The Pittsburgh Steelers suffered a few injuries during their Monday night game against the Cincinnati Bengals with linebacker Ryan Shazier leading the list of them when it comes to seriousness.
My now, you’ve probably read all of the updates on Shazier that surfaced Tuesday morning and head coach Mike Tomlin didn’t have any new news to pass along as far as medical updates go during his noon press conference.
“I really have no update in terms of his medical status other than what was released earlier,” Tomlin said of Shazier. “I’d imagine at the appropriate time those that are responsible for his care will give you a reasonable assessment of where he is. I’d imagine that could occur as soon as later on today.”
As for other injuries suffered by the team Monday night, Tomlin somewhat updated the stats of linebacker Tyler Matakevich, who had replaced Shazier in the defense after he left the game with his back injury.
“His shoulder is being evaluated as we speak,” Tomlin said. “I don’t understand his status or availability potentially for this week.”
Tomlin also hinted Tuesday that we might see a few other names on the teams Week 14 injury report when it is released Wednesday afternoon.
“I’d imagine there’s some other bumps and bruises associated with play,” Tomlin said. “I’ll highlight those things as we push through the week. Most of them will probably be revealed through practice participation and so forth.”
With Shazier and Matakevich both currently injured, Tomlin said Tuesday that there might be a few roster moves forthcoming.
“Maybe a personnel move or two where appropriate,” Tomlin said. “Hadn’t thought a lot about those things at this juncture. Really just accessing some of the things that transpired last night and really trying to make a quick transition in terms of preparation for the Ravens.”
As things stand right now, the Steelers only have two healthy inside linebackers on their 53-man roster in Vince Williams and L.J. Fort. They also have rookie linebacker Keith Kelsey on their practice squad so he might be an option to be promoted sometime this week. Former Steelers linebacker Sean Spence is also currently a free agent so he might be a name to watch as well this week.
