The Pittsburgh Steelers will take on the Washington Redskins Monday night in their second preseason game of the year and below is a recap of the status of the injured players heading into the game.
RB Le\’Veon Bell (knee) – Bell aggravated the same knee bruise that prevented him from playing last week so his status his for Monday night is currently unknown. His status might not be known until about an hour or two before game-time and it would not be surprising if he is held out of the game.
RB Isaac Redman (stinger) – Redman suffered a stinger the same day that Bell aggravated his knee bruise. While he was able to practice the next few days, those practices did not include contact, so like Bell, Redman might be a game-time decision and he could be held out as a precaution.
LB Stevenson Sylvester (ankle) – Sylvester injured his ankle last week when hit by friendly fire after making a tackle on special teams. We haven\’t heard whether or not he was able to practice this past week, so there is a good chance he might be held out of this game as a precaution.
CB Curtis Brown (ankle) – Brown sat out the first preseason game with an ankle injury but all signs are pointing to him playing this week as he was able to return to full practice.
DE Nick Williams (knee?) – Like Brown, the Steelers seventh-round draft pick is expected to play Monday night after he was able to practice this past week.
TE Jamie McCoy (wrist) – McCoy was a surprise scratch last week in the preseason opener with a wrist injury, but we have no reason to believe he won\’t play against the Redskins.
S Ross Ventrone (unknown) – I am not aware of what is ailing Ventrone, but whatever it is, it was enough to prevent him from playing last week. It\’s a coin-flip as to whether or not he plays Monday night, but being as he doesn\’t have a shot at making the roster or the practice squad, it really doesn\’t matter.
CB Cortez Allen (knee) – Allen was able to return to practice this past week, but being as he is just a little over two weeks removed from his knee surgery, it would be surprising if he saw action Monday night.
CB Terry Hawthorne (knee) – Like Allen, Hawthorne was finally able to return to practice this past week. There were reports, however, that he still has a noticeable limp, so his status is really up in the air right now and it could go either way.
CB DeMarcus Van Dyke (hamstring) – Unless we missed it, Van Dyke has yet to practice since injuring his hamstring several weeks ago. It would be very surprising if he played against the Redskins.
G Justin Cheadle (hamstring) – Cheadle suffered a significant hamstring last week in practice and is expected to miss an extended amount of time as a result.
TE Matt Spaeth (Lisfranc) – Spaeth is expected to be sidelined for a while after having Lisfranc surgery and will not play for several more weeks.
TE Heath Miller (knee) (PUP) – Miller remains listed on the PUP list as he continues to rehab his knee injury.
LB Sean Spence (knee) (PUP) – Like Miller, Spence remains listed on the PUP list as he continues to rehab his knee injury.
TE David Johnson (knee) (PUP) – Johnson remains listed on the PUP list as he continues to rehab his knee injury. There is a possibility that he could be ready to practice in the next few weeks.
