The Pittsburgh Steelers bye week has now come and gone as the team is now preparing to play the Baltimore Ravens this coming Sunday on the road. On Tuesday, Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin held his weekly press conference and updated the current health of his team.
As far as quarterback Ben Roethlisberger (knee) goes, Tomlin really gave no hint as to whether or not he’ll ultimately play Sunday against the Ravens. It will depend on the amount of work he’s able to do this week in practice.
“A number of guys that have missed time in recent weeks with injury, like I said, have worked and we’ll continue to work those guys and like always, we’ll let their reaction to that work be a guide for us,” Tomlin said. “We’ll let the quality of that work be a guide for us in terms of determining their availability in this football game. All could have a chance to play and we have that mentality regarding their availability.
“Marcus Gilbert has he comes off his ankle injury. Cam Heyward as he comes off his hammy injury. Shamarko Thomas as he comes off of his groin. Ben as he comes off of his knee injury and DeAngelo Williams as he comes off of his knee injury.”
As far as other players go who entered the bye week dealing with injuries, Tomlin indicated that tackle Marcus Gilbert (ankle), defensive end Cameron Heyward (hamstring), safety Shamarko Thomas (groin), wide receiver Markus Wheaton (shoulder), and running back DeAngelo Williams (knee) all have a chance to play Sunday in Baltimore. However, like Roethlisberger, Tomlin said they will use the practice participation this week as a guide when it comes those players possibly playing and how much.
“It was a great week to get some rest or restoration for those that needed it,” said Tomlin. “A number of guys were playing with a variety of issues. Markus Wheaton with his shoulder. Sammie Coates with his broken finger. Antonio Brown with his hip injury sustained in New England. DeAngelo Williams, whose been dealing with a sore knee for a number of weeks. It was a great restoration opportunity for some of those guys.”
The only player that didn’t get significant work last week was center/guard Cody Wallace (knee), according to Tomlin.
Back to Roethlisberger. Tomlin didn’t rule out the possibility of him possibly dressing Sunday against the Ravens and serving as the backup to Landry Jones much like he did in late last season in the game against the Cleveland Browns.
“I think regarding his availability and the availability of all the guys that have worked in some capacity during our bye week, I think all the cards are on the table and we’re just going to let this process that is our preparation week be our guide in terms of whether or not they play and if they are available, how much they play,” Tomlin said.
