Even though he dressed and played Sunday in the Pittsburgh Steelers road loss to the Miami Dolphins, wide receiver Sammie Coates failed to catch a single pass. The Steelers second-year wide receiver was targeted four times during the game and reportedly played with a fractured index finger on his left hand that he had suffered last Sunday in the team’s win over the New York Jets.
After the game was over, Coates reportedly told the media that he will get an x-ray on his broken finger on Monday and the results of that will determine what happens next with him, according to Chris Adamski of the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.
“It’s all mental,” Coates said after the game. “It’s gonna hurt regardless.”
Coates entered Sunday’s game against the Dolphins having caught at least one pass of at least 40 yards in all five Pittsburgh games this season. Of the four passes thrown his way in Sunday’s loss, two were deep throws that were incomplete and the other two were intercepted by the Dolphins defense.
In addition to having a banged-up Coates on Sunday, the Steelers were without the services of fellow wide receiver Markus Wheaton as he missed the game due to a shoulder injury. The Steelers did, however, have wide receiver Eli Rogers back on the field Sunday after his two-game absence with a toe injury but the former undrafted free agent out of Louisville had an ugly drop during late in the game in addition to three of his four receptions coming with less than 4 minutes left in the game and the Steelers trailing 23-8.
We’ll have to see what ultimately transpires with Coates’ Monday x-ray but being as he played Sunday, one would think that he’ll be able to play next weekend when the Steelers host the New England Patriots at Heinz Field.
Should Coates still wind up being limited by his finger, we could see Cobi Hamilton dress again against the Patriots and especially if Wheaton isn’t healthy enough to return. Hamilton, who was promoted to the team’s 53-man roster squad from the practice squad on Saturday, caught two passes against the Dolphins for 36 yards and a touchdown. They were his first two catches of his NFL career and obviously his first score.
