Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown is pushing hard to get on the field Sunday against the Cleveland Browns, but the ultimate decision on whether or not he plays will be made by head coach Mike Tomlin following pre game warm-ups.
Brown, who suffered a left high ankle sprain against the New York Giants a few weeks ago, was listed as questionable on the Friday injury report after practicing on a limited basis all week. NFL.com\’s Aditi Kinkhabwala reports that Brown said that he felt “really good” after pushing the ankle hard on Friday and that the third year receiver reportedly was happy with the way he got out of his cuts without any issues.
Fellow wide receiver Mike Wallace told Kinkhabwala that he thought his teammate looked “just about normal” on Friday and that he thinks Brown is capable of playing some snaps on Sunday, if not the whole game.
While this certainly is good news, Tomlin might very well decide to err on the side of caution with Brown when the smoke clears prior to the game. This seems to be the general consensus of the local media as well.
With Jerricho Cotchery currently sidelined with fractured ribs, and the newly signed Plaxico Burress still not fully up to speed, the Steelers still have David Gilreath on the roster to help pick up some of the slack.
Keep in mind that this is a marathon and not a race. Making sure that Brown is healthy down the stretch is key here. While the Steelers certainly could use Brown on Sunday against the Browns, the risk of putting him on the field a week too soon might not be worth it.
