The Friday injury report for the Pittsburgh Steelers is now out and it shows that linebacker James Harrison (knee), safety Troy Polamalu (calf), running back Rashard Mendenhall (knee), and tackle Marcus Gilbert (groin) all practiced fully with all four players being listed as probable.
Harrison told the media on Friday, “Yeah definitely, I\’ll be ready for Sunday.”
Even though the linebacker is expected to make his season debut Sunday against the Philadelphia Eagles, he is expected to be limited in his playing time. Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported via Twitter on Friday that Harrison will start but that the coaches have told him he\’ll be spelled early by second year linebacker Chris Carter because they want him fresh for fourth quarter.
There is also a small chance that Polamalu, who has missed the last two games with a strained calf, could be limited in the game as well, according to the comments made by defensive coordinator Dick LeBeau on Thursday, but he still should see a good majority of snaps just the same.
Like Harrison, Mendenhall also remains on course to make his season debut Sunday against the Eagles. How much he plays Sunday will be dependent on how looks, according to offensive coordinator Todd Haley on Thursday.
“I think that will be a game-type situation,” said Haley. “Assuming he goes, if he is out there, he will give us pretty good feedback through his actions with how he is doing. We will see how it goes.”
Gilbert had been suffering from a sore groin that he suffered late in the game against the New York Jets and the bye week looks to have come at a good time for him.
Not listed on the injury report this week were linebacker Stevenson Sylvester (knee) and tackle Mike Adams (back). Should he indeed suit up Sunday, Sylvester will be making his season debut after tearing his MCL late in training camp.
