Because they play on Monday night, the Pittsburgh Steelers won’t have to submit their first practice report for the week until Thursday. However, judging by one Wednesday afternoon report, linebacker Ryan Shazier is trending in the wrong direction.
According to Chris Adamski of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, Shazier, who has missed the last two games with a shoulder/next injury, was spotted wearing a sling after Wednesday’s practice.
It should be noted that Shazier was photographed Wednesday in full pads.
On Tuesday, head coach Mike Tomlin listed Shazier as questionable for Monday night’s game against the San Diego Chargers during his weekly press conference.
“Ryan Shazier appears to be dramatically improving, but I’ll list him as questionable,” said Tomlin. “We’ll continue to monitor his progress throughout the week.”
If Shazier is unable to play again this week, Sean Spence will more than likely start in his place once again with Vince Williams also likely to see some playing time alongside Lawrence Timmons.
In other practice participation news from Wednesday, Ray Fittipaldo of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports that wide receiver Martavis Bryant said that he was held out of the session by Tomlin because of unspecified “soreness.”
Bryant is looking to make his 2015 debut Monday night after missing the first four weeks of the season due to him being suspended for violating the league’s substance abuse policy.
Over the course of the last three weeks, Bryant spent time at a Houston-based rehabilitation and conditioning center run by former NBA player and coach John Lucas. During his Monday talk with the media, Bryant did say that he was able to keep his conditioning up while in Houston.
The Steelers have yet to activate Bryant back to their 53 man roster, but if he’s going to play Monday night, that transaction will need to be made by 4 p.m. that afternoon.
