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Pittsburgh Steelers special teams coach Danny Smith suffered a serious injury after taking a hit on the sideline during the team's 23-19 win against the Green Bay Packers last Sunday (November 12).
Smith, 70, told reporters he "got a torn rotator cuff in three spots, but I'm good," during Thursday's (November 16) practice via TribLive's Chris Adamsk. The longtime coach said he's dealt with numerous injuries over the years but Sunday's was among the worst.
"I've been hit a lot, been hit hard. I got a lot of metal in my body, I gotta learn to get the hell out of the way," Smith said.
"This one hurt. I got a torn rotation cuff in three spots, but I'm good," he added with a laugh.
Steelers safety Damontae Kazee was running an interception out of bounds when he was hit late from behind by Packers offensive lineman and Zach Thom collided with Smith, who appeared to land onto his right shoulder before a scrum between the two teams ensued. The 70-year-old coach said his shoulder went up and he was unable to get up before being scooped up by Steelers tight end Rodney Williams and removed from the melee.
"I just saw him on the ground, and he couldn't get up and I saw everybody coming over," Williams said via ESPN. "So, I just picked him up, tried to carry him out, make sure he was all good. ...
"He was trying to scoot out of there, but he couldn't really move for real, so I just had to get my dog up out of the pile."