The Pittsburgh Steelers will play the Houston Texans Monday night at Heinz Field and their first injury report of the week shows that several players were unable to practice fully Thursday.
For starters, fullback Will Johnson (illness), defensive end Brett Keisel (knee), safety Mike Mitchell (knee) and safety Troy Polamalu (not injury related) all sat out Thursday’s practice. Earlier in the week, head coach Mike Tomlin said that they would need to monitor progress of Keisel and Mitchell as the week wore on. Both players are suffering from knee sprains.
Practicing on a limited basis Thursday were safety Shamarko Thomas (hamstring), linebacker Ryan Shazier (knee) and defensive end Cameron Heyward (ankle). Heyward is expected to fine for Monday night, but the status of both Shazier and Thomas should be considered still up in the air. Both players were seen practicing Wednesday as well, however Shazier was still wearing a brace on his injured right knee.
Cornerback Ike Taylor (forearm) and nose tackle Steve McLendon (shoulder) round out the Steelers Thursday injury report as players that have already been ruled out for the game Monday night. McLendon suffered a right shoulder sprain this past Sunday and could be sidelined another week.
