The Pittsburgh Steelers were back practicing on Monday following their bye week and there is some very positive news to pass along from the session.
According to Brooke Pryor of espn.com, Steelers wide receiver James Washington (shoulder) and cornerback Steven Nelson (groin) we’re both back at practice on Monday. Both players sat out the Steelers Week 6 Sunday night game against the Los Angeles Chargers with their respective injuries that were suffered during the team’s Week 5 home loss to the Baltimore Ravens.
It’s hard to know for sure if Washington and Nelson will both be deemed healthy enough to return to action next Monday night against the Miami Dolphins but barring setbacks, both players seem to be on course to do just that.
Also missing the Steelers Week 6 road game against the Chargers with injuries were quarterback Mason Rudolph (concussion), running back Jaylen Samuels (knee), fullback Roosevelt Nix (knee) and inside linebacker Mark Barron (hamstring). Samuels is expected to be out at least a few more weeks with his knee injury. It’s unclear still if Nix and Barron will have a shot at returning next Monday night. Nix, who has been sidelined since Week 1, said Monday he was glad to be back at practice earlier in the day and that’s another great sign. Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin had hinted last Wednesday that the fullback might be able to resume practicing this week.
As expected, Rudolph was back practicing on Monday after clearing concussion protocol last week and he’s expected to start the team’s Monday night game against the Dolphins with Devlin Hodges backing him up.
We’re still waiting for more recent updates on three Steelers players who suffered injuries against the Chargers. Those three players are running back James Conner (quadriceps), outside linebacker T.J. Watt (oblique) and cornerback Joe Haden (groin). Hopefully all three will be able to resume practicing this week. Conner, however, said last week he expects to be fine come Monday night against the Dolphins.
Tomlin is scheduled to next meet the media on Tuesday so perhaps he’ll shed some light on the overall health of the team at that time. The Steelers first official injury report of Week 8 won’t be released until after Thursday’s practice has ended.
