The Pittsburgh Steelers have added QB Justin Fields to the injury report with a hamstring injury that has him questionable for Monday night’s game against the New York Giants. They also downgraded RB/KR Cordarrelle Patterson to out with a hamstring injury. He will not play.
It’s not clear when Fields’ injury occurred. He was not listed on the team’s injury report throughout practice this week and may have felt tightness this morning. If he can’t play, veteran Kyle Allen will be the No. 2 quarterback behind Russell Wilson in his second start of the season. Allen has taken two snaps this season, completing one pass for 19 yards.
Even if active, Justin Fields’ injury could eliminate any plans for a “Fields package” of designed run plays. He didn’t play a single snap last week as the Steelers’ backup but team reporters believed that wrinkle was going to be used in the future, potentially against the Giants. Now, the team may prefer to play it safe and only use Fields as a quarterback if he’s even deemed healthy enough for this game.
Pittsburgh has a bye week following the Giants game, and the team could play it safe with injuries. Making Fields inactive for this game would give him additional time to heal and hopefully be healthy for the team’s Week 10 game against the Washington Commanders. We may not know his status until 90 minutes before kickoff when each team releases their inactives.
Patterson has been out of the lineup since injuring his ankle in Week 4 against the Indianapolis Colts. Najee Harris and Jaylen Warren will serve as Pittsburgh’s top two running backs. He is the sixth player to be ruled out for this game joining EDGE Nick Herbig (hamstring), C Zach Frazier (ankle), LB Tyler Matakevich (hamstring),WR Roman Wilson (hamstring), and OT Dylan Cook (foot). Matakevich and Cook have returned to practice but remain on injured reserve.
The Steelers and Giants will kickoff Monday night at 8:20 PM/EST.
