The Pittsburgh Steelers lost their first game of the 2020 season on Monday night at home against the Washington Football Team and they also lost two more defensive players during that contest to injuries. The two players were inside linebacker Robert Spillane and cornerback Joe Haden and head coach Mike Tomlin updated the conditions of both players after the game was over.
“Joe Haden had a concussion, Robert Spillane had a knee injury that’s being evaluated,” Tomlin said.
Spillane left the game early in the second after suffering a left knee injury while rushing Washington quarterback Alex Smith. He was able to limp off the field but went right to the locker room and did not return to action. He was replaced in the game by inside linebacker Avery Williamson, who went on to lead the defense in total tackles with nine.
As for Haden, he left the contest in the fourth quarter after making a tackle on a running play. He did not return to the game.
We’ll now hold our collective breathes when it comes to Spillane’s knee injury. That position has already been hit once earlier in the season when inside linebacker Devin Bush was lost for the the rest of 2020 due to a knee injury. At best, it’s hard to imagine Spillane being ready to play by next Sunday night for the Week 14 game if his injury doesn’t require surgery.
As for Haden, he’ll now be hard-pressed to be ready for the Sunday night Week 14 game against the Buffalo Bills. He’s obviously in concussion protocol right now and will likely remain in it for the next several days.
The Steelers had two players miss the Monday game against Washington with injuries. Those two players were cornerback Steven Nelson (knee) and kicker Chris Boswell (hip). It’s hard to speculate if either will be able to play Sunday night against the Bills. The Steelers, however, should hopefully get running back James Conner and center Maurkice Pouncey back from the team’s Reserve/COVID-19 list this coming week.
Tomlin is expected to address the media again on Tuesday so maybe art that time will learn more about the currently injured players and the health outlook for the Sunday night game against the Bills.
