The Pittsburgh Steelers will likely have a few new names on their injury report this week as defensive end Cameron Heyward (hamstring), safety Shamarko Thomas (groin), wide receiver Sammie Coates (hand), and linebacker Jarvis Jones (wrist) were all banged up in various degrees during Sunday’s home win over the New York Jets. On Monday, the condition of a few of those players were somewhat updated along with the outlook on a few more that missed Sunday’s game.
According to Ray Fittipaldo of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Heyward was not made available to the media on Monday and thus we’ll probably have to wait until Tuesday to find out what the MRI he received on his hamstring showed. Heyward had to leave Sunday’s game against the Jets in the second quarter and he never returned.
“I haven’t gotten word, so I’m not going to make a call either way,” Heyward said after the game, per the Tribune-Review. “My wife was texting me the whole way there. I’m a grouch all the way through it. Until I get back on the field, I won’t be a happy camper.”
As for Robert Golden, who has missed the last two games with a hamstring injury of his own, he reportedly said Monday that said he could have played Sunday had it been a playoff game. He’s optimistic about his chances of playing in the team’s Week 6 road game against the Miami Dolphins.
While fullback Roosevelt Nix (back) is also optimistic about him potentially making his 2016 debut against the Dolphins, it’s unclear as to whether or not linebacker Ryan Shazier (knee) will make it back for that game. Shazier reportedly said Monday that he’s still rehabbing the knee that he injured in the Week 4 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com reports that Shazier is dealing with a sprained MCL but is still hoping to return to the team before their Week 8 bye.
As for Coates, who needed stitches in one of his hands during Sunday’s game, he reportedly said Monday that his injury will not limit him in practice this coming week, according to Missi Matthews of steelers.com.
As for tight end Ladarius Green (ankle), who remains on the team’s Reserve/PUP list, he said Monday that he’s back to a full weight room program, according to Jacob Klinger of pennlive.com. Green has sounded optimistic over the course of the last few weeks that he might be able to make his 2016 debut in the Steelers Week 7 home game against the New England Patriots even though no timetable has been announced for him by anyone as of yet.
As previously noted, Tomlin will likely rundown the Steelers complete list of injured players on Tuesday during his weekly press conference.
