The-Hogs.net - Washington Football Discussion, Redskins to Commanders Era

Ward gets a warm reception as he makes belated debut at training camp
Thursday, August 18, 2005

By Gerry Dulac, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

At 5:30 a.m., on his first morning at training camp, Hines Ward had a knock on the door of his dormitory room.

Time for a drug test.

"It was a nice wake-up call," said cornerback Deshea Townsend, Ward's roommate.

Welcome back, Hines.

The mandatory test probably revealed a high level of adrenaline, with traces of lingering sorrow, elements that pumped through Ward's veins as he rejoined his teammates for the first time at St. Vincent College in Latrobe.

Ward spent Tuesday night walking through the halls of his dormitory, catching up with teammates and apologizing for his 15-day holdout, which ended Monday night, hours before the Steelers' opening preseason victory against the Philadelphia Eagles.

"A lot of guys were like, man, you don't have to do that," wide receiver Antwaan Randle El said. "We understand his stance and respect the way he went about it."

Then, after the drug test and a little breakfast, Ward was one of the first players in the locker room, ready to get out onto the field for his first practice of the season and forget about the contract negotiations that were continuing to proceed around him.

Ward, a four-time Pro Bowl receiver, ended his holdout with the understanding the Steelers would continue to negotiate a contract extension with his agent, Eugene Parker. The two sides talked again yesterday, and it didn't appear as though a deal was imminent.

"I went out around [Tuesday] night and apologized to guys for not being here," Ward said. "But that's in the past right now. There's nothing they can do because it's my situation. They know what type of player I am -- when I step on the field I'm going to give all I got. My teammates recognize that, and they know what type of player I am.

"No player came up to me and said, 'Hey, you should have been here.' Most of them are, like, 'Man, you're lucky, you got to miss two weeks of training camp.' "

Said Townsend, "We all know that's not needed. We're all glad to have him back."

The Steelers didn't waste any time putting Ward right back where he belongs, either, lining him at flanker with the first-team offense, opposite Randle El, who occupied the first-team split-end spot vacated by the departure of Plaxico Burress.

Ward admitted to being a little more tired than anticipated and said he wasn't as "crisp" as he would like to be. But he was back, and he was sweating, and enjoying the good-natured ribbing from his teammates.

When he tried to pull his pads on for the first time, running back Jerome Bettis pretended to offer a helping hand, then began playfully hitting Ward in the ribs while his pads were stuck on his head.

"He looks good," coach Bill Cowher said. "His timing is a little off, by his own admission, but we got time."

"I'm just glad to be out here with my teammates, and those guys are more than welcome to have me back out here so I can get tired with them," Ward said. "Hey, I'm ready to start the season up and work hard. I'm not here to talk about contracts. That's behind me. They're negotiating. Whatever decision comes about, so be it."

Ward went through both practices yesterday -- the final two-a-day session of training camp -- and said he plans to play in the preseason game against the Miami Dolphins Saturday night at Heinz Field.

Ward said it was one thing to miss some of the rigors of training camp, knowing he wasn't with his teammates. But he said it was still another to start missing games, one of the reasons his holdout ended just hours before the first preseason game.

"The camaraderie with the guys, hanging around with them, waking up with them in the dorm rooms, waking up in the morning and coming out here and working hard, everyone's sweating," Ward said.

"Nobody was even talking about the contract. They're glad to have me out here, and I'm glad to be out here with them."