Even though Pittsburgh Steelers wide receiver Antonio Brown sounded optimistic about practicing Thursday during a Wednesday night Snapchat session, reports Thursday afternoon indicate that isn’t likely to happen.
According to Aditi Kinkhabwala of the NFL Network on Twitter, Brown hasn’t yet passed through the concussion protocol.
Brown suffered a concussion as a result of a vicious hit by Cincinatti Bengals linebacker Vontaze Burfict late in Saturday night’s AFC Wild Card game. Earlier in the week, Monday to be exact, Bob Holtzman of ESPN reported that it was “not looking good” for Brown to play on Sunday against the Denver Broncos while Gerry Dulac of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported the exact opposite at right around the same time.
Friday could wind up being a big day for Brown as that will be the last time the team practices before boarding a plane for Denver on Saturday for Sunday’s game. Should he wind up not playing against the Broncos, rookie third-round draft pick Sammie Coates would dress in his absence as the team’s No. 4 wide receiver.
Additionally, fellow wide receiver Markus Wheaton would return punts for the Steelers against the Broncos should Brown ultimately be sidelined.
The Steelers Thursday injury report will be released about an hour from now.
