NFL teams
Jamison Hensley, ESPN Staff Writer 10y

Mike Tomlin: Jacoby Jones 'safe'

NFL, Baltimore Ravens, Pittsburgh Steelers

Two days before Pittsburgh's first game in Baltimore since he nearly collided with kick returner Jacoby Jones, Steelers coach Mike Tomlin was asked whether he'll be on the coverage team Thursday night.

"No, I won't be," Tomlin told Baltimore reporters Tuesday in a conference call. "Tell Jacoby he's safe."

Tomlin was fined $100,000 by the NFL for interfering with Jones on a kick return during the Steelers' 22-20 loss to the Ravens on Nov. 28, 2013. The league said Tomlin's actions -- he was standing on the white stripe that borders the playing field and took a step onto the field during Jones' return -- should have resulted in a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty.

On Tuesday's conference call, Tomlin said he has moved past the incident.

"It's a nonfactor in terms of what I'm doing and in terms of preparing for this opportunity and obviously what needs to happen for us in the stadium," Tomlin said. "I don't tote those bags."

Last year, Ravens quarterback Joe Flacco said he believed Tomlin intentionally tried to stop Jones from scoring a touchdown.

"He was looking at the big screen the whole entire time, he knew where he was, he knew where Jacoby was," Flacco said last year.

Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger said he didn't know it was the Steelers' first game in Baltimore since the controversy with Tomlin.

"Until you brought it up, I didn't even think about it," Roethlisberger said. "I obviously know it happened. But last year was last year. The things that happened, you can't afford to look back and think on those things.

"There were all kinds of things that happened in that game. For us, it's about this season. I'm sure they're saying the same thing. It's about right here and right now."

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