Coming out of a bye week and ahead of their Week 10 game against the Washington Commanders, Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin offered a positive health update heading into the weekend. Per Tomlin via the team’s YouTube channel, several players “have a chance” to play on Sunday. CB Cory Trice Jr., RB/KR Cordarrelle Patterson, C Zach Frazier, and LB Tyler Matakevich were named by Tomlin as possibly seeing the field against the Commanders.
“We have got a lot of guys who’ve been out who have a chance this week, man,” Tomlin Tuesday said via the team site. “We’ll be watching their participation on a variety of levels to determine whether or not they’ll be included or not.”
Tomlin also noted CB Cam Sutton is available to them, coming off his eight-game suspension and the bye.
It’s a strong list of potential reinforcements for the Steelers’ playoff run. Trice has been on IR since injuring his hamstring in Week 3 against the Los Angeles Chargers. Patterson has been unavailable since Week 4 due to an ankle injury. He practiced in a limited capacity heading into the Steelers’ Week 8 game against the New York Giants but was inactive. Frazier injured his ankle against the Las Vegas Raiders while Matakevich suffered a hamstring injury in Week 2 against the Denver Broncos while covering a punt.
Matakevich had his practice window opened last month and was limited before the Giants game. Trice has yet to be designated to return but it appears his window will open soon, potentially on Wednesday.
If Trice can return and with Sutton reinstated, the Steelers’ secondary will have depth and flexibility. Trice was working in dime packages before getting hurt and picked off his first NFL pass in Week 2, a crucial interception against the Denver Broncos. Sutton is a chess piece who can align anywhere in the defensive backfield.
Despite the injuries, the Steelers still sit at 6-2 and atop the AFC North coming out of their bye. During Monday’s bonus practice, Frazier, Patterson, and Herbig were spotted working through individual periods. An early but positive sign.
Tomlin didn’t mention QB Justin Fields, who missed Week 8 with a hamstring injury, during his initial health update. Asked about him later in the press conference, Tomlin said Fields injured his hamstring during the team’s final practice in Week 8 and he was made inactive against the New York Giants out of an abundance of caution. Tomlin didn’t anticipate the injury hindering Fields this week, suggesting he’ll be active and be the No. 2 QB behind Russell Wilson.
“He experienced a minor hamstring inter injury on our last day of practice, going into the Giants game. We didn’t want a small problem to become a big problem,” Tomlin said. “We designated him the third quarterback. We’re not imagining that to be a problem, but again, we’ll let participation be our guide in terms of how we divide the labor up.”
Pittsburgh will release its first injury report of the week Wednesday.
The Steelers and Commanders kick off Sunday at 1 PM/EST.
