Tag: Steelers injuries

Steelers vs. Bills injury update: Good and bad news from Pittsburgh

An injury update ahead of the Pittsburgh Steelers Week 1 matchup against Buffalo Bills was released.

Good news or bad news: Which do you want to first?

I’ll start with the bad. The big injury news out of Pittsburgh Steelers practice on Thursday had to do with Alex Highsmith. The groin injury that limited him on Wednesday kept him out today. The severity of the injury is unknown, but it could keep the second-year linebacker out of the lineup on Sunday versus the Buffalo Bills.

Now for the good news. Tyson Alualu (elbow) and Kendrick Green (thumb), who did not fully practice on Wednesday, were a full go today.

The Steelers practice for a final time in Pittsburgh tomorrow before they head to Buffalo on Saturday.

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Despite the loss, Pittsburgh Steelers win big on injury front in Cleveland

Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin said there were only bumps and bruises in loss to Cleveland.

It didn’t matter if the Steelers won or lost today in Cleveland. What mattered is that they came out of the game without injury. And despite some hold-your-breath moments with wide receiver Chase Claypool and safety/linebacker Marcus Allen, Pittsburgh did just that.

In his postgame press conference, Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin said that there were no significant injuries.

After an awkward tackle, Claypool exited the game briefly with an apparent foot injury but was back in the game on the following drive and scored a touchdown.

Allen appeared to injure his shoulder on a play early in the third, but he also returned the following drive.

The Steelers will host Cleveland next weekend in the Wild Card game. 

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Steelers LB Robert Spillane eligible to play Week 17 vs. Cleveland Browns

2020-specific rules, prompted by the COVID pandemic, allows players to return from injured reserve after three weeks.

The Pittsburgh Steelers lost more than the game Week 13 versus the Washington Football Team. In the unfortunate domino effect of injuries to their linebacker unit, the Steelers moved Robert Spillane to injured reserve on Dec. 12 after he succumbed to a knee injury.

Spillane came into the lineup to fill the void left by Devin Bush and barely missed a beat. He logged 45 tackles (39 solo), three quarterback hits, and a fumble recovery. The third-year linebacker also picked off Baltimore Raven’s quarterback Lamar Jackson in their Week 8 tilt and took it 33 yards for a score.

In the offseason, the NFL created 2020-specific rules prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Among them was a change to injured reserve. From ESPN’s Dan Graziano:

A player going on injured reserve is allowed to return after missing only three weeks, and teams may return an unlimited number of players from injured reserve throughout the year. Once a team activates a player from injured reserve, it has 21 days to return him to the active roster.

Three weeks makes Spillane eligible to return to the Steelers in Week 17. Of course, whether Spillane plays in Cleveland or even in the postseason depends on the severity and recovery progress of his knee injury. Hopefully, there will be some good news leading up to the Browns game, but I’d rather see him rest up for the playoff run.

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Steelers vs. Bengals injury update: RB James Conner OUT

James Conner (quad) will not play tonight versus the Cincinnati Bengals.

Steelers running back James Conner (quad), who has been limited in practice this week, was downgraded from questionable to out for their matchup in Cincinnati tonight. Conner sustained a quadricep injury in the Buffalo Bills game.

If the Steelers ground game is to get back on track, it’ll be up to Benny Snell, Jaylen Samuels and rookie Anthony McFarland.

Conner joins guard Kevin Dotson, who Pittsburgh announced on Saturday is out with a shoulder injury.

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Steelers place RB Trey Edmunds on IR and add TE Vance McDonald to roster

Edmunds’ hamstring has landed him on injured reserve, making room for McDonald.

The Thanksgiving holiday doesn’t keep the Pittsburgh Steelers from making moves necessary to strengthen the team.

Running back Trey Edmunds, who was signed to the roster on Oct. 10, was placed on injured reserve. He suffered a hamstring injury in the Week 10 Steelers-Bengals matchup.

