaniels
- Forcing more turnovers: "It's about the opportunity. Capitalizing on opportunity, in my opinion, is the biggest thing on takeaways. And the way you do that is you get more attempts... The only way you improve your chances and your odds is if you get your attempts up, like the only way you can win the lottery is buy more tickets. We just got to improve our attempts, and we have to capitalize when that small chance happens." —Patriots DC Zak Kuhr
- Improving the run game: "The running game is really about execution and toughness. And I thought our guys hung in there, and we ended up having some of our best runs in the fourth quarter. And patience is important... I had a great, great, great mentor that told me the volume of runs is important to the overall average eventually, and that was Dante Scarnecchia." —Patriots OC Josh McDaniels
- What kind of challenge does Steelers TE Darnell Washington pose: "A big one. He's athletic. Obviously, his size and strength is no joke. He's great in the run game, like we've seen on tape, and he did it last year. He did it last week... So, he's a piece we're well aware of. And like I said, as long as we play to our identity and style, and we play within our scheme, hopefully we're in a good spot with that." —Patriots DC Zak Kuhr
- Kyle Williams' kick returns: "A great job. He's pro to pro. He's all in. He's working his tail off. I'm glad we're using him right now."
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This article originally appeared on Patriots Wire: What I’m hearing at Gillette Stadium: Thursday rumblings (Week 2)
