Of the four important Steelers starters listed as doubtful against the Patriots are Mason Cole and Najee Harris.
Regarding which of the injured Pittsburgh Steelers will be able to play in Thursday night’s game against the New England Patriots, not much was revealed in Wednesday’s status report.
In the final injury report of the brief week, four starters were listed as questionable: inside linebacker Elandon Roberts, left guard Isaac Seumalo, center Mason Cole, and running back Najee Harris. The Steelers’ closest thing to a full regular practice of the week took place on Wednesday, and it was off-limits to the media.
Seumalo and Harris did not take part in practice, and Roberts and Cole were limited participants, according to the injury report.
Due to first-half injuries, Seumalo (shoulder) and Roberts (groin) were both forced to miss Sunday’s game against the Arizona Cardinals. Seumalo’s “downward” trend—he was marked as a limited participant for Tuesday’s walkthrough—might be taken as a depressing indicator. Nonetheless, regardless of Seumalo’s injury status, Steelers coach Mike Tomlin frequently gives veterans like him days off.
Cole has been classified as “limited” for each of the three days this week due to a neck injury. Harris was added to the injury report on Tuesday, and for the previous two days, he has been listed as “did not participate.”
The team’s best backup at guard and center, veteran Nate Herbig, took Seumalo’s place and participated in the full second half on Sunday. If Seumalo and Cole are unable to play, rookie Spencer Anderson is expected to start in the NFL for the first time. Anderson, a seventh-round selection, has made three appearances in the regular season, playing one snap as an extra tight end on offense and seven snaps as a member of the kick block team.
The Steelers have running backs Anthony McFarland and Godwin Igwebuike on their 53-man roster in addition to former Pitt standout Qadree Ollison. If Roberts is unable to play, one or both of the recently unretired veterans at the position on the team, Blake Martinez or Myles Jack, would probably have a role next to Mykal Walker, who was himself recently signed as a fill-in after season-ending injuries suffered by Cole Holcomb and Kwon Alexander. Williams has never missed a game in more than two and a half seasons as a professional. Jaylen Warren has become increasingly important to him this season.
Reserve cornerback James Pierre is the only player the Steelers have declared unavailable to play against the Patriots, aside from quarterback Kenny Pickett, who was lost earlier.
Due to an ankle injury, veteran defensive tackle Montravius Adams missed four games before being cleared to play again on Thursday. Keeanu Benton, a rookie defensive lineman, was also officially cleared to play despite suffering an oblique injury this week.
Safety Minkah Fitzpatrick (broken hand) and defensive lineman Cameron Heyward (groin) were officially cleared to play on Thursday, as anticipated.
Expect no points as the over/under for the Steelers vs. Patriots game is at a nearly all-time low.
Steelers are searching for the right “recipe” to prevent another loss to a 2-10 team while the Patriots are in town.
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