The Pittsburgh Steelers have released their second injury report of the week ahead of Week Two’s game against the Seattle Seahawks. Per the team’s injury report, four players failed to practice Thursday: CB Joey Porter Jr. (hamstring), SS DeShon Elliott (knee), DL Cam Heyward (rest), and DL Derrick Harmon (knee).
The report’s best news showed EDGE Nick Herbig (hamstring) practicing in full for the first time since his preseason injury. Also practicing in full was OT Calvin Anderson (illness) and EDGE T.J. Watt, who rested yesterday.
Steelers’ Week 2 Thursday Injury Report
DNP
DL Cam Heyward (rest)
DL Derrick Harmon (knee)
CB Joey Porter Jr. (hamstring)
SS DeShon Elliott (knee)
Limited
None
Full
OT Calvin Anderson (illness)
EDGE Nick Herbig (hamstring)
EDGE T.J. Watt (rest)
Harmon and Elliott were ruled out by Mike Tomlin during his Tuesday press conference. Both are dealing with sprained MCLs. Harmon hurt his knee in the preseason finale against the Carolina Panthers and has yet to make his regular-season debut. Elliott was injured attempting to make a tackle in the first half of Sunday’s game against the New York Jets.
Veteran defensive end Isaiahh Loudermilk replaced Harmon in Week One, logging 31 snaps but failing to record a tackle or register any stat in the box score. Chuck Clark replaced Elliott, recording 32 snaps and tying for the team lead with eight tackles. Pittsburgh signed Jabrill Peppers as additional safety depth, and he’s expected to dress for the Seahawks’ game.
During his presser, Tomlin expressed optimism Herbig and Porter could play. Herbig sat out the opener after injuring his hamstring against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, while Porter lasted 44 snaps before exiting. Jalen Ramsey picked up additional outside cornerbacks snaps while Brandin Echols rotated in. Presumably, the same plan would continue should Porter miss this weekend. Unless Porter has a big turnaround late in the week, he’ll likely be inactive for Week Two.
The fact that Herbig practiced in full is a great sign for his odds of playing this weekend. If he suffers a setback and misses, rookie Jack Sawyer will again serve as the No. 3 outside linebacker behind T.J. Watt and Alex Highsmith.
Anderson entered the season as the team’s swing tackle, the top backup behind LT Broderick Jones and RT Troy Fautanu. He missed most of the summer with an undisclosed injury, but was healthy to dress for the start of the season. He’s on track to play Sunday.
Heyward and Watt will play against Seattle.
The Steelers and Seahawks kick off Sunday at 1 PM/EST.
