The Pittsburgh Steelers have now released their Thursday injury report ahead of their Week 2 home game against the Kansas City Chiefs and the second participation level offering of the week shows that one of the several players who failed to practice on Wednesday was able to return to full work. Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger (elbow), however, was not that player.
Roethlisberger, who also did not participate in the team’s Wednesday practice, is still nursing an elbow injury that he suffered late in the team’s Week 1 tie against the Cleveland Browns. With Roethlisberger sitting out again on Thursday, backup quarterback Joshua Dobbs likely took most of the first-team practice reps a second consecutive day.
“We’ll see how I feel tomorrow,” Roethlisberger said on Thursday when asked if he’ll be able to practice on Friday, according to Jeremy Fowler of espn.com.
After sitting out Wednesday’s practice, defensive lineman Cameron Heyward (knee) practiced fully on Thursday. Heyward, who was a surprise listing on the Steelers Wednesday injury report, said Thursday afternoon that he’s good to go for Sundays game against the Chiefs and that him missing the previous day’s practice was just a precautionary measure, according to Jacob Klinger of pennlive.com.
Defensive lineman Tyson Alualu (shoulder) practiced on a limited basis on Thursday after sitting out the team’s Wednesday session.
Guard David DeCastro (hand) and cornerback Joe Haden (hamstring) both failed to practice again on Thursday after also sitting out on Wednesday. DeCastro suffered a fractured hand against the Browns and it’s looking more and more like he won’t play Sunday against the Chiefs. If that’s the case, backup interior offensive lineman B.J. Finney would likely start at right guard in place of DeCastro.
As for Haden, he suffered his hamstring injury during the second half of the game against the Browns and an MRI reportedly revealed a minor strain. If unable to play against the Chiefs on Sunday, second-year cornerback Cameron Sutton would likely start in his place.
Tight end Vance McDonald (foot) practiced fully again on Thursday and thus remains on track to make his 2018 debut Sunday against the Chiefs. McDonald missed the Steelers Week 1 game against the Browns with a foot injury that he’s been dealing with since the earlier stages of this year’s training camp.
