Tomlin optimistic about Bell

Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin was optimistic about rookie running back Le'Veon Bell's injury status on Thursday. But he wasn't so optimistic that he would give a long-term prognosis on when Bell would return, only saying that he didn't know where reports that said Bell would be out eight weeks had come from.

That doesn't mean, however, that Bell won't miss the first month of the season.

Tomlin said Bell has a mid-foot sprain that involves the Lisfranc tendon, but that it wasn't a tear like the one tight end Matt Spaeth suffered.

That's semantics, since a sprain is, in fact, a tear, albeit not a complete one.

So, in reality, what Bell has is a sprained Lisfranc that isn't a complete tear like the one Spaeth had.

The Steelers play four games in September and then have their bye week. It makes a lot of sense for the team to allow him to sit out until after the Oct. 6 bye and return Oct. 13 completely healthy against the Jets.

@ On a positive note, tight end David Johnson and cornerback Cortez Allen are expected to make their preseason debuts Saturday against Kansas City.

Johnson, who suffered a torn ACL in last year's preseason opener, will give the team's thin tight end position a big boost.

Allen, meanwhile, returned to practice last week after sitting out the first two preseason games following a minor knee surgery.

He's being counted on to start at cornerback in place of Keenan Lewis, so his return is a big one.