During his Tuesday press conference, Mike Tomlin gave a rundown of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ injuries heading into Week 5 against the Buffalo Bills.
Tomlin noted CB Ahkello Witherspoon likely remains out due to a hamstring injury suffered against the Cleveland Browns in Week 3. SS Terrell Edmunds remains in concussion protocol after suffering a head injury in Sunday’s game against the New York Jets. Tomlin also noted CB Cam Sutton has a groin/hamstring injury while FS Minkah Fitzpatrick (knee) and DL Cam Heyward (ankle/elbow) will be managed during the week.
“Witherspoon, you should still anticipate him being out with a hamstring,” Tomlin said via the team’s YouTube channel. “We got some other guys monitoring health-related things. Edmunds is in the concussion protocol. Minkah has a knee that needs to be managed and watched throughout the week. Cam Sutton has a groin/hamstring and Cam Heyward has an elbow/ankle. So we’ve got some things to manage.”
The Steelers’ secondary looks thin, at least for the start of practice this week. CBs James Pierre and Josh Jackson should receive more practice reps and may see a defensive role this weekend against the Bills. At safety, the team may be without both their starting safeties to begin this week of practice. That would likely make Tre Norwood and Miles Killebrew the starters to begin the week. Norwood replaced Edmunds to finish out the Jets’ game.
Pittsburgh’s secondary struggled to close out Sunday’s game in part due to them being limited by defensive packages. It forced Arthur Maulet to play in the slot on passing downs and disallowed the team from playing in dime packages, stuck in nickel with two inside linebackers on the field. Jets’ QB Zach Wilson picked the Steelers apart in the fourth quarter, going 10/12 with a touchdown pass to lead a pair of touchdown drives, including the game-winner in the final seconds.
