Antonio Brown May Return to Steelers Practice from Injury After Eagles Game

Pittsburgh Steelers superstar wide receiver Antonio Brown has missed the last week of practice while dealing with a quadriceps injury and will also sit out Thursday's preseason game against the Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field, per Josh Alper of Pro Football Talk.

But head coach Mike Tomlin told reporters Tuesday he's hopeful that Brown will be able to return to practice after Thursday night's contest. According to Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com, Brown attended the team's walkthrough Tuesday morning.            

Brown, 30, is the best wide receiver in football and arguably Pittsburgh's most important offensive weapon, so there's little reason for the Steelers to rush him back during training camp. He's registered five straight seasons with at least 100 catches, 1,200 receiving yards and eight touchdowns. 

He's also a four-time first-team All-Pro selection and a six-time Pro Bowler. Sam Monson of Pro Football Focus ranked him as the seventh-best player in all of football last season, writing:

"Brown has been rivaled at times for the title of the game’s best receiver, but he reinforced his claim to that crown this season and was incredible for the Steelers all year, earning MVP talk before he went down hurt against the Patriots in Week 15. Brown led the league in receiving yards despite missing the final games of the season and also made multiple spectacular plays over the season, ending the year with an overall PFF grade of 93.9."

With a healthy Brown alongside Ben Roethlisberger, Le'Veon Bell and JuJu Smith-Schuster, the Steelers should once again have once of the best offenses. But with Brown out of action, players such as Justin Hunter, Marcus Tucker and Justin Thomas will have the opportunity to prove themselves and stake a claim for a spot on the final depth chart.