The 5-2 Pittsburgh Steelers will play the 3-3 Detroit Lions on the road Sunday and on Tuesday head coach Mike Tomlin went over the health of his team ahead of that contest during his weekly press conference.
Tomlin started his rundown of injured players by talking about defensive end Stephon Tuitt (back) and tackle Marcus Gilbert (hamstring), both of whom missed Sunday’s game against the Cincinnati Bengals with their injuries.
“Stephon Tuitt and Marcus Gilbert could be both put in the same category,” Tomlin said. “They may be available to us this week. We’ll give those guys an opportunity to work and we’ll evaluate that work. If it’s above-the-line, we’ll leave the door open for those guys.”
Wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster (concussion) experienced concussion-like symptoms after Sunday’s game against the Bengals and Tomlin said Tuesday that he’s currently in protocol.
“He’ll be evaluated appropriately,” Tomlin said of the rookie wide receiver. “We’ll keep an eye on that and inform you as we get information.”
Tomlin also addressed the knee injury that tight end Vance McDonald suffered during Sunday’s game.
“I think that it can be characterized as a bruise, but it may affect his availability at the early portions of the week and maybe even his effectiveness,” Tomlin said of McDonald. “If it does, then obviously we’ll do whats appropriate there.”
The Steelers first injury report of week 8 will be released on Wednesday after the team practices.
