The Facts: Following up on the ongoing story. ... Mendenhall said he will play this season, and the Steelers running back didn't rule out doing so in the Sept. 9 season opener in Denver. "There's always the possibility," Mendenhall said Wednesday. "I'll be back at some point. It's just a matter of what point that is."

Diehards Line:GM Kevin Colbert has said it usually takes a year to fully recover from that injury and the Steelers have braced for the possibility that Mendenhall will spend the first six weeks of the season on the physically unable to perform list. Mendenhall said he is still experiencing soreness and swelling in the knee he hurt in the Steelers' 2011 regular-season finale in Cleveland. But Tribune-Review staffer Scott Brown reports that Mendenhall didn't appear to be favoring it while running on the side during the Steelers' first two offseason practices, and Mendenhall said he has been cutting and doing other things that put him on track to return in 2012. ... Still, Fantasy owners shouldn't get their hopes up. The Steelers are eager to see if Isaac Redman, who rushed for 213 yards in the final two games last season, is ready to handle an increased workload. We still expect him to be the Week 1 starter at this point.