The Pittsburgh Steelers will host the Baltimore Ravens Christmas night at Heinz Field and the team’s first injury report of the week that was released on Wednesday shows that a few key players sat out practice earlier in the day.
Not practicing Wednesday were defensive end Stephon Tuitt (knee), tight end Ladarius Green (concussion), linebacker Anthony Chickillo (ankle), safety Shamarko Thomas (concussion/ankle?), quarterback Ben Roethlisberger (not injury related), and tackle Marcus Gilbert (not injury related).
Tuitt suffered a right knee sprain early in the game against the Cincinnati Bengals and has since had an MRI. During his Tuesday press conference, head coach Mike Tomlin indicated that the defensive end has a chance to play Sunday against the Ravens.
As for Green, he remains in concussion protocol. The tight end suffered a helmet-to-helmet hit late in the game against the Bengals.
Chickillo injured an ankle against the Bengals and while he was able to continue playing, Tomlin indicated Tuesday that the linebacker might be limited early in the week.
Limited on Wednesday were wide receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey (foot) and defensive end Ricardo Mathews (ankle). It’s good to see Heyward-Bey return to practice as he’s been out since the Week 9 game against the Ravens. He’ll obviously need to practice fully by the end of the week if he’s going to play Sunday.
Mathews, like Chickillo, suffered his ankle injury against the Bengals. Tomlin hinted Tuesday that Mathews might be able to play this Sunday against the Ravens.
Practicing fully on Wednesday was running back DeAngelo Williams (knee), who has been out since Week 9. Williams was a late scratch this past Sunday against the Bengals after he developed some fluid buildup in his surgically repaired knee. He has since said that he expects to play against the Ravens.
