The Pittsburgh Steelers will host the Cincinnati Bengals Sunday at Heinz Field and their Thursday injury report that has now been released shows there’s a decent chance that a few starters might be sidelined for that contest.
Not practicing again on Thursday for the Steelers were tackle Marcus Gilbert (hamstring), inside linebacker Vince Williams (hip) and defensive end Stephon Tuitt (back). Gilbert re-injured his hamstring in Sunday’s win over the Kansas City Chiefs and will now likely miss his fourth game of the season on Sunday. If that happens, Chris Hubbard is once again expected to start in his place at right tackle.
As for Williams, who injured his hip early in the fourth quarter of the Steelers Sunday win over the Chiefs, it’s not looking good for him right now when it comes to his potential availability for Sunday’s game.
It will also now be interesting to see if Tuitt is able to practice on Friday. Him showing up on this week’s injury report was a bit of a surprise being as head coach Mike Tomlin didn’t mention him Tuesday during his weekly press conference when updating the overall health of the team.
There is some good news when it comes to the Steelers Thursday injury report, however, as center Maurkice Pouncey (chest), guard Ramon Foster (back), and inside linebacker Tyler Matakevich (shoulder) all practiced fully earlier in the day. Pouncey and Foster both sat out the team’s Wednesday practice and the latter missed the team’s game against the Chiefs with his injury.
Should Williams be unable to play Sunday against the Bengals, Matakevich would likely start in his place as long as he doesn’t suffer a setback with his shoulder. Fellow inside linebacker L.J. Fort would likely be the backup at both inside positions.
