The Pittsburgh Steelers have now identified their protected practice squad players for Week 10, and this week’s list of four once again includes several familiar names.
Protected by the Steelers on their practice squad for Week 10 were defensive back Karl Joseph, wide receiver Anthony Miller, tight end Kevin Rader, and wide receiver Steven Sims.
As for Joseph, this makes the eighth consecutive week that he has been chosen as a protected practice squad player. He was elevated to the Steelers Active/Inactive gameday roster ahead of the team’s Week 5 game and ultimately played a few defensive snaps in that contest. Since then, however, he hasn’t been elevated.
This is now the fourth time that the Steelers have had Miller as a protected practice squad since signing him in the middle of October. He has yet to be elevated to the active/inactive roster ahead of a game. That could chance on Saturday, however, with wide receiver Chase Claypool currently dealing with a toe injury.
As for Rader being protected this week, this makes the fourth time this season he’s been on the list. Last week, Rader was protected and then elevated to the Active/Inactive roster on Monday. He dressed and played in the Monday night game and reverted back to the practice squad after the game. The Steelers still currently have tight end Eric Ebron dealing with a hamstring injury so that’s likely one reason why they chose to protect Rader again this week.
As for Sims being protected this week, this makes the third time this season that has happened. Sims was protected twice in October but never elevated to the active/Inactive roster. Like Miller, Sims has a chance to be elevated this coming Saturday with Claypool now dealing with a toe injury. The team would likely choose between Miller and Sims should Claypool be unable to play on Sunday against the Detroit Lions.