The Edmunds move allowed Pittsburgh to add tight end Vance McDonald to the active/inactive roster. He was activated on Nov. 24 and returned to practice after being removed from the reserve/COVID-19 list.

Though McDonald hasn’t contributed much in the passing game (9 rec., 61 yards), the Steelers could use his blocking skills in the run and pass game. Hopefully, Vance will be active for the rescheduled Steelers-Ravens brawl on Sunday.

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Steelers CB Mike Hilton due to return to practice this week

Mike Tomlin provided an injury update heading into Jacksonville Jaguars week.

In his weekly press conference, Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin noted that cornerback Mike Hilton would be returning to practice on Wednesday.

Hilton has been dealing with a shoulder injury that kept him out of action since Week 6.

The fourth-year corner is an integral part of Pittsburgh’s defense and has been vital to the pash rush in 2020.

Tomlin said “there’s really big optimism” in the potential return of both Hilton and defensive tackle Chris Wormley (knee) to the lineup. Henry Mondeaux has been filling in for Wormley since Week 8.

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Pittsburgh Steelers escape Week 10 victory without significant injuries

It’s always a good week when the Steelers injury report is short, especially as the season winds down.

The Pittsburgh Steelers early injury report was a short one. In Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin’s weekly press conference, he noted that fourth- and fifth-string running backs Jaylen Samuels (quad) and Trey Edmunds (hamstring) are dealing with injuries that could limit them in practice this week.

Samuels has been utilized more on special teams (77 snaps) than any other game facet. He’s been on the field in 39 pass snaps and three run play snaps.

Edmunds was re-signed by Pittsburgh on Nov. 10 and took the spot of tight end Vance McDonald on the 53-man roster. Assuming McDonald will return to this lineup this week, it’s possible Edmunds reverts to the practice squad.

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Steelers vs Jets inactives: WR JuJu Smith-Schuster is active

The Steelers inactives don’t have WR JuJu Smith-Schuster.

According to the inactives, the Pittsburgh Steelers will have wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster back in the lineup when they take on the New York Jets today. Smith-Schuster had missed the previous four games with a knee injury but with the season on the line, the team’s best wide receiver is back.

The only surprise on this week’s list is listing safety Marcus Allen as inactive. Allen was promoted from the practice squad this week to replace Kam Kelly who was released this week after an arrest. With Allen inactive it looks like Jordan Dangerfield will be the primary reserve safety. Also, don’t be shocked to see some Cam Sutton in sub-packages as a third safety.

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Steelers vs Cardinals game status: James Conner and JuJu Smith-Schuster OUT

The Steelers will once again be without James Conner and JuJu Smith-Schuster.

If you have been paying attention, this should come as no surprise. According to the Pittsburgh Steelers, running back James Conner and wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster are both out for this week’s game against the Arizona Cardinals.

This will be Smith-Schuster’s third straight game he will miss as he continues to deal with a knee injury. For Conner, this is his third in a row and fifth in six games as he works to come back from a shoulder injury.

No other players appeared on the game status report for the Steelers. Benny Snell Jr. will replace Conner in the lineup and James Washington hopes to continue his break out as the team’s top receiving option.

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Steelers vs Browns injury update: James Conner returns to practice

Things are looking up for the Steelers on the injury front.

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On Tuesday, the Pittsburgh Steelers got together for what is essentially their only real workout of the week. The team will do a Friday walkthrough on Wednesday ahead of Thursday’s game with the Cleveland Browns but this is the one shot to truly evaluate the health of the roster. And the good news from practice is injured running back James Conner was back and was a full participant.

Additionally, guard Ramon Foster was a full participant as he continues to deal with a concussion. However, there’s been no official word from the team that Foster is out of concussion protocol so his status is still unknown.

Running back Benny Snell Jr., fullback Roosevelt Nix and wide receiver Ryan Switzer were all DNP on Tuesday and their status is in jeopardy. Linebackers Ola Adeniyi and Anthony Chickillo were both limited on Tuesday but could see more reps on Wednesday.

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