The Pittsburgh Steelers have now released their first official injury report of Week 9 ahead of their Monday night home game against the Chicago Bears, and the Thursday offering paints a very favorable picture when it comes to the overall health of the team.
Not practicing on Thursday for the Steelers was tight end Eric Ebron (hamstring), who missed the team’s Week 8 game with that same injury. It will now be interesting to see if Ebron can get back to practicing fully by Saturday afternoon. If he can’t, he will be inactive again on Monday night against the Bears.
Limited in practice for the Steelers on Thursday were quarterback Ben Roethlisberger (pectoral/hip), guard B.J. Finney (back), defensive tackle Cameron Heyward (ankle), and kicker Chris Boswell (concussion).
Boswell is still likely in the concussion protocol right now, so we’ll have to wait and see what Friday and Saturday holds for him. If he is not cleared to play by Monday night against the Bears, kicker Josh Lambo will handle those duties. Lambo was signed to the Steelers’ practice squad a few days ago.
As for Roethlisberger, Finney and Heyward, barring setbacks, all three should be good to go by Monday.
The Steelers did not list running back Kalen Ballage on their Thursday injury report, and that’s a great sign for him. He supposedly injured his ribs in the team’s Week 8 game, according to what head coach Mike Tomlin said after that contest was over with.
