The Pittsburgh Steelers have now released their first injury report of the week ahead of their upcoming Monday night game against the San Diego Chargers and overall there is really only one unexpected name on it.
Linebacker Ryan Shazier (shoulder) was able to practice fully on Thursday and that’s certainly good news. On Tuesday, head coach Mike Tomlin termed the former first-round draft pick as questionable and that he “appears to be dramatically improving.” On Wednesday, there was a report that Shazier, who has missed the last two games, was spotted wearing a sling even though he was photographed during practice in full pads.
Defensive coordinator Keith Butler was asked about Shazier’s status for Monday night during his Thursday talk with the media.
“We’ll have to wait and see the next couple of days to see if his shoulder is still bothering him,” he said.
Also practicing fully on Thursday were tight end Matt Spaeth (hand), wide receiver Markus Wheaton (ankle), nose tackle Daniel McCullers (knee) and cornerback Cortez Allen (knee). Spaeth missed the Steelers last game while McCullers has missed the last two. Allen, on the other hand, hasn’t played since the season opener.
Safety Ross Ventrone (unknown) failed to practice on Thursday and the same goes for quarterback Ben Roethlisberger (knee), who has already been ruled out for the Chargers game.
While he isn’t listed on the Steelers injury report, wide receiver Martavis Bryant (undisclosed) reportedly failed to practice for a second consecutive day on Thursday, according to Chris Bradford of the Beaver County Times. Bradford has since deleted that tweet, however, and probably at the request of the Steelers PR staff. That’s not good news if indeed he failed to practice and it’s looking like he might not play against the Chargers. The Steelers have yet to activate Bryant to their 53 man roster, so thus they are not required to list him on their injury report. They reportedly have a roster exemption for him that doesn’t expire until next Tuesday.
