Steelers expect Adams to recover
PITTSBURGH – On the same day the Steelers signed their top two draft picks, head coach Mike Tomlin said he expects the team’s 2012 rookie of the year to make a full recovery after being stabbed during an attempted carjacking early Saturday morning.
Tomlin, who has visited with offensive tackle Mike Adams twice in the hospital, said the 23-year-old was fortunate he was not more seriously injured.
“We recognize the world that we live in, and things like this are capable of happening,” Tomlin said. “Not that we accept it, but we understand that it’s capable of happening.”
Adams told Pittsburgh police he was approached around 3 a.m. while outside his home on the South Side by three men who ordered him to turn over the keys to his truck. When Adams told the men he did not have the keys with him, one pointed a gun in his face and another stabbed him twice in the abdomen while also slashing his forearm.
Adams underwent surgery at UMPC Mercy to repair the wounds and is expected to be released today.
Monday, Pittsburgh Police announced they have arrested 25-year-old Hazelwood resident Michael Purancy for taking part in the stabbing. Purancy, who is being held at Allegheny County Jail, has been charged with attempted homicide, aggravated assault and conspiracy.
Police are still searching for other suspects.
The team’s second-round draft pick in 2012, Adams is expected to be the Steelers’ starting right tackle this season. Tomlin said Adams will be cleared to resume training with his teammates in about six weeks, in time for the team’s training camp at the end of July.
“He’s going to go through a couple of weeks of inactivity until he can proceed with the next step, but obviously the next step for him is getting out of the hospital,” Tomlin said. “We expect that to come within the next 24 hours, and he’ll proceed from there.”
Meanwhile, the team signed linebacker Jarvis Jones and running back Le’Veon Bell, their top two draft choices, to four-year contracts.
Jones (6-2, 245), the 17th selection in this year’s draft, is expected to help the Steelers at outside linebacker, where longtime starter James Harrison was released in the offseason.
“I wanted to get it out of the way so I can continue to focus on my career,” said Jones, whose 14.5 sacks at Georgia in 2012 led NCAA Division I college football.
Bell (6-1, 244), the Steelers’ second-round draft pick, played at Michigan State, rushing for 3,346 yards and 33 touchdowns in his career. He led the Big Ten with 1,743 rushing yards last year.
Also signed Monday was defensive end Nick Williams, a seventh-round pick, to a three-year deal. The signing of Williams leaves fourth-round pick Landry Jones, a quarterback from Oklahoma, as the lone pick from this year’s draft class still unsigned.