The Pittsburgh Steelers have now wrapped up their Wednesday practice and the team’s first injury report of Week 8 that was released Wednesday afternoon thankfully doesn’t include any surprises on it.
Not practicing on Wednesday were tight end Vance McDonald (knee), guard David DeCastro (not injury related), defensive end Stephon Tuitt (back) and tackle Marcus Gilbert (hamstring).
Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin indicated Tuesday that there’s a chance Tuitt and Gilbert both play Sunday against the Lions. Tuitt, however, said Tuesday night that he hopes to start practicing by Thursday so him sitting out Wednesday is not surprising.
As for Gilbert, who has already missed four full games this season with a hamstring injury, he still might not return until after the team’s bye week. If he sits again Sunday night backup offensive lineman Chris Hubbard will once again start in his place at right tackle.
McDonald suffered a knee bruise during the team’s Sunday home win over the Cincinnati Bengals and Tomlin said Tuesday it could limit him in practice this week. We’ll have to wait and see if he does enough between now and Sunday in order to play against the Lions.
DeCastro sitting out Wednesday doesn’t appear to be a big deal as he’s listed as not injury related.
Listed on the team’s Wednesday injury report as a full practice participant was wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster, who was reportedly in concussion protocol on Tuesday, according to Tomlin. That’s a great sign for him.
