Injury News Courtesy of Mike Tomlin’s Press Conference
Obviously, Huddle up!
Mandatory Credit: Joe Camporeale-USA TODAY Sports
Mike Tomlin had his weekly press conference earlier today, and Pittsburgh’s head coach shared his thoughts on everything from Pittsburgh’s recent winning streak to the injury issues which are currently hurting his team.
Some of injury news discussed during the press conference was posted on the Steelers’ official Twitter page:
Kelvin Beachum (ribs), LaMarr Woodley (knee), Brett Keisel (ribs) and Cam Heyward (illness) may be limited in earlier portion of the week.
— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) October 22, 2013
Tomlin said he is optimistic about Marcus Gilbert's availability this week. He left Sunday's game with quadricep injury.
— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) October 22, 2013
Markus Wheaton is out again this week with a broken finger - Tomlin
— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) October 22, 2013
“@BobLabriola: Tomlin: Timmons broke his left hand. In a cast. Has mobility of all his fingers. Expected to play Sunday.”
— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) October 22, 2013
Tomlin said Maurkice Pouncey is getting his knee checked out in Birmingham, Alabama.
— Pittsburgh Steelers (@steelers) October 22, 2013
Keeping an eye on the status of the team’s starting tackles, Kelvin Beachum and Marcus Gilbert, will be of the utmost importance throughout the week. Beachum probably played the best game of his career at the professional level on Sunday, while Gilbert was sidelined for almost the entirety of the Baltimore game with his quadriceps injury.
To their credit, Guy Whimper and Mike Adams stepped in with some solid outings. Moreover, both could very well be called upon to help if injuries limit the starters throughout the week or even during the game in Oakland.
Brett Keisel and LaMarr Woodley were limited last week, so I am not too worried about them suiting up this weekend. However, Cameron Heyward’s illness and his eventual status for Sunday could be something to follow during the next few days.
In addition, Ray Fittipaldo of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette also mentioned that Jerricho Cotchery could be limited early in the week due to an abdominal injury. This of course could be a bad sign, especially since rookie Markus Wheaton has been ruled out due to his broken finger and the subsequent surgery.
Lawrence Timmons, who was an absolute monster (20 tackles) last weekend, might be limited when it comes to grabbing interceptions with his broken left hand during the coming weeks. Yet it looks like he should be back to his tackling machine self even with the cast on his hand, and he amazingly played part of last weekend’s game with the hand injury.
The Steelers can ill afford to lose their best inside linebacker for any extended period, so it is definitely positive to know that he is expected to suit up against the Raiders.
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